Wicked Problems

Traditional scientific policy approaches and tools are increasingly seen as inadequate, or even counter-productive, for many purposes. In response to these shortcomings, a new wave of approaches has emerged based on the idea that societal systems are irreducibly complex. The new categories that are thereby introducedlike "complex" or "wicked"suffer, however, by a lack of shared understanding. We here aim to reduce this confusion by developing a meta-ontological map of types of systems that have the potential to "overwhelm us": characteristic types of problems, attributions of function, manners of design and governance, and generating and maintaining processes and phenomena. This permits us, in a new way, to outline an inner anatomy of the motley collection of system types that we tend to call "complex". Wicked problems here emerge as the product of an ontologically distinct and describable type of system that blends dynamical and organizational complexity. The framework is intended to provide systematic metatheoretical support for approaching complexity and wickedness in policy and design. We also points to a potential causal connection between innovation and wickedness as a basis for further theoretical improvement.

In many countries trying to build a deep geological repository for safely storing nuclear waste, different actors involved in the search process struggle over finding a common problem definition. The difficulty in this is that the complexity of the problem is often not acknowledged in nuclear waste governance. Rather, it often only deals with technical aspects, leaving out socially relevant questions. This results in an on-going social conflict over how to best handle nuclear waste. Some countries have tried to calm down the social conflict by integrating the public in decision-making processes to different degrees. In this article, it will be argued that with the introduction of deliberative elements into the decision-making processes on nuclear waste management, actors that were excluded from those processes before could now be included. This could lead to a move from decision-making by government to governance and thus to improved conflict resolution. Using Germany and Switzerland as cases in this cross-country comparison, already implemented deliberative elements will be analysed regarding their integration in traditional decision-making structures and their effects on those structures, respectively. It can be shown that even though both countries make very different use of deliberative elements, both only experience a very slight move away from traditional decision-making by government.

"Abstract
A plethora of institutional forms has emerged whose remit is to link climate change science topolicy-making. These can be understood as boundary organisations where science and politics meet and intertwine. This article examines the role of boundary organisations in the production and social status of climate change knowledge. A multi-level conceptual model is outlined which demonstrates how context is crucial to understanding the operation and impact of boundary organisations. The framework is applied to analyse climate governance boundary arrangements at the international
level and a number of national contexts. In the framing years of the global climate change issue, IPPC and other (inter)national boundary organisations were set up for addressing a (moderately) structured problem, instead of geared to an as yet full-blown wicked problem. IPPC was in fact designed as ‘certification machine’ and ‘scientific trigger’ to depoliticize a multilateral international agreement and its supposedly smooth implementation. Boundary arrangements at national levels
showed cognitive and institutional isomorphic responses; the highly instrumental nature of boundary arrangements, organisations and projects stands out. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that ‘one size fits all’ policy instruments such as Kyoto may not be the best mechanism for
dealing with climate change. We therefore end with a call for boundary work in climate change governance to provide pluralized strategic advice, conceptual clarification, and critical
deconstruction of issues of uncertainty and normativity. In order to open up debate again it should be more problem- than solution-orientation and influence different agendas in different parts of the world."

Purpose-This paper has two parts. The purpose of part 1 explains the need for an adaptive paradigm that can efficaciously respond to the complex issues in wicked problems and the fundamentals that this requires were identified. It involved the formulation of a cross-disciplinary relational methodologically plural paradigm with certain properties. The purpose in this Part 2 is to provide a theoretical framework. It adopts autonomous agency theory in which paradigm holders collectively act as "living system" agencies and deliver "living stories" to create coherence in addressing wicked problem issues, and then adopts hybrid structures to address this need. Design/methodology/approach-The approach seeks to address wicked problem issues. Wicked problems do not respect academic disciplines, requiring a cross-disciplinary approach. Autonomous agency theory is adopted capable of structuring cross-disciplinary inquiry processes and formulating a hybrid inquiry paradigm. The paper sets up a narrative that delivers a structured essay resulting in a general theory of hybrid inquiry. This paradigm is explored in detail, considering how it can be applied to wicked problems. Findings-The paradigm, which traditionally defines a field of study conceptualises and regulates approaches that enable inquiry into behavioural systems. Mono-disciplinary, they are not suitable for the resolution of issues that arise from cross-disciplinary wicked problems. To resolve this, a relational paradigm has been defined within which sits a cross-disciplinary hybrid inquiry system. A general theory of hybrid inquiry has been offered, with an appropriate illustration in ecosystem management. It is shown that agency theory can successfully embrace a relational paradigm. Research limitations/implications-To determine the limitations of this theory, there is a need to provide exemplars, which is currently premature. Another outcome is to centre on modes of practice in hybrid inquiry but there is insufficient space for this here. Originality/value-This paper makes an original contribution by formulating a structured approach on the creation of a relational paradigm capable of supporting hybrid inquiry. It also adopts cross-disciplinary theory to make its case for a relational paradigm, recognising that wicked problems are cross-disciplinary. As part of the regulatory process it connects Rittel's issue-based information system (IBIS) schema intended to resolve wicked problems issues and the Johari Window and explains how they would relate. A means is suggested for determining the degree of undecidability of wicked problems issues and hence that of the models that inquiry produces. This uses formative characteristics that define a modelling space. The paper also adopts Husserl's concept or lifeworld, which acts as a channel for complex narrative theory through which regulative processes are enabled.

