Practitioners of IA are acutely aware of the presence of systems. The challenge, however, lies not in naming systems, but in understanding, anticipating, and accounting for the complex web of tangible and intangible elements affected by a project or plan.

This interactive training course introduces systems thinking and modeling as a vital competency for professionals working in IA, particularly in today’s context of escalating complexity, information overload, and stakeholder fragmentation. Participants will learn how to recognize, analyze, and respond to complexity caused by interconnections, feedback loops, and cross-sectoral dynamics that conventional IA methods often overlook. The course also addresses how systems thinking and participatory systems modeling can help counter misinformation, anticipate unintended consequences, identify cumulative effects, and improve the clarity and credibility of IA communication.

Through practical exercises, a semi-real case study, and structured tools, participants will be equipped to move beyond linear cause-effect logic and toward adaptive, integrated, and communicable approaches to handling complexity in IA. The course blends analytical rigor with participatory practice, equipping IA professionals to navigate complexity, uncertainty, and conflicting stakeholder narratives more effectively. It builds capacity not only for technical analysis but also for strategic sense-making and stakeholder dialogue in complex planning and policy contexts.

Level: Intermediate/Advanced

Prerequisites: Participants should have basic knowledge of policymaking, planning, and some level of experience in working with IA, i.e. understanding the multitude of sectors that are included in an IA, whether it is an EIA, SEA, CEA, SIA or other, as the course is about handling and communicating information and complexity. Furthermore, participants should exhibit an openness and readiness to learn about a (new) methodology and tools for the application in their own work context.

Language: English

Duration: 1 day (19 April)

Min/Max: 7-30

Price: $330

Instructor: Johanna S. Gordon, Systems Thinking and Analysis (Germany)

Johanna S. Gordon is a freelance consultant, researcher and trainer specializing in systems thinking, qualitative systems analysis, impact assessment and cumulative effects assessment. She holds a BSc in Environmental Science and an MSc in Environmental Management and Physical Planning from Stockholm University. Her work focuses on identifying, analyzing and communicating complex interrelationships between environmental, social, economic and governance processes to support more robust assessment, planning and decision-making.

She has worked across consultancy, academia and professional training, including as a consultant at WSP in Stockholm and as a lecturer and researcher at Mid Sweden University. Her applied and research experience includes systems analysis in transport planning, road and rail projects, wind energy, reindeer husbandry, biodiversity values and cumulative effects. She is currently based in Germany and operates as a freelance specialist and consultant in systems thinking for impact assessment.