Launching Inner Ripple: Supporting Inner led change for systemic change

In early 2020, just before the world was gripped by the pandemic, I was attending what was going to be the last in person meeting of the Basecamp for system change organised by the School of System change in Brussels. That’s where I had the privilege of meeting Bill Sharpe, the architect behind the Three Horizons Framework. Our encounter was not just insightful but also timely (some would say a synchronicity), as it equipped me with the tools to navigate the unprecedented challenges that were about to unfold during the “pandemic years”.

Irrigating Our Health Ecosystems with System Change Practitioners

We are living through a pivotal moment in human history. We are in the throes of disruption as the systems we have come to rely upon seem to collapse, forcing us into constant firefighting mode. The dehumanisation of health systems has been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving us feeling that we have spent many years sticking plasters over complex issues. People inside health systems are overwhelmed and burnt out; people outside them are underwhelmed by the care with which they are being provided. There is an innate tension between our desire to support, care and transform, and the crushing complexity that renders us paralysed and hopeless in the face of the current challenges.

Why we need to create hyper-local and resilience-based community health systems supported and empowered by community health workers who are competent, well remunerated and well connected within the formal health system.

There is no doubt about it: COVID-19 has caused the most significant threat to global health in the 21st century.

COVID-19 has created a “burning platform” for change and innovation, providing a new impetus to rethink the value of health and its delivery. While we are focused on the immediate needs, we also need to hold space for complexity, for raising difficult and complex questions, to set ourselves on a journey of collective transformation to re-imagine the future trajectory of health for humanity. So what have we learnt?