DATE
TIME
to AEDT
VENUE
Delivered Online
COST
Free
How can we make better decisions when the challenges we face are complex, interconnected and constantly changing?
Join the Sax Institute and practitioners from across Australia for a practical exploration of how systems thinking and methods are being applied to real-world challenges.
Systems approaches can help us understand complexity, identify relationships and opportunities for change, and inform better policy, programs and services. But for many people, the challenge is knowing where to start: which approaches are suited to different problems, how they can be applied in practice, and what useful systems work actually looks like.
This online event will bring together practitioners working across research, policy, consultancy and service settings to share real-world examples of systems approaches in action.
Through a series of practical case studies, presenters will explore different approaches to understanding complexity and supporting better decisions, sharing what they did, why they chose a particular approach and what they learned along the way.
The event will conclude with a panel discussion exploring future opportunities for systems approaches, demonstrating value and practical considerations for organisations looking to develop, commission or scale systems-based work.
Program
Join us for the full event, or drop into the sessions most relevant to your work.
10.00am–10.05am | Welcome and opening remarks
Dr Kizzy Gandy, Sax Institute
10.05am–10.30am | Systems leadership and collaboration
How the Prevention Centre champions systems thinking approaches to support policy and practice change.
Dr Mishel Shahid
10.30am–11.00am | Systems thinking in practice
Building systems-informed Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) in public health organisations.
Associate Professor Mark Robinson
11.00am–11.30am | Systems methods for systemic challenges
Developing understandings of systems to strengthen evaluation and design.
Mr Matt Healey
11.30am–12.00pm | Optimising service and workforce planning with systems modelling
How a virtual system view of hospital patient flow uncovered unintended consequences of conventional service planning and identified a more effective path forward.
Mr Ani Goswami and Dr Marino Festa
12.00pm–12.30pm | Program redesign through a systems lens
Using systems approaches to redesign the NSW SunSmart schools program for adaptability, capacity and coevolution.
Dr Alice Knight
12.30pm–12.55pm | Panel discussion: What next?
Exploring innovation, demonstrating value through systems approaches and getting started with systems work.
Facilitated by Dr Kizzy Gandy
12.55pm–1.00pm | Close
Program may be subject to change.
Who should attend?
This event is designed for Australian policy, program and service decision-makers. This includes policymakers, service leaders, program commissioners, researchers, evaluators, policy and program analysts, and people working in complex practice areas.
No prior expertise in systems thinking or systems methods is required.
Please only register if you work in Australia/New Zealand.
What will you take away?
The event will provide practical examples of systems approaches in action, with presenters sharing the rationale behind different approaches, lessons from applying them and insights that can be transferred to other policy, program and service contexts.
There will be opportunities to ask questions throughout the event.
Can’t attend live?
A recording of the event will be available on request following the session. Please contact communications@saxinstitute.org.au after the event to request access
Presenter/s
Dr Kizzy Gandy, Sax Institute
Dr Kizzy Gandy, Sax Institute
Kizzy is Head of Evidence & Impact at the Sax Institute, where she leads a multidisciplinary team providing systems intelligence to health and wellbeing organisations. This work spans evidence synthesis, program and policy evaluation, behavioural science, implementation science, systems mapping, dynamic simulation modelling, and impact measurement.
Kizzy has 20 years of experience helping decision-makers understand and improve complex systems through the integration of evidence, data and stakeholder insights. She has led projects across a wide range of policy areas in 20 countries, helping organisations address complex challenges, identify leverage points for change, and achieve meaningful and sustainable impact.
Dr Mishel Shahid, The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre
Dr Mishel Shahid, The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre
Mishel is Manager of Systems Science & Research at The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre – a centre of the Sax Institute. The Prevention Centre is a national collaboration between policymakers, researchers and practitioners to support a more effective chronic disease prevention system in Australia. Mishel is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at Griffith University.
Mishel’s work focuses on strengthening prevention systems through systems thinking, causal inference, epidemiological methods and simulation modelling. At the Prevention Centre she leads national capability building in systems thinking and supports prevention decision-making by turning complex evidence into practical insights, with a focus on equity and system-wide impact.
Associate Professor Mark Robinson, University of Queensland
Associate Professor Mark Robinson, University of Queensland
Mark is a Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Science Research at The University of Queensland and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow. He is a public health and evaluation specialist whose work focuses on applied research and evaluation to inform policy and practice.
Mark’s research interests include preventive health, health equity, and the social determinants of health, with a particular focus on evaluation in complex systems. He has extensive experience developing monitoring and evaluation frameworks, conducting mixed-methods evaluations, and supporting organisations to use evidence for learning and decision-making.
