Making Sense & Making Change: Social Innovation in Complex Systems

Discover practical ways to work with complexity using social innovation and systems thinking.

Across sectors, we’re all facing the challenge of rising needs and shrinking resources. This seminar invites us to step back and explore approaches that help us navigate complexity — noticing patterns, making sense together, and taking small, purposeful steps that add up over time.

As the second event in our Winter Seminar Series, this session explores the ideas behind social innovation and systems thinking and connects them to today’s realities. It offers an opportunity for both new and returning colleagues to reflect on why we work this way, what it can look like in practice, and how learning our way forward can support better outcomes.

Together we’ll consider:

• What we mean by working with complexity
• Simple ways to see the system: mapping patterns, relationships and leverage points
• How social innovation and systems thinking can complement current practice
• What this means for our work, partnerships, and shared impact

This session is for anyone interested in navigating complex challenges — whether you work in the public sector, the third sector, or your local community.

Dr Katharine McGowan is an Associate Professor in Social Innovation at Mount Royal University's Bissett School of Business, on the Blackfoot Confederacy’s traditional territories, who include the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, as well the Tsuu T'ina and the Stoney Nakoda First Nations, and the Metis Nation of Alberta. Since 1877, this land has fallen under Treaty 7. Her research focuses on social innovation, complexity, systems change, particularly through history, which has included resiliency and the Black Death, unjust transitions and the Luddites, to name a few. She works with students and community partners exploring systems change, working towards a more inclusive, more resilient Canada.

Event details

This free seminar is part of the Living Well Seminar Series, organised by the Communities Working Together branch of the Living Well Partnership. Our hope is to bring inspirational international speakers to spark ideas and inspire colleagues from across Argyll and Bute to explore key concepts shaping health, wellbeing, and community practice.