The authors present a new conceptualization of mega sports event legacy delivery, which accounts for the problematic nature of legacy by viewing it as a wicked problem. Research on mega sports event legacy has focused on establishing typologies of legacy, investigating outcomes, and consequences, with limited attention to legacy delivery. The conceptuali-zation of legacy delivery has largely relied on a positive, utopian legacy rhetoric. In contrast, the authors advance the understanding of legacy by proposing a conceptual approach of the legacy delivery process, to enable empirical studies in different contexts to be conducted. Specifically, the authors examine the wicked problem of mega sports event legacy delivery from a Critical Realist perspective, which serves to give meaning and order to this complex process. This conceptualization reveals that legacy delivery is inclusive of deep social structures which underpin different stakeholders' interpretations and interactions, which produce or limit legacy delivery. The role of social, generative structures as causal mechanisms has not been considered as a way to understand legacy delivery previously. Implications for teaching, research, and practice are discussed to demonstrate the value of this new approach. Importantly, this conceptualization focuses on processes rather than outcomes and encourages the identification of unexpected or unanticipated components of legacy delivery beyond the formal policies and plans designed to create or leverage legacy.

The term ‘wicked problems’ is today widely used in the sustainability literature, but there is no consensus on its theoretical underpinnings or its utility for research. This paper reports on a mapping review of the wicked problems literature for which we analyzed a sample of 55 papers regarding 1. whether and how the term ‘wicked problems’ is used as a theoretical concept, 2. what meanings are associated with the concept, 3. what epistemological assumptions are stated, and 4. what rhetorical functions the concept performs. The results indicate that the
concept is not always consistently applied as a theoretical concept; that authors ascribe many different meanings to the concept; that authors use diverse epistemological assumptions that are not always made explicit; and that the concept performs a wide range of rhetorical functions. The results provide a vocabulary that enables sustainability researchers to more clearly position their work in the dispersed wicked problems literature.

The emerging complex challenges confronting public administration (PA) leaders are used as reasons for rethinking the quality of PA education throughout the world. However, it is not clear what PA scholars mean when they use the word 'challenge' when rethinking the curricula of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) programmes globally. The questions this study set to answer were: what are the defining characteristics of the concept corresponding to those objects referred to as 'challenges' for MPA graduates to meet, and what are their implications for MPA curriculum standards? In an effort to answer these questions, a concept analysis of the concept 'challenge' within the context of PA and MPA curricula was done. For this purpose, three scholarly journals, as well as three operational documents, were purposefully selected for qualitative content analysis. The concept analysis showed that 'challenge' within the context of the MPA curriculum is characterised by being a PA task, its wickedness, and the required capabilities for public sector managers to undertake that task. The study found that due to the inherent wickedness of challenges, MPA curricula have to instil a capability in graduates for independent and autonomous thinking amidst a diversity of perspectives and settings.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the uptake of digital health worldwide and highlighted many benefits of these innovations. However, it also stressed the magnitude of inequalities regarding accessing digital health. Using a scoping review, this article explores the potential benefits of digital technologies for the global population, with particular reference to people living with disabilities, using the autism community as a case study. We ultimately explore policies in Sweden, Australia, Canada, Estonia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to learn how policies can lay an inclusive foundation for digital health systems. We conclude that digital health ecosystems should be designed with health equity at the forefront to avoid deepening existing health inequalities. We call for a more sophisticated understanding of digital health literacy to better assess the readiness to adopt digital health innovations. Finally, people living with disabilities should be positioned at the center of digital health policy and innovations to ensure they are not left behind.

This paper argues that, while universities have a crucial role to play in social innovation by democratizing knowledge, fulfilling that role in the Global South requires them to partner with civil society actors such as NGOs. With their history of working with the socially disadvantaged, NGOs have a unique role in clarifying the nature of demand since social innovation must often address ill-formulated “wicked problems”. Similarly, NGOs can fill the “institutional voids” which limit socioeconomic transactions in the Global South. The paper discusses the wicked nature of visual-impairment, which is both widely prevalent and has biopsychosocial attributes i.e., the functional limitations are reinforced by the psychological perceptions of the blind and visually impaired (BVI), and the sociological stigma of impairment. The empirical setting is India where policies for the BVI population are being formulated within a broader framework of social inclusion. The paper investigates how the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIITB) has taken advantage of state policies to embrace an academic mandate which includes social innovation. Specifically, it explores IIITB’s incubation of the NGO Vision Empower, and the partnership that has followed, to overcome the neglect of the BVI in science and mathematics education.

Unmanaged recreation presents a challenge to both researchers and managers of outdoor recreation in the United States because it is shrouded in uncertainty resulting from disagreement over the definition of the problem, the strategies for resolving the problem, and the outcomes of management. Incomplete knowledge about recreation visitors' values and relationships with one another, other stakeholders, and the land further complicate the problem. Uncertainty and social complexity make the unmanaged recreation issue a wicked problem. We describe the wickedness inherent in unmanaged recreation and some of the implications of wickedness for addressing the problem for the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Conclusions about the nature of the problem are based on a problem appraisal that included a literature review and interviews of key informants. Addressing wickedness calls for institutional changes that allow for and reward the use of trust building, inclusive communication, and genuinely collaborative processes.

