1.2 Activity: case study by Gia Instructor

Complexity

2025-05-26 05:22:01 UTC

Community engagement through workshops and school activities is an example of dynamic complexity as it's effects will occur over time, whereas data analysis might represent detail complexity due to the large number of data points and factors.

Dynamic and detail complexity

2025-07-09 02:39:21 UTC

Dynamic complexity is the interaction between and among components. The partnerships with multiple organisations as well as the funding arrangements create dynamic complexity. While each is working on the one cause, each will have their own complexities.

Detail complexity is the number of elements within the system. The are a range of pollutants within the GBR ecosystem which need to be addressed and each may require different processes and technology to extract.

Two systems

2025-07-11 00:55:51 UTC

The ReefClean program is a governance system that encompasses funding by the Gov. Reef Trust and implementation responsibility by the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, including management of partnerships
Project ReCon is another system, involving retrieval, operations, analysis and advocacy

Systems and categories

2025-08-30 11:08:44 UTC

Simple. Data collection system. Clean up events.

Complicated. Data analysis requires an expert to interpret

Complex. Community engagement to promote long-term behavioral change.

Compexity

2025-09-15 03:25:10 UTC

An example of dynamic complexity would be the Great Barrier Reef and its ecosystem and the effects of rubbish and fishing gear on its sustainability. Details complexity would be the engagement of stakeholders to assist in not only the clean up, but the change in attitude for dumping rubbish in the future.

Systemic and systematic

2025-09-15 03:28:01 UTC

Systemic example would be the reef itself and the effect of rubbish on it and its future. Systematic is the coordination of all the stakeholders to not only clean up the mess but prevent it in the future via education.

Community engagement

2025-09-15 03:29:43 UTC

Community engagement leads to community support and education leads to changes in behaviour. By engaging with communities and cleaning the reef and doing research, findings can then demonstrate the importance of rubbish removal, and changes in behaviour of littering in the future.

Two systems identified in the case study

2025-09-17 10:10:00 UTC

The ReefClean program is a system and the Project ReCon is a system

Difference between systematic and systemic

2025-09-17 10:30:07 UTC

Systemic relates to or affects the entire system and that the issue or phenomenon is inherent and pervasive throughout the system, rather than being isolated to a specific part.

Systematic refers to something that is done in a methodical or planned way following a structured or organised process

How the community engagement and education aspects may result in emergence or leverage (in the longer-term)

2025-09-17 10:33:20 UTC

In the longer term the community engagement and education aspects may cause the program to become adaptive and evolve over time becoming emergent

A systemic problem is pollution a systematic problem would be issues with the program to clean this up

2026-01-05 00:06:43 UTC

community engagement could result in emergence or leverage in the longer term in two ways more volunteers and less pollution

2026-01-05 00:08:28 UTC

2026-03-02 06:22:22 UTC

ReefClean Program and Project ReCon

2026-03-02 06:35:00 UTC

Dynamic Complexity relates to the non-linear relationships between the many different components of the ReefClean program which makes it hard to predict what is going to actually going to happen.

Detail complexity is related to the different components to the ReefClean Program

2026-03-02 06:40:25 UTC

Systemic would be ocean pollution and its impact on the entire reef

Systematic would be the fixed plan/processes for conducting site monitoring

2026-03-02 06:55:26 UTC

Emergence through the community engagement and education could be the participants passing on the knowledge they acquired to other people which over time leads to a decrease in pollution. Leverage could be these same participants each making one change which taken as a whole, makes a large impact on ocean pollution

2026-05-14 03:24:25 UTC

ReefClean program and Project ReCon are both systems.

Project ReCon and ReefClean are complex (adaptive) systems

2026-06-10 07:18:04 UTC

Project ReCon and ReefClean are complex (adaptive) systems because of the:
-non-linerarity because small changes in an input can result in disproportionately large changes in output;
-emergence - the interactions between ReCon's pollution, marine life and human activity and ReefClean's community members, organisations, and government agencies;
-multiple pathways (equifinality) improved outcomes could be the result of one action eg gear removal or policy changes;
-adaption over time with human responses evolving; and
-dynamic complexity (feedback loops) eg monitoring leads to advocacy, results in policy change and future conditions are different

Complexity

2026-06-10 07:34:44 UTC

Detail complexity in ReefClean is driven by the number of many organisations and participants (e.g. Reef Trust, Tangaroa Blue, partners, and volunteers). The challenge is coordinating a high number of people, activities, and tasks.

Dynamic complexity in ReefClean is about the outcomes shaped by interactions over time between organisations, communities, and the environment. For example, data from clean-ups informs advocacy, which can influence policy and behaviour, creating ongoing feedback loops and changing future conditions.

Systemic v Systematic

2026-06-10 07:39:29 UTC

The systemic issue is the widespread lack of awareness and behaviour contributing to marine pollution, while the systematic response is the structured approach used by ReCon and ReefClean (e.g. gear retrieval and microplastic assessments) to reduce the problem.

Small influences can lead to bigger changes

2026-06-10 07:45:52 UTC

Emergence: Community engagement can lead to informal role modelling, where participants influence others beyond the program. Over time, this can result in broader shifts in awareness and behaviour across the community that are not explicitly planned.

Leverage: Engagement has greater impact when it reaches individuals or groups contributing to marine pollution. Small changes in their behaviour (e.g. disposal of fishing gear) can lead to disproportionate reductions in pollution.

Identify and categorise

2026-07-11 00:44:02 UTC

ReefClean Program (holistic) is Complex Adaptive System.
Project ReCon is Complicated System
Site Monitoring Activities is Simple system
Education Activities is Complex Adaptive System
Clean up events is Complicated System

Dynamic vs Detail complexity

2026-07-11 01:25:41 UTC

ReefClean Program demonstrates Detailed Complexity through the volume of participants (multiple organisations, projects, volunteers, government agencies etc) and activities (monitoring, education initiatives, data collection, clean up events etc) that must be coordinated to achieve it's objectives. The challenge is managing and coordinating the vast range of elements to effectively protect the Great Barrier Reef.

ReefClean Program also demonstrates Dynamic Complexity through it's interactions between these elements over time causing feedback loops and emergent outcomes that evolve overtime and cannot be predicted with certainty.

Systemic vs Systematic

2026-07-11 01:35:12 UTC

The systemic issue addressed by ReefClean is the accumulation of marine debris across the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem. ReefClean adopts a systematic approach to addressing this issue through a structured set of activities, that are planned, coordinated and repeated in a deliberate manner.

Emergence

2026-07-11 01:45:08 UTC

Community engagement and education may create emergence by influencing individual behaviours that collectively lead to broader community-driven environmental outcomes that were not specifically planned by ReefClean. They may also provide leverage by addressing the causes of marine debris through awareness and behaviour change, creating a larger long-term impact than clean-up activities alone.

The sum of the parts leads to short term benefits (e.g. experienced at clean up) and long term benefits through deeper understanding leading to stronger advocacy due to the knowledge leading to behaviour change that benefits the reef ecosystem.