**Pattern Name:**
Causal Loop Model
**Introduction:**
When was the last time you were surprised?
**Illustration:**
Structure affects Behaviour!source
**CONTEXT:**
Successful relocalization requires activists to clearly See the Systems they are acting in. When groups act together, an agreed mutual understanding of the way our neighborhood system works is invaluable. It allows us to understand the root causes of the problems, the leverage points for fixing them and the likely consequences of our actions.
**We all have our own ideas about the way the systems around us work.**
**PROBLEM:**
These are based on our personal experiences: What we have seen, felt and interpreted. The problem is that this knowledge often remains implicit (locked away in our heads). This can lead to difficulties reaching agreement on a way forward. It also means that it is difficult to challenge and to use as a basis for learning.
We are taught to think of our world in linear chains of cause and effect. We fail to consider the way the world actually works in cycles of cause and effect relationships called feedback loops. We fail to consider the huge impact of exponential growth and decline or the destabilizing impact of delays. Please see Power of Exponential for more on these issues.
**Forces:**
**THEREFORE (SOLUTION):**
Create a causal loop model to **make our understanding of the cause and effect system explicit, even as it evolves.**
A causal loop model explicitly captures the variables in the system and the relationships between them. It shows our understanding of what affects what in the system.
Causal loop models may be created using paper and pen, a whiteboard or a computer. Computer tools, such as Vensim, provide us with tools to identify feedback loops and to create driver and consequence trees.
**Actions:**
**Consequences:**
The clarity gained from having a causal loop model of the system we are aiming to influence/create can empower us with the agency to act with confidence. We see each action we take as an experiment from which we will learn.
**Known Uses:**
Use to make explicit our understanding of how any system works. Particularly powerful when used with groups of people with different perspectives to build agreement on a way forward.
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