Below is V6 of the what was the originally called the ‘systems thinking change wheel’. This was rebranded in 2025 to the ‘viable systems change’ wheel.

The Creating the Conditions for Change© approach is a framework for inquiry. It emphasizes a shift in the underlying paradigm in situations by focussing on what makes systems viable and more human orientated. It brings to the forefront of our thinking that which makes our situations ‘healthy’. It is focussed very much on what we as humans need to thrive in our work situations and how we understand that which is around us. How we orientate ourselves to be able to take action and how we strengthen the relational elements to support us.

Creating the Conditions for Change© has developed iteratively since 2006. It is an approach to helping systems (including humans) be adaptive, creative, innovative, receptive to change and focussed on collective consciousness and development.

The accompanying infographic, the ‘Viable Systems Change’ wheel©’ was developed as a set of questions and prompts, inspired by Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model. It encourages people to consider how their system might be adaptive to the complex, changing environment in which it sits.

Accompanying the Viable Systems Change wheel© is a 20 page A4 booklet, outlining why the questions and prompts in the infographic are important to consider and how they help to shift a paradigm.

The real power of Creating the Conditions for Change© sits in a set of 120 ‘action cards’ which give further detailed questions and prompts to encourage consideration of more healthy, human centred work situations. Enacting the elements in different ways shifts our paradigm to support a more human centred approach. These materials are used to undertake ‘systems health checks’ to help you ascertain what actions might be taken next.

In Creating the Conditions for Change© it is not just the people who learn. The whole point is that people can appropriately orientate themselves and the system gains collective consciousness.

Others from the ‘Creating the Conditions©‘ suite of approaches:

• Creating the Conditions© for organisational adaptiveness (using the viable system model)
• Creating the Conditions© for change & improvement (using multiple systems thinking approaches)
• Creating the Conditions© for transformational learning (using the viable system model)
• Creating the Conditions© for digital inclusion (using multiple systems thinking approaches)
• Creating the Conditions© for systems change (using the viable system model)
• Creating the Conditions© for effective culture