Applying Systems Thinking to Wicked Water Problems : An Accelerated Introduction for Researchers

Increasingly at the center of many complex problems facing citizens, localities, states, and nations, water is the focus of research across many disciplines. Water issues are at the nexus of the economy, society, politics, the environment, public health, and other sectors. This level of complexity and the multiple perspectives involved makes water problems highly suited for systems thinking analysis. Yet the systems thinking field is characterized by great diversity in approaches, theories, and methods, which can be daunting and dissuade newcomers and non-experts. ThinkWater is a USDA-funded program that uses advances in systems thinking training to increase understanding about water issues. The program specifically targets primary and higher education, research, and Extension and outreach. ThinkWater conducted a case study using brief training in the underlying rules of systems thinking to see whether and how it enhanced the ongoing work of a cohort of advanced water researchers. The researchers came from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds, yet all reported benefit from their short exposure. Multiple participants reported a newfound appreciation that scientific models are approximations of reality as well as increased capacity to identify and articulate the perspectives implicit in disciplinary approaches. The researchers also appreciated systems thinking as a mechanism for incorporating societal factors into natural science models, identifying the broader relevance of their work, and for sharing their research with those outside their discipline and academia.