Step 4: Solutioning and Roadmapping

Where This Fits

This is the fourth step of the SiD five-step method (Goals and Indicators, System Mapping, System Understanding, Solutioning and Roadmapping, Evaluate and Iterate). You have set your destination, mapped the territory, and developed an intuitive feel for the system. Now you find the actions that can get you where you want to go, and assemble them into a plan.

This step has two parts. First, scan for solutions: the ingredients for the meal. Then, create the roadmap: the recipe. Developing solutions and making the roadmap are usually done in different method cycles.

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Solution Approaches at Three Levels

SiD organizes solution approaches using the SNO hierarchy (System, Network, Object). This chapter covers:

• 2.4.1 System solutioning approaches
• 2.4.2 Network solutioning approaches
• 2.4.3 Object solutioning approaches
• 2.4.4 Roadmapping

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2.4.1 System Solutioning Approaches

System-level solutions change the entire playing field. Some build upward from objects to systemic understanding. Others use network theory to achieve top-down systemic effects. In practice, you often combine bits of several approaches to fit your project's specific requirements.

Block Transition Strategy

When a socio-economic system is not in a sustainable state and we want to move it toward sustainability, the block strategy offers a fast, accessible method. It requires little prior experience to apply successfully.

The metaphor: Imagine a group of blocks on a table, connected by rubber bands. The blocks represent agents in the system. The rubber bands are the network connections that tie society together. The blocks differ in size and weight. We want them to move toward a sustainable state, which is somewhere else on the table.

Four steps to scan for transition actions:

1. Determine the agents. Map the stakeholders. Understand who the blocks are, what their goals are, and how they are connected.

2. Create awareness. Awareness creates the desire and knowledge for agents to move. It develops internal "change energy." Some agents may already be aware. Giving unaware agents this change energy creates willingness. Prioritize key actors who can influence the system. As more key agents become aware, the focus shifts from awareness to alignment.

3. Align goals. Ensure agents pull in the same direction. If blocks pull in opposing directions, they nullify each other's energy. Goal alignment can be achieved through stakeholder sessions or the creation of shared standards (the UN SDGs, for example). This is also an opportunity to build a community of agents around the goal.

4. Enable action. When agents are aware and goals are aligned, but the system still is not moving fast enough, use enabling actions:

• Pull: Let aware actors attract others. Financial incentives, trade deals, marketing benefits, other "carrots."
• Push: Apply pressure. Regulation, fines, confrontation, other "sticks."
• Lubricate: Reduce friction. Provide best-practice examples showing that movement is possible and attractive. Create tools that help agents calculate why it is in their interest to move. Set up guidelines that save people time and effort.
• Tilt the table: Change the entire playing field. This is the most effective way to achieve fast transition, but it can be disruptive. Systemic actions include changing international laws or breakthrough innovation. Care is needed to prevent blocks from overshooting or colliding.

Putting it together: Identify which actors can exert influence. List what each can do. Align them for a combination of push, pull, and lubrication. Find systemic actions where possible. When you have your set of actions, you have the "ingredients." The roadmap (later in this chapter) is the "recipe" that tells you how much of each ingredient to add, at what time, in what way.

Before/After Solution Maps

These maps are the "before" and "after" pictures of a weight loss program, applied to systems. Take a map of the existing situation. Then make a map of the desired state. With both in hand, you can see the benefits clearly, identify what is needed to get from current to future state, and trace each step into the roadmap. Plotting stakeholders on these maps reveals which parties contribute to which transition process.

For example, when making an area energy-self-sufficient, mapping the current energy system may not reveal how to achieve this. But drawing the "ideal" energy system raises clear questions: Which components of the existing system transition into which components of the new system? In what order, to maintain safe operation? Which party is responsible for each part? Answering these questions generates core solutions and a roadmap. Making multiple maps to test different scenarios is recommended.

Largest-Factor Approach

To reduce complexity and gain prioritization, identify the largest factors. Ask two questions:

1. Which factor or element contributes most to the overall negative or positive performance of the system?
2. Which actors or aspects have the most potential to change the system's state?

