Systems Transformation Hub
Bringing systems thinking and acting to European policymaking
Together with Climate-KIC, Club of Rome, Systemiq, and World Resources Institute (WRI), Metabolic launched the Systems Transformation Hub (STH) to bring systems thinking to European policymaking. Bringing relevant actors together, the Hub aims to address gaps, offer strategic problem-solving, and build system-change capacity with EU policymakers.
- Partners: Climate-KIC, Club of Rome, Systemiq, World Resources Institute (WRI)
- Date: January 2024
Systemic policies for a thriving Europe
In 2019, the European Commission launched the European Green Deal, an ambitious plan to make the European Union climate-neutral by 2050.
Although progress has been made, challenges persist due to a lack of application of a systems perspective in the implementation, which manifests in a disconnection in how policies interact and affect one another.
This happens because policies are interconnected, for example: agriculture policies can influence housing policies, as certain farming practices may limit or increase construction in specific areas due to EU biodiversity regulations. This misalignment creates policy gaps and hinders efforts to meet social needs within planetary boundaries.
Transforming Systems: Five Impact Spaces Driving EU Solutions for a Sustainable Future
To address the challenges discussed above, the Systems Transformation Hub has different “spaces of impact” that aim to address part of the challenge.
The five spaces of impact are:
- The Sanctuary, envisioning and creating knowledge to address identified gaps for systems approach policymaking.
- The Situation Room, providing rapid-response intelligence and advice, to support short-term decision-making, on urgent and complex issues.
- The Community Garden, convening multi-stakeholder dialogues to dissect the obstacles and “super wicked problems” preventing change within our current systems and creating buy-in for solutions.
- The Sandbox, experimenting systems approaches in policy making, to demonstrate if such ideas are feasible.
- The Kitchen, coordinating the partnership and partners’ EU activities, to amplify the impact and reach of each individual organization.
Developing policy orientations for the next European Commission
Launched in January 2024, the Systems Transformation Hub provides strategic and systematic guidance, supporting European institutions and Member States in policy analysis, development, policy learning, and agile decision support.
Before the 2024 EU Parliament elections, the hub published its first policy brief analyzing the EU parties’ programs and introducing its methodology.
For an overview of the published policy briefs go to the Systems Transformation Hub website. The link to the website can be found below.
- Check out more details on the website of the Systems Transformation Hub
- Here you can find the press release of the launch of STH