Unlearning is drawing attention in sustainability research. Unlearning old beliefs and assumptions is needed 14 to tackle wicked problems and to make space for learning. We introduce a framework for examining the 15 potential of unlearning as a group process for transformational change. We integrate conceptual elements of 16 unlearning with framing research and analyze 1) factors that facilitate unlearning, 2) the moments of doubt 17 where unlearning and reframing takes place and 3) how unlearning can be operationalized in the analysis of 18 discussion material. We demonstrate the framework by using a conflict situation – the conservation of 19 Siberian flying squirrels in the Tampere urban region in Finland – as a case study where the participating 20 actors had to unlearn dominant beliefs and assumptions to make space for a more strategic, comprehensive 21 and proactive approach to collaborative conservation. A predictive habitat model of the regional flying 22 squirrel population helped the process, but the decisive support for unlearning was a facilitated dialogue 23 process with diverse assignments. The framework is tailored to experimental group processes by which 24 innovative unlearning and reframing can be initiated and supported for organizational and 25 interorganizational change. 26 27

Policymakers across myriad jurisdictions are grappling with the challenge of complex policy problems. Multi-faceted, complex, and seemingly intractable, 'wicked' problems have exhausted the repertoire of the standard policy approaches. In response, governments are increasingly looking for new options, and one approach that has gained significant scholarly interest, along with increasing attention from practitioners, is 'place-based' solutions. This paper surveys conceptual aspects of this approach. It describes practices in comparable jurisdictions – the UK, the EU and the US. And it explores efforts over the past decade to 'localise' Indigenous services. It sketches the governance challenge in migrating from top-down or principal-agent arrangements towards place-based practice. The paper concludes that many of the building blocks for this shift already exist but that these need to be reoriented around 'learning'. Funding and other administrative protocols may also ultimately need to be redefined. Summary at a glance This paper considers the international application of place-based approaches in order to assess their potential to meet policy challenges in Australian settings. It examines how such approaches have been conceptualised in other jurisdictions, and the challenge in migrating these to contextualised, yet accountable, governance regimes in local Australian contexts.

This paper examines policy responses in higher education in the months of March and April 2020 during the rapid unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose is to map responses and compare levels of coordination between three actors-the Canadian federal government, the Ontario provincial government, and Ontario's publicly funded colleges and universities-and to consider the policy implications of these initial responses for higher education's future recovery from the pandemic. Conceptualizing COVID-19 as both a wicked problem and, in the Canadian context, a complex intergovernmental problem, the paper draws on over 200 data points from public announcements made by these three actors. It uses an emergency management framework to present a chronological comparison of actors' actions during the response and mitigation phases focusing on four areas: academic mobility, teaching and learning, research initiatives , and student support. Actions to support higher education were largely dispersed and uncoordinated in the two key months of March and April 2020. Colleges and universities were proactive in restricting academic mobility, adapting teaching and learning, and providing student support. There was some alignment with the federal government's responses, although federal announcements focused more on research initiatives and, latterly, student support. The Ontario government did not appear to play a significant role in shaping the initial higher education responses to the pandemic. Despite the disconnect between responses, we argue that all three actors will play an equally critical role in the future recovery and necessary rethinking of the functions and purpose of higher education.

Fresh water and arable land are essential for agricultural production and food processing. However, managing conflicting demands over water and land can be challenging for business leaders, environmentalists and other stakeholders. This paper characterizes these challenges as wicked problems. Wicked problems are ill-formed, fuzzy, and messy, because they involve many clients and decisions makers with conflicting values. They are also not solvable, but rather must be managed. How can agribusiness leaders effectively manage wicked problems, especially if they have little practice in doing so? This paper argues that a Community of Practice (CoP) and its tripartite elements of domain, community and practice can be effective in helping businesses manage wicked problems by focusing on the positive links between environmental stewardship and economic performance. Empirically, the paper examines three agribusinesses to assess the extent in which CoP is used as a strategy for sustainable water management.

In a time of increasing globalisation and urbanisation, shrinking peripheral rural areas have become a truly wicked planning problem in many European countries. Although a problem can be easily perceived and measured by various indicators, the precise definition of the problem is problematic. Based on the case of a Danish planning process which was carried out in collaboration with a charitable trust, this paper discusses an emerging strategic planning approach at the municipal level. We use the concept of wicked problems, strategic planning theory and Actor-Network-Theory to study a collaborative, place-based and project-oriented process directed at concrete physical outcomes. We frame strategic planning as a translation process where the interaction between human and non-human actors translates a unique, complex and contested situation into an innovated situation. We find that local physical projects played a major role in this process. First, they acted as a vehicle that assembled planners, politicians and stakeholders to work towards strategic visions across multiple scales. Second and consequently, they stimulated considerable second and third order effects in the form of shared problem-understandings, increased social capital, and follow-up projects initiated beyond the actual planning process. We conclude that local physical projects, when conceived in a collaborative and strategic manner, can contribute to sustainable adaptation to rural shrinkage.

