The opportunity in systems change
Originally published for Philanthropy News Issue 86 August 2022 by Dr. Sandy Harman and Intrapreneur – West Auckland, Fole Finau
Some people say, “the system is broken”.
They might be describing the health system, education system, philanthropic funding system, or some other important system that is essential or influential in our society.
But that system isn’t actually broken. It’s working exactly as it was designed to. All our fundamental social systems in Aotearoa today were created by a colonialist ‘design team’ to benefit and cater to the European settler majority. So, it’s not surprising that these systems continually harm, exclude and under-serve tangata whenua, Pasifika peoples, and other diverse population groups.
Much like our existing systems, the dominant lenses and voices leading out on systems change – as a field, methodology, model or practice – often do not come from the communities most adversely affected by the very systems we want to change.
And herein lies the opportunity in systems change today.
“Pasifika have our own systems, as do tangata whenua. None of our systems are perfect, but they were designed by us, for us.”
These systems have been overtly and covertly systematically oppressed by successive New Zealand governments for well over a century.
What happens when we choose to change the designer instead of the system? The design lens changes, and the design approach changes, which in turn transforms the system and its outcomes, impacts, and opportunities.
We should be focusing on changing the system designers – so that we end up with systems that actually work for us. We’re not talking about separatism; we’re talking about meaningful collaboration – where we design for and with our people, others design for and with their people, and we weave all our designs together fairly and thoughtfully into interconnected systems that genuinely reflect the complexity and diversity of people, cultures, situations, and aspirations. Wouldn’t that be a far cry from imposing a single design on absolutely everyone, which is what has enabled issues to become systemic in the first place?
We know that the philanthropic sector has the willingness and the resource to innovate; imagine if the sector invested in a collaborative journey to re-design systems? Where and how do you start? Philanthropy New Zealand have started this journey by formalising a relationship agreement with the Pasifika Funders’ Network, while also partnering with us to elevate what matters most to Pasifika in this month’s publication.
Fortunately, a few philanthropic organisations have also begun this journey – the Peter McKenzie Project (PMP) have partnered with Pasifika changemakers in Uptempo, Southern Initiative and Western Initiative on the Tere ki Mua research project, meaning “to move forward with intention” in Cook Islands Māori. This project has two broad objectives:
To build understanding, discussion and debate about what systems change looks like and what it takes from a Pasifika lens.
To assist PMP and the philanthropic sector to effectively build capability towards and resource Pasifika-led systems change in Aotearoa.
To other philanthropic organisations: will you collaborate with us on a meaningful journey to re-design systems – including your own?
By Fole Finau, Intrapreneur – The Western Initiative, with Dr Sandy Harman.