Building Better Systems
An introduction to System Innovation
This paper lays out a series of steps people can take to create the new systems we need to meet shared, public challenges. Systems are ubiquitous and powerful. We rely on them to support our daily lives: every time we turn on a tap, flick a switch for electricity, drop our child at school, jump on a bus or visit a doctor we rely on a wider system. There is a widespread sense, among decision makers and citizens that in the coming decades society will need not just new products, software and services, but new systems for living sustainably in a socially inclusive society. The need for better, different systems will be heightened by the impact and lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Related publications

Intervention Report
Resourcing Systems Innovation
GO TO INTERVENTIONS REPORT
Inverventions report
The Power to Shift a System
Go to Inverventions report
Inverventions report
System Innovation on Purpose
Go to Inverventions report
Inverventions report
The Patterns of Possibility
Go to Inverventions reportMore about the initiative

Initiative
System Innovation
Go to initiativeLatest releases on the same welfare topic

Video
Conference: Grade Disparities in Primary Education – Are Assessments Fair?
May 2025

Analysis
Changes in examination formats increase gender disparities in lower secondary school exams
May 2025

Analysis
Applying for Upper Secondary School under Uncertainty: The Impact of the New Reform
May 2025

Research report
The Impact of Extending Parental Leave on Mother’s Pension Savings
May 2025