Geocapabilities developed during team project-based fieldwork add value to Tourism Geography service modules in professional Tourism and Hospitality Management curricula. This article is based on a case-study in Turkish Higher Education. Here, variations on the Prisoner’s Dilemma were used to confront learners with some ‘wicked problems’ they may face in their professional careers. Comments on their decision processes are compared with those in individual reflective essays. Responses to the Prisoner’s Dilemma exercises demonstrate optimism and idealism toward: team cooperation, prioritising sustainability, and investing in people. Reflective essay comments were less optimistic and more coloured by personal experience. Evaluation returns suggest most found these decision-making games helpful in clarifying personal priorities, concerns and values. This heightened self-awareness may be key to helping them to tackle the wicked problems they will face in their future careers.

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Tobacco use is a persistent social issue worldwide. The World Health Organization has found that policy change and regulation are the clearest paths to resolution. In Indonesia, where smoking is increasingly common, tobacco control has become a wicked problem, plagued by conflicting stakeholder interests, public mistrust of science and government, and the lack of a clear path to a nationally applicable approach. At the local level, however, social change can take many forms, and involve diverse communities, individual citizens, businesses, NGOs, and multiple levels of government in dynamic stakeholder configurations. By treating tobacco in Indonesia as a wicked problem, and taking an iterative, collaborative approach to resolution, we demonstrate how locally-organized, youth-focused anti-tobacco campaigns are less about finding a single solution to tobacco use and more about identifying, connecting, and supporting local stakeholders working together towards preferred futures. We argue for the inclusion of locally-focused design research programs when rethinking complex issues such as tobacco control in places where national regulation is failing.

This paper reports on the development of a cross-domain framework for describing complex design practices. The framework is grounded in studies of two different complex design fields: Synthetic Biology and Swarm Robotics. In the first study, we interviewed practitioners in Synthetic Biology, identifying three essential aspects of complex design problems and practices. The first of these aspects is the characterisation of system complexity, the second is the design objective taken with respect to this complexity, and the third is the design approach applied to realise this objective. In the second study, we interviewed designers in Swarm Robotics, confirming the domain generality of the three aspects identified in the first study and permitting a comparison to be made of how the two fields differ from each other in these aspects. Considered together, the two studies provide the basis for building a cross-domain framework for describing complex design practices. Such a framework is presented here, not to exhaust all possible descriptions of complex design practice but rather to provide a structured yet adaptable way of highlighting the important aspects of these descriptions. Indeed, each aspect of complex design can be can be broken down into different elements depending on the design contexts under consideration. Having such a framework enables designers to identify fundamental similarities and differences both between and within fields.

Over the past few years, competencies for sustainable development have received a lot of attention in the literature. In this article, we explore the meaning of normative competence and action competence, two rather new and unfamiliar moral competencies in business. Our hypothesis is that virtue ethics can help in answering the question of how these moral competencies are related to each other, because there is no moral standard or universal norm with regard to sustainable development. In our view, deontology and consequentialism are unsuitable approaches because of the wickedness of sustainability problems. After discussing the genesis of competencies in general and competencies for sustainable development in the business environment in particular, we focus on the ethical dimensions of both normative and action competence. Finally, we discuss modern virtue ethics and the ability of a virtue ethics perspective to synthesize these two moral competencies into one virtuous competence for sustainable development.

The methods of complex systems research are increasingly being used and valued by international development organisations. These approaches enable a shift away from existing tools and business processes that reinforce a focus on static, simple and linear problems. The evidence is that these methods can help development partners better navigate the complex, dynamic realities they face on a day-to-day basis. This Working Paper summarises the findings of a series of small-scale pilots of selected complex systems methods in DFID’s wealth creation work. The pilots contributed to improved analysis and understanding of a range of wicked problems, and generated tangible findings that were directly utilised in corporate and programmatic decisions. They played a significant role in the design of two large programmes, and provided the evidence base for a root and branch review of DFID processes. The Working Paper concludes that there are considerable opportunities for doing more programming using these methods, with real potential for enhancing development decision-making in the face of wicked problems.

Sociologists and futurists have come to see that 'fabrications' of the future as entirely open to being remade in the present have become more difficult to sustain in a complex and contingent world. Rather, new and more nuanced conceptualizations of the future are required. To contribute to that task, I draw inspiration from Rittel and Webber's 1973 paper in which they analyze social problems as 'wicked problems' to explore how sociologists have found the future to be difficult and tricky, both conceptually and empirically and have sought to overcome those difficulties through various analytical strategies. I discuss the onto-epistemological status of the future in sociology, tracing major shifts in theorizing of the future and suggest that what makes the future so wicked – so difficult and pernicious-is that it is an 'entanglement of matter and meaning'. In doing so, I draw on insights from STS (science and technology studies) and other fields of inquiry to propose a new conceptual language in which to do the sociology of the future. Funding statement: I received no funding in support of the work reported on in this paper.

