Interconnection is one of three characteristics of living systems we use in the Pattern Book to help us design for thriving. Alongside symbiosis and capacity to change, these three are explored together in the Living Systems Blueprint.
The living world has high levels of interconnection. As Donella Meadows describes in Thinking in Systems, this high level of connectivity enables feedback loops to form that keep living systems in balance. These feedback loops build resilience and the ability to respond to shock.
A simple example of this principle in action is the mycelium network that connects the trees in a forest, allowing them to share resources and communicate information about threats.
A quick way to explore interconnection in practice is to ask:
- How are the elements in the system connected or kept apart?
- How do feedback loops get established? What may be preventing them from forming?
- How do proposals in a project increase or decrease connectivity in a system?
- What feedback loops can connectivity reinforce? Note: not all feedback is helpful.
The key skill for the regenerative designer is to understand the conditions that enable effective feedback to emerge, and to build these conditions into designs, strategies and policies.
User guide
- Connection to our impacts — use the Second Site motif to discuss the relationship between design decisions and the places we impact.
- Criteria for good feedback — use the Better Feedback motif to assess what creates better quality feedback in a system.
- The medium is the message — use the Carrier Wave motif to explore the medium that flows through the feedback channels and how it shapes the signal.
From wired-in to emergent feedback loops
Many organisations are familiar with feedback mechanisms: customer feedback surveys, 360 feedback reviews, sensors etc. The next evolution in the direction of thriving is to create the conditions in which the feedback can emerge: direct connections between customers and staff; creating a culture of giving feedback; direct connection between designers and the places they impact.
The evolution in thinking is to move from taking feedback to creating interconnection.
Related motifs
Better Feedback, Carrier Wave, Concept Progression, Feedback Loops, Framing the Question, Interdependence, Living Systems Blueprint, Second Site, Stuck in Traffic, System Survey.
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