Systems Thinking and Transdisciplinarity

Designing regenerative regional living systems – enabling a circular bioeconomy of wellbeing in the Thames Estuary (REGENYSYS), 2024–present
The REGENYSYS project, funded by Economic and Social Research Council uses a systems thinking approach to bring together leading experts in circular bioeconomy, ecosystems and ecosystem service provision, to build the capacity for a circular bioeconomy of wellbeing in the Thames Estuary.

Advancing Environmental Neutrality through Strategic Policy Dialogue and Systems Thinking Interface, 2024 
Funded by the Bartlett Policy Support Fund, the Advancing Environmental Neutrality through Strategic Policy Dialogues and Systems Thinking Interface project examines current perspectives on neutrality policies through a systems-thinking and modelling approach. Achieving environmental neutrality depends on the impacts of human activities on the system, and strategies for mitigation or offsetting these impacts. This project includes a review of how systems thinking is currently adopted and reported in UK policies, as well as the development of a system dynamics model-based interface to facilitate dialogues around environmental neutrality.

Policy and Implementation for Climate and Health Equity (PAICE) 2023–present
PAICE will inform and evaluate UK Net Zero policies using transdisciplinary approaches to generate and implement evidence. Climate change mitigation policy must consider population health and health equity alongside reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and would benefit from an integrated, intersectoral approach. 

Construction Products Systems Thinking (COPSYM), 2023–24
After the Grenfell tragedy, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) were tasked with the regulation of construction products. Based on a rich amount of interviews with diverse stakeholders and an in-depth review of the literature, the COPSYM project develops systems maps (causal loop diagrams) of important perspectives on construction products to support OPSS in their task.

A just transition towards housing sustainability, 2022–24
The goal of A just transition towards housing sustainability is to identify the system structures that hinder or support the provision of healthy and sustainable housing for all, and codesign strategies accordingly. The project focuses specifically on the regeneration of social housing estates in England and London. Within this setting, it uses participatory system dynamics to elicit three kinds of knowledge (i.e. systems, target, and transformation knowledge), together with a plurality of stakeholders across the social housing sector (residents, local authorities, housing associations, architects, consultants, activists, GPs, academics). 

Virtual decision rooms for water neutral urban planning (VENTURA), 2021–24
In VENTURA, the combination of participatory system dynamics with GIS-based modelling in a virtual decision room enhances practical decision-making by offering an easily accessible interface. This integration facilitates a holistic understanding of specific policy issues and broader governance challenges. 

Climate Resilience of Care Setting (ClimaCare), 2019–24
The NERC-funded ClimaCare project, starting with a pilot in five London care homes, expanded nationally to assess climate-related heat risks in care settings. It incorporated environmental monitoring and modelling techniques and co-created a systems-thinking model with multidisciplinary stakeholders to inform organisational structures and best practices for equitable adaptation to rising heat stress. A new initiative is underway to extend this research to a wider range of UK care facilities, including extra-care housing.

Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH), 2018–24 
CUSSH is a Wellcome Trust funded project aimed at delivering key global research on the systems that connect urban development and population health, working with thirteen partner organisations across four continents to help cities develop in ways which improve population health and environmental sustainability.

Community Water Management for a Liveable London (CAMELLIA), 2018–24
CAMELLIA brings together innovative science with communities and stakeholders in London to promote sustainable water management and a better environment as the city grows.

The Evaluation Exchange, 2017–present
The Evaluation Exchange is a partnership between UCL and the voluntary and community sector that aims to improve evaluation practice. It brings together organisations and teams wanting to improve their capacity to evaluate their work, with postgraduate students and researchers who want to use their research skills in a real-life setting. The programme breaks down barriers to accessing different evidence and builds evaluation and research skills that work in the real world.

Co-creating Systems Thinking in Policy for Sustainability (CoSTiPoS), 2022–23
There is great interest in systems thinking in government departments at the moment. The CoSTiPoS project analyses the barriers to systems thinking, what works and what else is needed to help civil servants apply systems thinking.

Connection between community garden and residents’ mental health, 2022
Funded by UCL Grand Challenges, the Connection between community garden and residents' mental health research project seeks to deepen our understanding of the role urban greenspaces - particularly community gardens - play in enhancing residents' mental health and wellbeing. By collaborating with local stakeholders, the project aims to inform urban planning strategies that prioritise mental health and contribute to the creation of sustainable, resilient urban environments. This research aims to provide evidence-based recommendations for the strategic design and distribution of community gardens, fostering urban environments that promote both ecological health and long-term human wellbeing.

The Total Performance of Low Carbon Buildings in China and the UK (TOP), 2016–18
Successfully meeting carbon emission reduction targets will require a major shift in building performance. The TOP project aims to understand and improve the 'total performance' of buildings in the UK and China.

Integrated decision-making about Housing, Energy and Wellbeing (HEW), 2013–16
The HEW project came from the EPSRC grants, and investigates integrated decision making about housing, energy and well-being, and supports policy making decisions about housing.

Complex Built Environment Systems (CBES) Platform Grants, 2007–22
The Complex Built Environment Systems group (CBES) at UCL came from the EPSRC grants. The first grant (Complex Built Environment Systems) recognised the complexity and systemic nature of the built environment, the second one (Unintended Consequences of Decarbonising the Built Environment,) understood that unintended consequences emerge from this complexity, and the third one (Built Environment Systems Thinking) introduced systems thinking as a way forward to address the complexity and unintended consequences.