A B S T R A C T Marine spatial planning (MSP) is the leading tool for managing human activities at sea. It is designed to assist in decision making for marine resource access and use by considering the actions of those using the resources, interactions between these groups, and their cumulative impact on the natural environment. Being informed by ecosystem based management, MSP recognises that socio-natural systems are complex and that stakeholder and public input are key components of well-informed decision making. Therefore, MSP is rooted in the principles of good governance, including those of participation and transparency. This paper considers MSP processes in Scotland's inshore waters in the context of these good governance principles. The focus is on the institutional arrangements that allow stakeholders and the public to contribute to planning Scotland's seas and coasts. Whilst acknowledging the significant challenges faced by planners, and the work conducted so far, this research suggests that improvements could be made in how – and when – engagement takes place. It appears that at an early stage of introducing MSP in Scotland powerful stakeholders shaped the images, values and principles that guide it, and that including a broader range of actors early on might positively affect the legitimacy and acceptance of MSP in its later stages. The current institutional arrangements do not appear to allow for this. Ultimately, MSP in Scotland is in danger of institutionalising – and thus legitimising – existing power relations between marine resource users, and it does little to level the playing field.

Italian New Public Management (NPM) has been mainly characterized by a political orientation toward power decentralization to local governments and privatization of public companies. Nowadays, local utilities in Italy are often run by joint stock companies controlled by public agencies such as Regional and Municipal Administrations. Due to this transformation, these companies must comply with a set of diverse expectations coming from a wide range of stakeholders, related to their financial, competitive and social performance. Such fragmented governance increases the presence of “wicked” problems in the decision-making sphere of these entities. Given this multi-level governance structure, how do these agents influence public services performance? In recent years, coordination and inter-institutional joint action have been identified as possible approaches for dealing with governance fragmentation and wicked problems deriving from it. How can we adapt a performance management perspective in order to help us reform the system and so have a better collaboration between the stakeholders involved? In order to address and discuss these research questions, a case study will be developed. The case concerns AMAT, the local utility providing the public transportation service in the Municipality of Palermo (Italy). The result of this study is a dynamic model including a set of performance indicators that help us in understanding the impact of the governing structure on the system’s performance.

Management of “wicked problems”, messy real-world problems that defy resolution, requires thinkers who can transcend disciplinary boundaries, work collaboratively, and handle complexity and obstacles. This paper explores how educators can train undergraduates in these skills through applied community-based research, using the example of an interdisciplinary research program at Clark University in Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA. Participating students strengthened their abilities to handle setbacks in the research process, improved communication and teamwork skills, and gained familiarity with interdisciplinary investigation. Programmatic elements that could transfer well to other settings include studying local human–environment problems, working in multigenerational, small groups, and using multiple
methodologies.

While governments, intergovernmental organizations, non-profits, corporations are all aware that disruptions through pandemics and other natural bio-disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic can happen, barely are we proactive about them. Instead, we are always reactive. In a virtual Town Hall meeting of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) held on 9 April 2020, on the theme ‘How is the pandemic a game-changer for HRD?,’ the President of AHRD, Laura Bierema, challenged HRD scholars to determine the possible futures of HRD scholarship post-COVID-19 Pandemic. This article proposes the use of the Strategic Flexibility Framework (SFF) to determine the possible futures of HRD post-COVID-19 pandemic. I first discuss the SFF as a scenario planning and analysis tool. I then developed four scenarios of possible futures for HRD Research and Practice post-COVID-19 pandemic. These scenarios include the ‘Meaning of work,’ ‘Leadership,’ ‘Contactless Commerce & Education,’ and ‘Volunteerism.’ I conclude by discussing the important opportunities that can serve as intervention points for post-COVID-19 HRD theory, research, and practice.

The purpose of this research was to explore how principals in eight high-functioning elementary schools in one American school district balanced teacher supervision and evaluation in their role as an instructional leader. Using the theoretical framework of 'wicked problems', to unpack the circular used to problematize teacher supervision and evaluation, the findings analyse how elementary principals in these eight buildings acknowledge the tensions and conflicts between supervision and evaluation, specifically as they relate to improving teacher instruction. Specifically, the results of this study highlight not only the differences between supervision and evaluation, but also the intersection between the two functions, as well as how high-performing elementary school principals serve as an instructional coach rather than a manager of teachers. While the two functions of supervision and evaluation are inherently different, it is the acknowledgement of the intersection between the two functions that can allow building principals to progress as instructional coaches who can better develop human resources and create higher-functioning school systems. Overall, this study points toward the importance of elementary principals having the instructional leadership skills to differentiate supervision and professional development need for teachers, which in turn influences the evaluation of a teacher is in her/his respective career.

