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LEVERAGE POINTS in SYSTEMIC CHANGE, an EMPIRICAL EVALUATION of MEADOWS TAXONOMY John Vodonick, Ph.D 11464 Willow Valley Rd. Neva

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LEVERAGE POINTS in SYSTEMIC CHANGE, an EMPIRICAL EVALUATION of MEADOWS TAXONOMY John Vodonick, Ph.D 11464 Willow Valley Rd. Neva LEVERAGE POINTS IN SYSTEMIC CHANGE, AN EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF MEADOWS TAXONOMY John Vodonick, Ph.D 11464 Willow Valley Rd. Nevada City, CA. 95959 USA [email protected] ABSTRACT A system intervention is usually done with the view of changing some aspect of the system. That aspect might be the boundary of the system, the desired results of the system, the ability to apply a given set of metrics to the system or some other aspect. The nature of the intervention is always a matter of delicate selection. Systems practitioners eventually learn that certain leverage points exist in all systems that can be used to initiate change in the system and thus avoid the frustrating effort of attempting to ‘muscle” the system into a state of change. Of course the understanding of the existence of leverage points is really just the surface of the problem; the crux of the thing is the identification of the various leverage points in the system and the attempt to have some understanding of the possible unintended consequences of an intervention of that system through the adjustment of the identified leverage points. Meadows developed taxonomy of systemic intervention points in 1999. Those intervention points are arranged from the one with the smallest overall effect such as changing constants, parameters and numbers (such as subsidies, taxes, standards)to that having the most dramatic effect upon the system; changing the ability to transcend paradigms. As of 2012 this taxonomy had not been subject to empirical validation. During a two year period three different cohousing communities were studied for the purpose of exploring the dynamic of the ethical change. The data collected was analyzed and various themes were developed. Pivotal ethical moments were identified and the leverage point in each change was distinguished and inspected for the effects of its applicati This paper discusses systemic leverage points from the perspective of a larger study of ethical change within three cohousing communities that were studied over a two year period. Its purpose is to discover if Meadows taxonomy can be empirically validated as a useful tool to design a process of system intervention to achieve the greatest possible effect, or alternatively the least possible effect upon the system. The communities that were studied were all located in the Northern California area of the United States and were selected through the process of snowball sampling as were the participants in the study. Data was collected though semi structured interviews and the personal observations of the researcher as well as an analysis of the public presentation of the various communities through their websites. The data that was collected was coded using Atlas.ti and themes developed from that data, in part focusing upon Meadows model. Leverage Points in Systemic Change This paper is divided into an exposition of the various research sites and major pivotal moments within the sites. Those pivotal moments are then examined from the viewpoint of Meadows’ twelve leverage points to determine if the data supports that model. Conclusions from the examination are drawn and suggestions for further research are made on. Keywords: Intervention, Intervention Points, Leverage, Leverage points, Change, Ethics, Systems, Meadows INTRODUCTION A system intervention is usually done with the view of changing some aspect of the system. That aspect might be the boundary of the system, the desired results of the system, the ability to apply a given set of metrics to the system or some other aspect. The nature of the intervention is always a matter of delicate selection. Systems practitioners eventually learn that certain leverage points exist in all systems that can be used to initiate change in the system and thus avoid the frustrating effort of attempting to ‘muscle” the system into a state of change. Of course the understanding of the existence of leverage points is really just the surface of the problem; the crux of the thing is the identification of the various leverage points in the system and the attempt to have some understanding of the possible unintended consequences of an intervention of that system through the adjustment of the identified leverage points. (Senge, 2008) There have been various attempts to identity leverage points within specific systems (Grzywacz & Fuqua, Hijorth & Bagheri, Proctor, Booth, et al. To date there has been only one attempt to develop an overarching taxonomy of systems leverage points that can be used in theory and practice as an analytic tool to identify the leverage points in all systems and more importantly to understand the effects (anticipated and emergent) of those leverage points. An attempt to design taxonomy of Systemic Leverage points was made by Meadows ((2008). Donalla Meadows is primarily remembered as the co-author of two works, the Limits of Growth, Meadows, et al. (1974) and Beyond the Limits: Confronting Global