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Group Model Building and Community-Based System Dynamics Process

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Community Based System Dynamics

Abstract

This chapter provides a general overview of group model building and key aspects that are used in community-based system dynamics, including the importance of teamwork, the use of scripts, and the role of boundary objects. The chapter then provides a brief overview of the three stages of community-based system dynamics projects including problem scoping and problem identification, core modeling team planning and capacity building, and facilitation of the actual group model building workshop.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Some use the term qualitative instead of causal map to distinguish a non-simulation from a simulation model.

  2. 2.

    We found it beneficial to call out the observer role explicitly as a way to define expectations about their role during the session.

  3. 3.

    Annaliese Calhoun coined the term “Scriptapedia” in early design conversations with Timothy Hower, George P. Richardson, David Andersen, and myself. This work was partially supported by the Center for Violence and Injury Prevention at Washington University in St. Louis through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Grant Number 1R49CE001510).

  4. 4.

    Jim Deering helped me see the connection between scripts in group model building and patterns in a pattern language, although George Richardson objects to this characterization because it detracts from recognizing the choreography of group model building.

  5. 5.

    This was a point that Bobby Milstein identified during a demonstration group model building session as part of the 2012 Institute on Systems Science and Health at Washington University in St. Louis.

  6. 6.

    Making group model building practice evidence based is a challenging problem as most workshops and interventions are customized for the client and situation, and some if not a significant component of the process depends on facilitation (Vennix 1996). Methodologically, evaluating this entails separating specific from nonspecific treatment effects (Lohr et al. 2003), and the first step in this is to first identify what the contribution is of the specific treatment effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Peter S. Hovmand

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  1. Peter S. Hovmand
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Hovmand, P.S. (2014). Group Model Building and Community-Based System Dynamics Process. In: Community Based System Dynamics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8763-0_2

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