Wicked problems, métodos, embalagem, design Este artigo propõe uma análise dos métodos de design de embalagem que abordam o design da informação sob a ótica dos Wicked Problems (WPs) e propõe uma reflexão para o design da informação e da comunicação nas embalagens de produtos em geral. Os WPs podem ser conceituados como problemas de alta complexidade, de difícil definição, delineamento e resolução, que demandam diferentes profissionais e ações para que possam ser solucionados e, muitas vezes, as soluções encontradas podem ser díspares e abertas pois dependem de muitas questões sociais, culturais e humanas que envolvem o contexto em que esses problemas são gerados. O estudo apresenta uma pesquisa qualitativa e teórica, como fundamentação se utiliza da revisão bibliográfica narrativa e da escolha intencional e não probabilística de métodos de design de embalagem. Como resultados obteve-se reflexões acerca do design da comunicação e da informação presente nos métodos de design de embalagem e sua ampliação possível quando analisados como Wicked Problems. Wicked problems, methods, packaging, design This article proposes an analysis of the packaging design methods that approach the information design from the point of the view of the Wicked Problems (WPs) and proposes a reflection for the design of information in the packaging of products in general. WPs can be conceptualized as problems of high complexity, difficult to define, delineation and resolution, which require different professionals and actions so that they can be solved and often the solutions found may be disparate and open because they depend on many social, cultural and human contexts that involve the context in which these problems are generated. The study presents a qualitative and theoretical research, as a foundation is used of the bibliographic narrative review and the intentional and non-probabilistic choice of packaging design methods. As results we obtained reflections about the communication design and information present in the packaging design methods and their possible magnification when analyzed as Wicked Problems. 1 Introdução As embalagens fazem parte do dia a dia da sociedade e atuam como uma proteção para os produtos contribuindo para o seu armazenamento e transporte. As embalagens realizam, também, a comunicação entre os produtos e os consumidores, sendo uma forma de exposição, informação, propaganda e identidade visual dos produtos. Elas assumiram para si o propósito de vender o produto ao consumidor final e intermediar esse processo. É por meio dessa interface/embalagem que o consumidor acessa, conhece e se informa sobre o produto (Mestriner, 2002 e 2005). Por assumir essas diversas funções o processo de design das embalagens se tornou complexo o que fez com que seus métodos de confecção abordassem cada vez mais questões de diversos âmbitos do conhecimento. Isso ampliou suas possibilidades e fez com que sua programação visual se tornasse ampla e complicada. Conforme Pereira e Silva (2011) a embalagem adquiriu a função de venda dos produtos quando adentrou em grandes mercados e se tornou o principal meio de comunicação entre o consumidor e o produto. A função de chamar a atenção do consumidor no ponto de venda mudou a perspectiva da embalagem e os conceitos que guiavam o seu design gráfico.

Many of the most pressing sustainability issues are not purely technical problems. To work for sustainable development (SD) requires addressing wicked sustainability problems (WSPs), such as climate change, poverty, and resource scarcity. Previous research has shown that addressing WSPs is challenging for engineering students. In particular, students may feel overwhelmed by a WSP if they lack appropriate tools for dealing with the complexity, uncertainty, and value conflicts that are present in the situation. In this paper, we aim to investigate whether systems thinking competence (ST) can provide such a tool in engineering education for sustainable development (EESD). For this purpose, we elaborate on previous descriptions of WSPs, and draw on (E)ESD literature about ST to discuss different approaches to ST and their usefulness for addressing WSPs. We conclude that ST indeed can be valuable for addressing WSPs, but that it is necessary to be clear about how ST is defined. We suggest that mainstream approaches to ST in engineering education (EngE) are not sufficient for addressing WSPs.

Ethics education lies at the center of the curriculum design, food production, and market decision making at the Student Organic Farm (sof) at Michigan State University. Students learn an ethic of care for and about animals, the farm ecosystem, and their food community. We recently began to explore the possibilities of integrating the present ethic of care with a participatory ethics education designed to help students participate in deliberative processes and work effectively with others with different values under conditions that are physically, emotionally, and intellectually grueling.This paper offers a humanities approach to experiential moral education aimed at preparing students to navigate values conflicts and challenging sustainability issues. At the heart of our approach is a blended care-based and character education pedagogy reflective of the kinds of character traits one might need to effectively engage these kinds of circumstances, what we refer to as participatory character (Ferkany and Whyte 2011). While our experiences and argumentation are rooted in the fields of the Student Organic Farm, the same ideas are relevant for any field-based natural resources or environmental learning where values-driven decision making, community participation, and environmental citizenship matter.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consolidate the range of issues relevant to owner occupiers who age in place and to offer an initial overview of how effective partnerships can respond to and meet the changing needs of housing, health and social care of our ageing population.

Design/methodology/approach
Issues affecting older people's changing needs are considered holistically and considered in terms of how partnerships can be enhanced to develop improved services in the future.

Findings
Most owners wish to stay in their own homes for as long as possible and it can be cost-effective to do so; however, we need to look at new and innovative ways of developing and providing front-line services to enhance health and safety in the home, but also quality of life and wellbeing such as combating loneliness and isolation. However, although there are examples of evidence-based good practice, service provision is variable and there is a risk that many older home owners may miss out on services for which they may are eligible. With this in mind, it may be helpful to develop a new framework where one key practitioner holds responsibility to consolidate and coordinate the range of local services available as a package that offers a range of housing, health and social care services.

Originality/value
There are currently many policy and practice gaps in older owner occupier's housing conditions and suitability to meet their changing needs. This paper has a particular starting point in housing, and how other personal or technological services can help support independence for as long as possible and adapt to the owner-occupier's changing health and social care needs as they age in place. The authors emphasise the importance of sharing evidence-based good practice partnerships.

