Participatory Future - Ben Redhead

The Comfort of the Dial: Why Numbers Describe a System but Rarely Move It - Thinking in Systems - Part 11

It is the language our political and business elite run on. It is also the bottom rung of Meadows’ ladder. This issues explores the lessons to be…

Oct 21 • Ben Redhead

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September 2026

More River Than Reservoir: The Buffers a Participatory System Needs - Thinking in Systems - Part 10

Buffers don't change a system. They decide whether there is a system left to change.

Sep 23 • Ben Redhead

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August 2026

Rearranging the Furniture - The Physical Infrastructure of Participation - Thinking in Systems - Part 9

We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us. This issue is about who gets to move the chairs.

Aug 19 • Ben Redhead

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July 2026

Slow Compared to What: The Length of Delays - Thinking in Systems - Part 8

Using Donella Meadowns Systems Change framework to chart a course to a future built on participation

Jul 22 • Ben Redhead

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Negative Feedback Loops and the Problem with Thermostats - Thinking in Systems - Part 7

Over the cold winter months, I was feeling quite chuffed with my new heat pump thermostat.

Jul 15 • Ben Redhead

The Power of Positive Feedback Loops - Thinking in Systems - Part 6

At 57 and recently retired, Sue assumed time spent meeting and making decisions had come to the end...

Jul 15 • Ben Redhead

Who Sees What: Information Flows and Why They Matter - Thinking in Systems - Part 5

We’re about halfway down the seesaw.

Jul 15 • Ben Redhead

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The Small Print of Deciding Together - Thinking in Systems - Part 4

After a whistle-stop tour to align the intangibles towards a future built around participation. We now gonna look into the rules

Jul 15 • Ben Redhead

The Power to Change the Systems Structure - Thinking in Systems - Part 3

So far, we’ve established that the most effective ways to change a system is to shift the mental models it is built on, then reset goals that define it…

Jul 15 • Ben Redhead

Naming the Goal for a System Built on Deciding Together - Thinking in Systems - Part 2

So far in this attempt to map out a systems view on the possibility of a participatory future.

Jul 15 • Ben Redhead

The Predominant Paradigms in the way of a Participatory Future - Thinking in Systems - Part 1

In my last newsletter, I imagined what a participatory future could look like. The response was galvanising. It sharpened my own curiosity about what…

Jul 15 • Ben Redhead

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What a Participatory Future Could Look Like - An Exercise In Imagination - Part 0

This newsletter isn’t about one idea.

Jul 15 • Ben Redhead

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