How do we find our way and take meaningful action in a world that feels increasingly uncertain and complex?
This practical, participatory training from the renowned Cynefin Company draws from complexity science and specific frameworks developed by Dave Snowden to help you work more effectively on the ground, in the moment, with intractable problems.
Complexity science has a lot to teach us about interconnected, dynamic, uncertain environments and the questions that have no single answers. It also recognises the importance of our connections, identities, beliefs, attitudes, hopes, fears and dreams. There is nothing “soft” about these aspects. We ignore them at our own risk.
In this training, we look at how we make sense of the world in order to act in it. Story and narrative will be at the core of the exploration, both as a way of understanding and sense-making and as an activator of creative imaginations that take us beyond what we see around us; also in relation to the "more-than-human" realms.
This kind of sense-making necessarily includes practice and action, so in our sessions, we will look at our doing-in-the-world as part of being in the world, remembering that in a complex system, no agent is without importance.
Each workshop session is designed to be participative and applied. Anna and Ellie will provide a framework for exploration, inviting your contributions, examples, and questions to shape the conversation.
Session outlines
Session 1: Story, Micro-narrative and grand narrative
We will cover some of the principles behind what narratives are, what narratives do, and how we use them, both deliberately and without even realising it. Our method focus will be on story collection, and story connection.
Session 2: Story as sense-making
Building on last session’s’ foundations’, we will explore narrative structure as a way we make sense of the world around us, and how to deliberately introduce play to increase our capacity to scan for possibilities in the present moment.
Session 3: Narrative-informed Action
Sense-making is making sense of the world so we can act in it, and in this session we will move on to questions of when, where, and how we can act. Our focus will include a framework that helps us identify such opportunities in shifting and dynamic environments.
Session 4: Sharing the Story
Our final session’s focus will be on communication, and cover key concepts that ask what we can learn from these processes, with the awareness that storytelling is a process of long apprenticeship.
Who will benefit from this training?
This training is for practitioners, facilitators, educators, and change-makers who want to work more effectively in complexity, whether your focus is climate, community, leadership, or organisational transformation
Participants will leave with:
A richer understanding of how “narrative” functions in everyday life and professional practice, as well as the scientific and ethical components of stories and storytelling
Deeper confidence in using story for sense-making, communication, and change and how to move between the practical, the theoretical, and the ethical
An introduction to the Estuarine Mapping method and how it combines metaphor and complexity in a framework that allows you to discover your action possibilities in the present, while setting a course towards the future.
Practical, step-by-step methods from complexity science that you can apply as a practitioner and facilitator in organizational contexts, such as: Anecdote Circles and Future Backwards,
Tools to move fluidly between theory, practice, and ethics in complex situations
A certificate of completion
About Cynefin Co.
The Cynefin Co, was founded by Dave Snowden in 2005. It is an action research and development hub working at the limits of applied complexity science. We specialise in bringing practical methods to specialist theory, supporting practitioners, organisations, governments and academic institutions across the world to navigate complexity and make sense of intractable issues.
Facilitators
Eleanor Snowden
Eleanor Snowden is a Senior Research Consultant at The Cynefin Company, specialising in health and care. With a background in medical anthropology, she uses narrative, SenseMaker®, and complex facilitation to explore patient journeys, workforce experience, and leadership.
Anna Panagiotou
Anna is a Senior Research Consultant at The Cynefin Company. She has been a part of the Cynefin Centre since the beginning of 2020, bringing a perspective informed by materiality, archaeology, and her academic background to the theory and practice of complexity. Anna is involved in several programmes, including Climate Change and Education, and she is also particularly active in the area of Health.
Dates & Time
5th February
12th February
19th February
5th March
Time: 2 - 4 PM GMT (check your local timezone)
Pricing
The Centre for Climate Psychology is grateful for the partnership with the Cynefin Co, which allows us to offer this course at a special rate to our network.
Maximum participants limited to 35
Early bird (order before January 16th) : £450,-
General Admission after 16th January: £550,-
We have a limited number of subsidised places available for those who cannot otherwise afford it. Please contact us.