Technological innovation is key to enable future space exploration missions. Technology development, however, is not only driven by performance and resource considerations, but also by a broad range of directly or loosely interconnected factors. These include, among others, strategy, policy and politics at various levels, tactics and programmat-ics, interactions between stakeholders, resource requirements, performance goals from component to system level, mission infusion targets, portfolio execution and tracking, and technology push or mission pull. Furthermore, these influences occur on varying timescales and at diverse geographic locations. Such a complex and interconnected system could impede space technology innovation in the government environment. Hence, understanding the process through the Planning, Programming, Budget and Execution cycle could benefit strategic thinking, planning and execution. Insights could be gained through suitable models, for example assessing the key drivers against the framework of Wicked Problems. This paper discusses space technology innovation and innovation barriers in the government environment through the characteristics of Wicked Problems; that is, they do not have right or wrong solutions, only improved outcomes that can be reached through authoritative, competitive, or collaborative means. We will also augment the Wicked Problems model to account for the temporally and spatially coupled, and cyclical nature of this specific case, and propose how appropriate models could improve understanding of the key influencing factors and lead to reducing innovation barriers, subsequently stimulating technology innovation at NASA and other government-directed environments.

We introduce an innovative value- and ecosystem-based management approach (VEBMA) that exposes resource policy tradeoffs, fosters good governance, and can help to resolve conflicts. We apply VEBMA to the Pacific herring Clupea pallasii fishery in British Columbia, Canada, which is mired in conflict between local and indigenous communities and the fishing industry over the management of herring, a forage fish with significant socioeconomic, ecological, and cultural value. VEBMA integrates an ecosystem-based approach (ecological modelling) with a value-based approach (practical ethics) to examine the ecological viability, economic feasibility, and societal desirability of alternative fishery management scenarios. In the ecosystem-based approach, we applied the Management Strategy Evaluation module within the Ecopath with Ecosim modelling framework to explore scenarios with harvest-control rules specified by various herring fishing mortalities and biomass cutoff thresholds. In the value-based approach, Haida Gwaii community and herring industry participants ranked a set of values and selected preferred scenarios and cutoff thresholds. The modelled ecological impacts and risks and stakeholder preferences of the scenarios are synthesized in a deliberation and decision-support tool, the VEBMA science-policy table. VEBMA aims to facilitate inclusive, transparent, and accountable decision-making among diverse stakeholders, such as local communities, industries, scientists, managers, and policy-makers. It promotes compromise, rather than consensus solutions to resolve ‘wicked’ problems at the science-policy interface.

Both a process and a set of products, influenced by policy as well as people, and incorporating objective agendas at the same time as subjective experiences, script development is a core practice within the screen industry – yet one that is hard to pin down and, to some extent, define. From an academic research perspective, we might say that script development is a ‘wicked problem’ precisely because of these complex and often contradictory aspects. Following on from a recent Journal of Screenwriting special issue on script development (2017, vol. 8:3), and in particular an article therein dedicated to reviewing the literature and ‘defining the field’, an expanded team of researchers follow up on those ideas and insights. In this article, then, we attempt to theorize script development as a ‘wicked problem’ that spans a range of themes and disciplines. As a ‘wicked’ team of authors, our expertise encompasses screenwriting theory, screenwriting practice, film and television studies, cultural policy, ethnography, gender studies and comedy. By drawing on these critical domains and creative practices, we present a series of interconnected themes that we hope not only suggests the potential for script development as a rich and exciting scholarly pursuit, but that also inspires and encourages other researchers to join forces in an attempt to solve the script development ‘puzzle’.

CRAIG BATTY
RMIT University
RADHA O’MEARA
University of Melbourne
STAYCI TAYLOR
RMIT University
HESTER JOYCE
La Trobe University
PHILIPPA BURNE
University of Melbourne
NOEL MALONEY
La Trobe University
MARK POOLE
RMIT University
MARILYN TOFLER
Swinburne University of Technology

The purpose of this paper is to comment on the main
scientific and social outcomes produced by the 8th
European System Dynamics Workshop on “Modeling
Sustainability Pathways”—hosted by the NOVA School
of Science and Technology, and the Center for Environmental
and Sustainability Research in Lisbon on June
1‐2, 2017

The Springer volume on “System Dynamics. Theory and Applications” (2020), edited by Brian
Dangerfield, substantially contributes to strengthening the position of feedback modeling and
simulation in both research and practice in various policy analysis domains. The 23 chapters,
of which the book consists, cover a wide scope of fields ranging from theory and methodology
(part II) to practical applications of system dynamics (SD) to solve different real-life problems
(part III).
In particular, the methodological chapters provide a suitable conceptual framework for the
subsequent chapters which illustrate the benefits from applying SD to specific policy fields and
contexts. A well-balanced mix of chapters in part II of the book is very helpful to understand
how both qualitative and quantitative issues are relevant for SD modeling and how they can be
handled properly. Examples include the use of SD as a facilitating method for group model
bulding, model validation, optimization of SD models, and methods for structural dominance
analysis. The chapters in part III cover a broad set of topics across public and private sector
applications and different disciplinary fields in policy analysis and management. Examples
include business policy and strategy; public policy (including health care, national defense,
environment energy and climate change, and poverty alleviation), operations management, project
management, workforce planning, and innovation management.

