As an alternative to learning inside the walls of a classroom, the Systems Outings series are an opportunity to see Systemic Designs — both functional and dysfunctional — in the wild.
What are the aims of the Systems Outings series?
Our world immerses us in systems, both natural and manmade. Some systems are considered well-designed, while others are perceived as lacking. Different people experience their contexts in different ways. Venues outside of the classroom may provide opportunities for reflections and conversations on the design of systems.
Systems Outings are informal, non-linear occasions for extended learning. In a relaxed style, individuals are invited to join small groups for mutual appreciation and criticism of places, spaces, and occasions in the intermingling of ordered and/or random designs. Commitments to the event are loose. Attend if you enjoy them. Depart if they don’t suit you.
Who are the hosts of Systems Outings?
Continuity in the series is maintained willing leaders in the Systemic Design Community, in cooperation with the sLab at OCAD University. Founded in 2008, the sLab aspires to be a hub for a community of professionals and researchers sharing an interest in furthering their knowledge in systemic design. Activity in organizing events is by volunteers associated through the systemic design community. The Outings are supported through the social capital of OCAD University graduates, and their extended networks in professional and personal webs.
Each event may be cohosted with a partner group or organization. The November 2025 event benefits through the extension of the “Space for Grief” installation developed by The Method Collective. This immersive environment is under construction for the Good Mourning Festival at the Evergreen Brickworks, with major activities on November 1-2. With the installation maintained in place until November 11, a window of opportunity for a System Outing is open.
Systems Outings might be organized monthly or bimonthly, depending on the interests and access provided by event organizers. These are intended as voluntary, non-profit learning activities that rely on the generosity of individuals within the social network.
Who are the participants of Systems Outings?
As an educational opportunity, anyone who self-identifies as a learner with an interest in systemic design is welcomed. An emphasis in design may attract undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni of design programs at OCAD University, and similar institutions of higher learning. Individuals with an interest in systems thinking cross those interested in reaching over disciplinary boundaries in the sciences, arts, and humanities.
Practically, the venues may have physical space constraints, so that waiting lists may be necessary to manage groups to a manageable size.
Which topics / venues are of interest for Systems Outings?
The Systems Outing for Space for Grief was scheduled opportunistically.
The organizing committee (yet to be filled) can set criteria for assessment, or situationally decide on topics and venues.
Which roles are involved in Systems Outings?
Lead organizer: Confirms topics and venues. Formally announces events.
- For Nov. 2025: David Ing
Facilitators: Plan program. Greet attendees. Guide program.
- For Nov. 2025: Ziyan Hossain, Fran Rawlings, Calla Lee
Researchers: Encourage academic rigour. Suggest scholarly approach.
- For Nov. 2025: Gary S. Metcalf
Attendees: Open registration. Free or nominal fee (e.g. $1)
- Target OCADU alumni (especially SFI), current students (graduate and undergraduate), local scholarly community (Systems Thinking Ontario)
How might we approach Systems Outings?
A (Con)textural Appreciative Learning method is suggested (Ing and Davies, 2025).
Recontextualizing: Open Systems Thinking reconfirms the framing of the primary system of interest. A multiple perspectives inquiring system is designed to sweep in shifts in influences, both anticipated and unanticipated. A recontextualizing phase aims to revisit the framing of the system of interest, and respond to both anticipated and unanticipated shifts in other influences.
Discerning: Reality judgments concern what is or is not the case, ranging from basic cause-and-effect beliefs to more subtle and complex “facts”. The “state of the system” is judged on “facts” both through internal consistency and external validity. Discerning judges the first of three settings in an appreciative system.
Optioning: Policy making and execution may choose from a variety of features, solutions and/or time frames non-exclusively. Considering priorities involves weighed options, resulting in selection(s) or deselection(s). Prioritizing one option above another reflects human values in preferences, and faith that one combination of satisfactions can be enacted and governed. The definition of the relevant norm, or complex of norms, is a product of the appreciation. Optioning judges the second setting in an appreciative system.
Adapting: The feasibility of “getting things done” involves balancing the variety of interests across multiple value systems. Know-how and know-when are expressed through expertise in gaining realistic appraisals of risks and limitations, integrating as solutions, and prioritizing to respond to needs in the present, while not self-defeating in a longer term. This is a phase where willful action and/or patience for natural unfolding processes are exhibited. Adapting judges the third setting in an appreciative system.
Retrospecting: Reflecting, in an action learning cycle, normally occurs after the effects of decision can be observed. For a Systems Outing, anticipating that a retrospective phase might occur, two questions could be asked. (1) For evaluating, what results would be captured to assess the consequences of adaptive action? (2) For learning, what procedures are to be put into place, so that findings can be discussed?
References
Ing, David, and Stephen Davies. “Refreshing a Curriculum in Systems Thinking and Social Systems Designing for Learners in a Graduate Program.” Paper presented at 21st National & International Conference, Tripoli, Greece. Hellenic Society of Systemic Studies, University of Peleponnese, Department of Management Science and Technology, October 9, 2025. https://confe.hsss.eu/program-and-abstracts/. Cached at https://coevolving.com/commons/2025-10-09-refreshing-curriculum