These "largest factors" can be objects or relationships. Use an ELSI-8 sweep to inventory actors and relationships. Use a network scan to find network-level levers. Experiment to see what works best before committing to a thorough process.

Internalizing External Resources

Resources flowing into the system from outside may improve autonomy if internalized and made renewable. If energy, materials, or water is sourced externally, investigate whether it can be generated within the system.

Re-Visioning

This thought exercise examines the validity of the goal in systemic context. Is the goal really the best use of available resources and abilities?

• If a factory makes trinkets but excels at detailed objects, could it have greater system-level impact making medical equipment needed locally?
• If a policy is poorly conceived, would removing an existing law create more room for the desired development than adding a new one?
• If the goal includes a physical object (a building, a product), could you achieve greater effect through something non-physical?

Answering these questions may lead to re-evaluating the goal entirely, achieving larger positive impact with less investment.

Training the System

This approach is for practitioners well-versed in system dynamics. The challenge: find system behaviors that can "boost" transition toward the intended goal. Requirements: a clear picture of the "before" and "after" state. Questions to explore:

• What levers engage systemic behavior?
• What beneficial system dynamics do those levers activate?
• How can the process be accelerated?
• What parties are involved in making this succeed?
• What motivates those parties to participate?
• What secondary system behaviors should be anticipated?

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2.4.2 Network Solutioning Approaches

For network-related questions (transportation, energy, communications, organizational structure), a network resilience analysis can show how to make the network more efficient while strengthening it. This analysis may reveal bottlenecks in information or resource flow that can be improved through new understanding of the network.

Optimizing Network Parameters

Given the SiD network parameters (Connectivity, Redundancy, Awareness, Flexibility, Transparency, Complexity, Centrality, Diversity, and others), solutions are often found by reviewing each parameter and attempting to optimize it.

For each parameter, ask specific questions:

• "Where are the main nodes? Can the system be made more decentralized?"
• "What does transparency mean in this network? Where are the improvement points?"

Relate findings to system indicators to see whether any network-level actions improve RAH (Resilience, Autonomy, Harmony). For a company, assess autonomy through material flow analysis. See what happens if a supply chain is cut, whether in primary resources (electricity, materials) or cultural resources (staff, motivation, legal conditions). Find which lines affect autonomy or resilience most, and use these to prioritize actions.

In organizational contexts, this often leads to re-evaluating the entire organizational structure. The results: gains in efficiency and productivity, lower resource use, increased employee happiness, and improved working conditions.

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2.4.3 Object Solutioning Approaches

Gap Finding and Closing Loops

Find gaps in the system (missing connections between objects) and connect them to create closed loops. This increases autonomy while saving resources.

Examples: connecting waste heat from one location to where heat is needed elsewhere. Making waste from one factory useful in another. Sometimes it makes sense to reroute an existing connection rather than create a new one. Sometimes the largest benefits come from changing the physical layout of a system. Re-organizing departments can reduce transportation, increase connectivity, and minimize resource use.

Object Culling

Which elements are superfluous or can be combined? Which are detrimental to the system? Which are highly valued? Remove the detrimental. Replace them with beneficial ones where necessary. Make more space for what is valued.

Systemic Embedded Design and Biomimicry

When a new object must enter the system, work from a system perspective to develop a solution strongly embedded within society. Use SiD tools and system dynamics guidelines as departure points. See where in the system you can have the most positive effect with your object.

Back-casting is a common approach here: project the ideal situation (perhaps by making "before" and "after" system maps), then figure out step by step how to get there over time. Biomimicry guidelines, which learn from and connect with natural systems, are also useful. Both are covered in the SiD tools section.

Always Dematerialize

When developing solutions, remember: we do not need to introduce more objects to reach a sustainable state. In most cases, a non-material solution exists.

If you are working on an object as a given, consider what it replaces. Is the systemic effect strong? Or is the improvement marginal? If marginal, is there a danger of the rebound effect or other system behaviors making the effort futile? If so, reconsider. Find a solution that works at the network or system level instead.

