Applied Complex Systems
Turning complexity into collective capability
Applied Complex Systems is a research-to-action platform working at the intersection of complex systems science, governance, finance, and social innovation.
We help societies navigate polycrisis by translating cutting-edge complexity research into tools, institutions, and interventions that improve resilience, equity, and long-term value creation.
We don’t just study systems. We help redesign them.
Modern challenges, climate instability, housing crises, productivity stagnation, democratic erosion, are not isolated problems. They are systemic failures arising from tightly coupled, nonlinear systems that no single discipline or sector can fix alone.
Applied Complex Systems exists to bridge that gap:
between theory and practice,
between models and decisions,
between local action and global insight.
What we do
1. Apply complexity science to real-world systems
We work with governments, communities, financial institutions, and civil society to apply tools and insights from complex systems science, including agent-based modelling, network analysis, feedback mapping, and scenario exploration, to pressing economic, ecological, and social challenges.
Our focus is not prediction, but **understanding leverage points, trade-offs, and system dynamics** that shape long-term outcomes.
2. Design institutions for resilience, not optimization
Many modern systems are optimized for short-term efficiency and growth at the expense of resilience, learning, and legitimacy.
We support the design of **institutions, governance arrangements, and financial architectures** that:
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- maintain buffers and slack
- learn under uncertainty
- align incentives with long-term public value
- remain adaptive under stress and shock
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3. Build bridges across disciplines, sectors, and regions
Complex problems do not respect disciplinary boundaries. Neither do we.
Our work intentionally spans:
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- economics, ecology, and political economy
- finance, governance, and law
- AI, modelling, and participatory tools
- Indigenous knowledge, lived experience, and place-based insight
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We specialize in translation: helping diverse actors see the same system clearly, even when they speak different professional languages or hold different forms of power.
4. Prototype, test, and scale systemic interventions
We don’t stop at analysis.
Applied Complex Systems supports labs, pilots, and field experiments that test new approaches in real contexts, from community finance and housing systems to participatory governance and climate adaptation.
Where promising, we help partners scale what works while preserving local learning and accountability.
Who we work with
We collaborate with:
- public agencies and policy leaders
- universities and research institutes
- community organizations and Indigenous partners
- financial institutions and social finance actors
- philanthropies and mission-aligned investors
Our role varies: research partner, systems designer, convenor, or critical friend, but our goal is consistent: to increase a system’s capacity to see itself, adapt, and act wisely under pressure.
Explore
Collaboration
If you are interested in any of the work that we are doing, or would like you make us aware of work that you are doing, we welcome conversation.
We’re currently in a listening and partnership-building phase, and welcome thoughtful engagement as collaborations take shape.