Most engineering education today does not adequately prepare students to contribute to
sustainability. For example, engineering students often do not learn how to address complex
and ill-structured sustainability problems that involve different stakeholders, value conflicts,
and uncertainty; such problems are also called wicked problems. Efforts to improve
engineering education in this regard are hampered by a lack of research on how engineering
education can prepare students to address wicked problems.
This thesis aims to address this gap in two parts. The research described in Part 1 aimed to
explore what engineering students need to learn to be able to address wicked problems. For
this purpose, a pre-study literature review and two empirical studies were conducted. For the
empirical studies, engineering students were interviewed and the interviews were analyzed
using qualitative content analysis (Study 1) and a phenomenographic approach (Study 2). The
research in Part 2 aimed to link the theoretical results from Part 1 to engineering education
practice by focusing on teaching and assessment. The research in Part 2 comprises two
empirical studies in which pragmatic action research (Study 3) and design-based research
(Study 4) was used.
The results of the research include (a) a description of engineering education-specific
challenges in addressing wicked problems; (b) 3 descriptions of wicked problems and design
principles for wicked problem descriptions; (c) description of four different approaches that
engineering students have used in addressing a wicked problem; (d) 22 intended learning
outcomes, 3 assessment approaches, an analytic assessment rubric, and a rubric-based
intervention for students’ ability to integratively address wicked problems; (e) validity,
reliability, and utility evaluations of the assessment rubric; and (f) insights about students’
performance, their approaches to wicked problems, and affordances for learning in differently
scaffolded activities during the rubric-based intervention.
Conclusions from the research include that an integrative approach to wicked problems is
most appropriate, that students are able to use such an approach, but that they may need
instructional support to do so. Conclusions further include that strong cognitive scaffolding
with a highly detailed assessment rubric can support students’ understanding of the nature of
wicked problems and students’ performance in written responses to wicked problems, but
possibly also limit affordances for deep and transferable learning.

This paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper entitled ‘The ‘wicked problem construct’ as a framework for organisational development and change’, presented at the 20th Annual Academy of Human Resource Development International Research Conference in the Americas. Arlington,
VA (DC Metro), USA, 14–16 February 2013.

Abstract
The recognition of tensions, contradictions and paradoxes in theory, research, and practice within organizations is important for effective organizational Leadership (EOL). The extent to which managers and policy makers currently have adequately come to terms with such complexity still remains open to discussion. The wicked problem construct (WPC) is a concept, process and a framework that can be used in identifying the reasons for these tensions and contradictions, explaining how they can be managed, and pointing out the limits they create for what is needed for effective organizational leadership. This paper examines the conceptual literature on ‘Wicked Problems’, identifying the critical dimensions of the proposed construct, and exploring the lack of attention to non-linear epistemology of practice and systems thinking by managers and policy makers. The challenges of traditional management approaches to address complexity and to increase effectiveness in dealing with wicked problems are explained. The implication for practice of the WPC as a framework for organizational effectiveness in public, private, and the third sectors is described.

The purpose of this symposium is to contribute to the ongoing debate on this topic in the public administration literature by exploring the contribution of performance management in the implementation of effective governance systems that may foster community resilience, especially to social Bwicked^ problems. The set of articles hosted in this issue provides a variegated mix of ideas and experiences in this field, encompassing different countries (from Northern to Southern Europe, and Canada), sectors (including labor, healthcare, tourism, and public utilities), and methodological approaches. An empirical perspective is adopted by the authors, involving case studies, interviews, and field research. Both the variety of explored fields and the practical viewpoints from which investigated issues are framed provide useful insights to highlight a research field that is still relatively unexplored, especially if considered under the perspective of performance management.

In this essay, we explore the role of Rabobank in dealing with the wicked problem of food security in general and of smallholder inclusion into food value chains in particular. In the first part of the essay, we focus on the (social) expectations of stakeholders with regard to Rabobank's role in BoP management, the way stakeholder expectations are managed and the way Rabobank collaborates with multiple stakeholders in the value chains in order achieve their economic and social goals. In the second part, we explore how Rabobank Foundation, an independent non-profit organization which is funded by the Rabobank Group, contributes to the achievement of these goals at the BoP; by a unique collaboration between the for-profit and notfor-profit activities of the Rabobank, together with their customers and other stakeholders, Rabobank is able to achieve both its economic and social goals at the BoP.

The meaning of ‘design’ can be captured in a general way by a good definition, but even the best definition cannot provide an understanding sufficiently deep to guide the professional designer or the student of design in the intricate deliberations of doing design in practice. Therefore we explore design beyond the level of definitions, reviewing canonical theories about design as a professional enterprise. We find that the well-established theoretical notion of ‘co-evolution’ of problem and solution in design has its merits in regard to understanding design deliberations; but also that existing theories leave the practitioner at a loss for guidance in some respects. To remedy this situation, we propose the notion of ‘triple co-evolution’ that also involves the ‘audience’ of a designed artefact. Furthermore, we conjecture that the study of so-called ‘constitutive rhetoric’ offers valuable conceptual resources for conceiving of design in terms of such triple co-evolution. For example, many design products may be thought of as offering an audience a ‘subject position’ that hint at whom they should become. In support of the case we make for thinking in terms of constitutive rhetoric in design, we present a small sample of design cases, arguably showing signs of triple co-evolution and understandable in terms of ‘audience constitution’.