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2.4.4 Roadmapping

Once you have one or more solutions (or a central solution strategy), it is time to make a roadmap: the plan that leads to implementation and success. Without it, even great solutions may never be realized.

In many cases, the solution is the roadmap, for example when performing a sustainability improvement trajectory with a company. In other cases, where stakeholders determine success, the roadmap is the central binding document that helps stakeholders align, agree, and support the trajectory over time.

Roadmapping happens after several rounds of the method. It is a phase of convergence: not for developing new ideas, but for selecting, eliminating, mapping, and planning them in time.

A roadmap consists of two parts:

• Long-term trajectory (5 to 50 years)
• Short-term action plan (3 months to 3 years)

This dual structure helps focus effort, divide tasks concretely, set responsibilities, and establish meaningful milestones.

Planning Flexibility

Because we cannot predict the future over large time spans, roadmaps need to be flexible. Map near-term actions firmly. Map further-out actions more globally. Program a review and update cycle into the action plan.

Ten Steps Toward a Roadmap

Even for a complex challenge, a first-pass roadmap can be done in a few hours. The ten steps:

1. Draw the global timeline. Start at today, end at 100% success. Mark years or months in between. If you draw the timeline in the middle of the paper, use the top section for performance goals and milestones, and the bottom for required actions.

2. Place the end-goal. Setting the 100% success point is the single most important performance factor. If the goal from Step 1 includes a time frame, use it. If not, make this a priority in the next goal-setting cycle.

3. Review end-goal ambition. Reflect with the group. Is the timeline realistic? Do you want to lead or follow? The time frame is the single most impactful decision. "Making the entire world run on renewable energy" sounds ambitious. Set the goal in 2150, nobody is impressed. Set it in 2050, and it ruffles feathers. A goal without a deadline is a dream.

4. Map solutions on the timeline. Gather solutions from previous iterations. Write them on post-its and place them on the timeline where appropriate. This is a great group exercise.

5. Cluster and arrange in channels. Group solutions by similarity, for example along ELSI-8 lines. Eliminate duplicates and unwanted outliers. For projects with many small items, replace clusters with overarching "channel" solutions. A single roadmap can nest many projects under it.

6. Identify and solve missing steps. Order clustered solutions in time. Review for missing critical steps: design work, investor recruitment, stakeholder sessions, preparation activities. Add governance channels for universal tasks: management and funding, data management, reporting and communications, guidelines and training.

7. Identify transition phases. For each solution channel, identify the transition type: start, stop, change, or replace. Cluster these types. Ensure the governance channels support each cluster. For large projects, consider assigning different teams to different transition types. Managing a "change" process is fundamentally different from managing a "start" or "stop" process.

8. Identify responsible parties. Without assigning responsibility, nothing happens. Identify which party owns each channel or solution. For large stakeholder processes, this can take multiple sessions to resolve party lines, responsibilities, and legal issues. Establish a governance structure for reporting.

9. Set milestones and reporting intervals. Determine how often the project evaluates and commits to milestones. For large projects spanning decades, align milestones with existing management cycles of involved organizations (fiscal years, annual meetings). Performance milestones can curve difficulty: easier targets at the beginning, harder ones later, allowing an ease-in.

10. Make an action plan and evaluate. The roadmap is finished. Create a short-term action plan to kick it off: process and document the roadmap, secure final stakeholder approval, launch communications, initiate management actions. End the action plan with a gathering of all relevant stakeholders to evaluate progress and set the next action plan. Then organize a kickoff event. And kick it off.

The action plan should focus on unambiguous, concrete, transparent actions that each player can execute independently. It typically spans a few months to a few years.

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Takeaway

Solutioning in SiD works at three levels simultaneously: system, network, and object. The most powerful solutions change the playing field (system level). The most practical solutions close gaps and create loops (object level). The roadmap is what turns solutions into reality. Without it, ideas remain ideas. Set a deadline. Assign responsibilities. Start moving.

Next: Chapter 2.5 takes you into Step 5, Evaluate and Iterate, where you check whether the journey is heading in the right direction.