Systems change can be a somewhat abstract concept making it difficult for people to grasp coherently. One way to overcome this is by exploring examples of what it looks like in practice.

In this short course, we unpack four examples of systems change within a diversity of areas. We start the course by giving an outline of the key aspects of systems change, that is to say, what makes one type of change systemic and another not - before going on to illustrate how different aspects of these principles are revealed in the four examples.

The first example will look at how Glasgow city managed to reframe its whole thinking and approach to violent crime. The result being a transformation in outcomes - shifting the city from one of Europe's most dangerous cities to a European Capital of Culture.

The second example is taken from Mexico City. This time looking at how they managed to overcome a crisis in their traditional water system to build a new decentralized system that worked to empowered people in marginalized communities to create and manage their own water system.

Thirdly we take the example of education and Escuela Nueva who managed to transform the quality of small, rural, public primary schools by putting children at the center of the learning process and placing teachers in the new role of facilitator.

Fourthly we look at the example of the "15-minute city" which aims to change the structure of cities to dissolve many of the issues created by a car-centric fractured model - and in so doing change the structure of the system to realise the emergence of very different outcomes.

This course will be of value to anyone looking to get a more coherent understanding of what systems change looks like in practice and better understand key principles of systems change.

We recommend that you have a basic understanding of the ideas and methods of systems change before taking this course, if not you might consider taking our introduction to systems change course firstly.