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
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Inverventions report
The Power to Shift a System
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Inverventions report
System Innovation on Purpose
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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

Knowledge overview
Black market work is done by one in five Danes and costs the state billions
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Research report
Estimates of the Shadow Economy in Denmark
October 2025

Research report
Undeclared Work in Denmark 2021: Extent, Characteristics, and Lost Tax Revenue
October 2025

Comment
Researcher: The tender model has eroded the elderly’s right to choose private care
September 2025