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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The Power to Shift a System
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System Innovation on Purpose
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Inverventions report
The Patterns of Possibility
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Initiative
System Innovation
Go to initiativeLatest releases on the same welfare topic

Podcast
Why Academic Performance Has Improved More Among Girls Than Boys
July 2025

Knowledge overview
High levels of trust in Denmark may have contributed to saving lives and billions in public spending during the COVID-19 pandemic
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Research report
A New Approach to Multidimensional Ordinal Welfare Measurement: Country and Urban Level Evidence
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Analysis
The national well-being surveys provide little meaningful insight into the well-being at individual schools
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