Systems thinking, foresight and wicked problems: Implications for policymaking

Many of New Zealand’s most persistent challenges cannot be solved with quick, linear policy responses.

Issues such as youth mental distress, intergenerational disadvantage, housing pressures and long-term productivity decline are all ‘wicked problems’ – complex, interconnected and resistant to singular solutions.

This new Koi Tū white paper, Systems thinking, foresight and wicked problems: Implications for policymaking, authored by Hema Sridhar, Dr Felicia Low and Sir Peter Gluckman, examines why traditional policymaking struggles with complexity and outlines practical tools to support long-term, evidence-informed action.

Read the white paper

It explores how systems thinking can reveal root causes and interdependencies, how anticipatory foresight helps decision-makers plan beyond electoral cycles, and how stronger evaluation, data use and implementation practice can improve the effectiveness of government interventions.

The white paper highlights the importance of cross-agency collaboration, governance structures that support multi-year strategies, and trusted data and analytics to understand what works, for whom, and in what context.

This paper complements Sir Peter Gluckman’s recent commentary Wicked problems, policy and politics, which outlines why New Zealand’s political and institutional settings make these issues difficult to resolve.

While that commentary provides the diagnosis, this new report offers the practical pathway forward, focusing on the tools and methods needed to design and implement effective responses.

Together, these publications present both the case for change and a framework for more resilient, future-focused policymaking.

If you’d like to learn more, email info@informedfutures.org to discuss how we can help your organisation tackle wicked problems.