Collapse, Envisioning a Sustainable Future, Meadows, et al. (1992). Unfortunately she was unable to develop her project of leverage points completely due to her early death. Since Meadows early work other systems researchers have explored the field of Systems leverage points but there has been no comprehensive attempt to develop a taxonomy that can be tested or applied in practice. A recent study of ethical change in small communities has been an opportunity to empirically test Meadows taxonomy of leverage points and to identify consequences of interventions in those leverage points that were clearly unintended, Vodonick (2014). During 2012 and 2013 three different cohousing communities were studied for the purpose of exploring the dynamics of ethical change in those communities. This study was based upon mixed methods and consisted of the personal observations of the 2 Leverage Points in Systemic Change researcher, semi structured interviews of community members and an analysis of the public presentation of the various communities through their specific websites. This paper discusses systemic leverage points from the perspective of a larger study of ethical change within three cohousing communities that were studied over a two year period. Its purpose is to discover if Meadows taxonomy can be empirically validated as a useful tool to design a process of system intervention to achieve the greatest possible effect, or alternatively the least possible effect upon the system. The communities that were studied were all located in the Northern California area of the United States and were selected through the process of snowball sampling as were the participants in the study. Data was collected though semi structured interviews and the personal observations of the researcher as well as an analysis of the public presentation of the various communities through their websites. The data that was collected was coded using Atlas.ti and themes developed from that data, in part focusing upon Meadows model. This paper is divided into an exposition of the various research sites and major pivotal moments within the sites. Those pivotal moments are then examined from the viewpoint of Meadows’ twelve leverage points to determine if the data supports that model. Conclusions from the examination are drawn and suggestions for further research are made. The research sites. The communities that were studied are all located in Northern California and are cohousing communities. As Durett and McCamantt (1987) explain, cohousing is a movement that originated in Denmark, a movement of people who intentionally create neighborhoods where many of the resources are shared, and that community decisions come about through a process of building consensus. The primary purpose of establishing and living in a cohousing community is the creation of a sustainable and supportive community. For purposes of the study I have given fictitious (but not particularly inventive) names to the three communities: Alpha, Beta and Gamma. Alpha Community. Alpha community is located in Northern California in a town that has a population that is slightly more than fifty thousand people. Although there are numerous small businesses located in the area surrounding Alpha the largest employer is a college that has a large number of people living on campus. The town that Alpha is located in is progressive and environmentally minded. Forty percent of the residents of Alpha are graduate students at the local college and rent from owners of the homes that make up Alpha community. Alpha began as a housing cooperative in a neighborhood that consists of typical late 1950, three bedroom, two bathroom homes that became a cohousing community in 1986; from one dwelling Alpha has expanded to 19 houses through the process of buying adjoining structures (and two houses across a street) as they became available. This type of cohousing community is generally called a “retrofit” community inasmuch as it has been modified to fit the cohousing model. 3 Leverage Points in Systemic Change Beta Community. Beta community is located in a metropolitan area of Northern California in a town with a public college. The local population exceeds 100 thousand and again is politically progressive. Beta began as a group of friends with a common leftist and emancipatory background, most of the members of Beta community are politically activist and participated in Central American solidarity movements. The group that eventually became Beta organized and began scouting for a site approximately six years before the Beta site was purchased and has been in existence for twelve years. Gamma Community. Gamma community is located on the outskirts of a metropolitan area in a city of a little more than 30,000 population. There is a community college located in the city and an instructor at that college was instrumental in launching Gamma. A cohousing organizing group formed in 1997, and in 1999 the site for Gamma was located. Gamma is a community built originally as a cohousing site. After the site was purchased 32 units were constructed including a new common house facility including with dining room, sitting room, kids room, teen room, guest rooms, laundry room, crafts room, swimming pool, hot tub, organic garden, workshop, and bike shed.
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