Case Study

The OECD Systems Innovation for Net-Zero methodology

Three steps towards Net-Zero

The OECD Systems Innovation for Net-Zero process consists of three steps:

Step 1: Envision is about using a wellbeing lens to imagine the desired outcomes a sustainable system should achieve.

Step 2: Understand is about understanding the key dynamics - or vicious cycles - in existing systems that lead to the current, undesirable outcomes.

Step 3: Redesign is about identifying and prioritising policies with high transformative potential to change the system so that it can contribute to achieving the desired outcomes.

Applying the Systems Innovation for Net-Zero methodology to the Irish Transport System

Together with the OECD, the Government of Ireland has applied the Systems Innovation for Net-Zero methodology to redesign the Irish transport system. As part of this process, Irish policymakers used the systems thinking model of the iceberg, to better understand the depth of leverage of each of their suggested policy interventions.

In the iceberg model, the events layer is the level at which we typically perceive the world. For example, in the context of transport, there may be traffic congestion and high volumes of cars on the road. Looking just below the events level, patterns appear (e.g., traffic congestion has been increasing). Below the pattern level lies the structure level, which explores what the causes are of the observed patterns (e.g., car dependent transport systems, urban sprawl, low attractiveness of sustainable transport modes). Finally, mental models are the attitudes, beliefs and values that allow structures to continue as they are (e.g., a belief that car dependency is a given).

Working through this process helped the Irish government to prioritise policies that address the root causes of people’s preference for driving and to support the transition to car independent systems by ensuring that more sustainable modes of transport (walking, cycling, micro-mobility and public transport) become the most convenient option for most people.