Diagnose before you fix.
42 The Systemic Review is SCiO's publication and policy-engagement programme – putting decades of systems practice in front of the people who commission and shape public policy. SCiO (Systems and Complexity in Organisation) is an international professional body for systems practitioners: practice-led, multidisciplinary and not confined to a single sector, school or methodology.
Why 42?
Einstein is often credited with the observation that, given an hour to solve a problem, he would spend most of it determining the right question. That captures an important principle behind 42: policy processes can move quickly towards solutions before enough attention has been given to understanding the problem being addressed.
The name 42 comes from the approach which takes 42 Systems: Laws, Principles and ways of thinking and applies those to your problem situation. The name also nods to Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which 42 is the answer to "life, the universe and everything" – but nobody has properly formulated the question.
Each review applies 42 systems laws, principles and ways of thinking to help formulate that question. Each review looks beyond presenting symptoms to identify the underlying structures and forces producing them: name the system as it actually behaves before naming the fix.
What you can expect
Every 42 review makes its systemic reasoning explicit. We distinguish evidence from interpretation, identify the systems principles informing the analysis, and make the assumptions and boundaries underlying the diagnosis visible.
We do not claim to provide the answer. We provide a disciplined systemic perspective that can be tested, challenged and considered alongside political, economic and other forms of analysis.
How it works
It's a very simple and usually free process:
1. Bring us a problem.
Tell us about a public-policy or societal problem that would benefit from a different perspective.
2. We test whether 42 is appropriate.
42 works best on complex societal problems where the nature of the problem remains open to question – before a preferred solution has already been decided.
3. We diagnose it systemically.
We apply and cross-reference relevant systems laws, principles and ways of thinking, synthesising the findings into a systemic diagnosis. Where appropriate, we also identify potential interventions and consider their priority and sequencing.
4. You use the diagnosis.
The resulting analysis can inform policy development directly or be combined with political, economic and other perspectives.
5. Take it further if useful.
Where more hands-on support is required, SCiO's network of systems practitioners can support the design and implementation of interventions through a separate commercial engagement.
Fast, and usually free.
Steps 1–4 are normally provided without charge. Once we accept a problem, we aim to produce the initial systemic review within a week. This matters because many policy problems have developed over years but reach the policy agenda at a point when decision-makers need a credible diagnosis quickly.
Who it's for
- –Civil servants and policy teams working on systemic public service problems
- –Journalists and think tanks looking for grounded, non-partisan analysis
- –Commissioners, boards and public bodies weighing up a systems-led approach
- –Groups from civil society trying to influence policy
We welcome collaborations with think tanks tackling issues using other non-systemic approaches.