Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this workshop, we will take a walk-through of the Si Narrative building canvas to help you learn the basic structure for developing a coherent and compelling narrative for systems change.
Find the guide here: https://www.systemsinnovation.network/spaces/14660875/content
By the end of the ninety-minute session, you will have learnt a new framework for developing a story for your initiative that presents your position on the challenges, opportunities, and need for system transformation within your context.
Purpose
The stories we tell ourselves and each other shape how we understand the world, our place within it, and our ability to change it... or not. They have the power to build systems, sustain them, or bring them down entirely, as at the heart of most systems are the stories we have agreed to believe in. This is why working with narratives is key to systems innovation. However, constructing such a narrative can often seem overwhelming; for this, we have developed a template and facilitation process to help you get started, and in this session, we will show you how to use it to craft your own narrative.
What
During the session, we will be working on a Miro board using the Si Narrative building canvas to work through the following aspects of a narrative.
A complete story outline for systemic change is built upon five integrated steps: first, setting clear Objectives to define the desired audience response (what they should think, feel, or do); second, establishing the system's context through World Building, particularly how the rise of complexity has shaped the current environment; third, articulating the Challenges by highlighting the core conflict—how the existing linear, reductionist system fails to address this new complexity; fourth, outlining the necessary Transition by proposing systemic changes, often involving a shift to a holistic paradigm detailed across four dimensions; and finally, concluding with Envisioning, which vividly describes the future state of the system once these systemic changes are fully realized.
When/Where
This event is hosted by the Si London Hub and will take place online via the Zoom link found in the header of this page once you RSVP. For the workshop, we will be using Miro as an interactive whiteboard.
In this workshop, we will take a walk-through of the Si Narrative building canvas to help you learn the basic structure for developing a coherent and compelling narrative for systems change.
Find the guide here: https://www.systemsinnovation.network/spaces/14660875/content
By the end of the ninety-minute session, you will have learnt a new framework for developing a story for your initiative that presents your position on the challenges, opportunities, and need for system transformation within your context.
Purpose
The stories we tell ourselves and each other shape how we understand the world, our place within it, and our ability to change it... or not. They have the power to build systems, sustain them, or bring them down entirely, as at the heart of most systems are the stories we have agreed to believe in. This is why working with narratives is key to systems innovation. However, constructing such a narrative can often seem overwhelming; for this, we have developed a template and facilitation process to help you get started, and in this session, we will show you how to use it to craft your own narrative.
What
During the session, we will be working on a Miro board using the Si Narrative building canvas to work through the following aspects of a narrative.
A complete story outline for systemic change is built upon five integrated steps: first, setting clear Objectives to define the desired audience response (what they should think, feel, or do); second, establishing the system's context through World Building, particularly how the rise of complexity has shaped the current environment; third, articulating the Challenges by highlighting the core conflict—how the existing linear, reductionist system fails to address this new complexity; fourth, outlining the necessary Transition by proposing systemic changes, often involving a shift to a holistic paradigm detailed across four dimensions; and finally, concluding with Envisioning, which vividly describes the future state of the system once these systemic changes are fully realized.
When/Where
This event is hosted by the Si London Hub and will take place online via the Zoom link found in the header of this page once you RSVP. For the workshop, we will be using Miro as an interactive whiteboard.