Mr Matt Healey, First Person Consulting
Mr Matt Healey, First Person Consulting
Matt is Principal Consultant and co-founder of First Person Consulting, with a practice spanning systems thinking, evaluation and design. Over the past decade, he has undertaken more than 200 projects across environmental, health and social justice sectors.
Matt has developed novel ways to engage people in systems thinking, including game design and hosting the “It Depends Podcast”. Recent examples of his systems practice includes a Systems Theory of Change for Lawyer Wellbeing with the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner, participatory systems mapping on place-based service integration with the Casey Futures Partnership, and building capability in systems approaches to health promotion with VicHealth.
Mr Ani Goswami, Sax Institute
Mr Ani Goswami, Sax Institute
Ani leads the Sax Institute’s Decision Analytics service, helping organisations tackle complex policy and service challenges by understanding how different parts of a system interact. Specialising in dynamic simulation modelling and operational analytics, Ani combines expertise in health informatics, strategic management and digital transformation.
Ani’s team uses cutting-edge methods to create virtual replicas of systems where decision-makers can explore how their system behaves, test potential solutions and understand likely consequences and trade-offs before committing resources in the real world. This work has supported governments and service providers to improve policy and operational decisions at organisation, community, and national levels.
Dr Marino Festa, Westmead Children's Hospital
Dr Marino Festa, Westmead Children's Hospital
Dr Marino Festa is the Co-Director of Kids Critical Care Research and a senior specialist in Paediatric Intensive Care at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. He is also Medical Director of the NSW Kids ECMO Referral Service, which provides specialised life support for critically ill children.
Dr Festa is dedicated to improving outcomes for critically ill children through clinical innovation, research and health system improvement. He partnered with the Sax Institute to develop a simulation model that identified the best way to reduce rescheduled cardiac surgery without creating problems for non-cardiac surgeries or unplanned emergency admissions.
Dr Festa champions advanced analytics and simulation modelling to build shared understanding among clinicians, researchers and health service leaders, helping them see the system-wide impacts of service planning decisions and improve patient outcomes.
Dr Alice Knight, Sax Institute
Dr Alice Knight, Sax Institute
Alice is Director of Evaluation & Evidence Services at the Sax Institute, where she leads a team that supports government and non-government agencies to design, implement and evaluate policies and programs that address complex health and social challenges.
Alice specialises in initiatives that span multiple organisations, stakeholders and communities. She helps decision-makers understand what works, in what contexts, and how initiatives can be improved and scaled. She has led projects for Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, NSW Ministry of Health, and dozens of not-for-profit organisations, and previously worked at the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.
Presenter/S
Dr Kizzy Gandy, Sax Institute
Kizzy is Head of Evidence & Impact at the Sax Institute, where she leads a multidisciplinary team providing systems intelligence to health and wellbeing organisations. This work spans evidence synthesis, program and policy evaluation, behavioural science, implementation science, systems mapping, dynamic simulation modelling, and impact measurement.
Kizzy has 20 years of experience helping decision-makers understand and improve complex systems through the integration of evidence, data and stakeholder insights. She has led projects across a wide range of policy areas in 20 countries, helping organisations address complex challenges, identify leverage points for change, and achieve meaningful and sustainable impact.
< Read Less
Dr Mishel Shahid, The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre
Mishel is Manager of Systems Science & Research at The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre – a centre of the Sax Institute. The Prevention Centre is a national collaboration between policymakers, researchers and practitioners to support a more effective chronic disease prevention system in Australia. Mishel is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at Griffith University.
Mishel’s work focuses on strengthening prevention systems through systems thinking, causal inference, epidemiological methods and simulation modelling. At the Prevention Centre she leads national capability building in systems thinking and supports prevention decision-making by turning complex evidence into practical insights, with a focus on equity and system-wide impact.
< Read Less
Associate Professor Mark Robinson, University of Queensland
Mark is a Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Science Research at The University of Queensland and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow. He is a public health and evaluation specialist whose work focuses on applied research and evaluation to inform policy and practice.
Mark’s research interests include preventive health, health equity, and the social determinants of health, with a particular focus on evaluation in complex systems. He has extensive experience developing monitoring and evaluation frameworks, conducting mixed-methods evaluations, and supporting organisations to use evidence for learning and decision-making.
< Read Less
Mr Matt Healey, First Person Consulting
Matt is Principal Consultant and co-founder of First Person Consulting, with a practice spanning systems thinking, evaluation and design. Over the past decade, he has undertaken more than 200 projects across environmental, health and social justice sectors.
Matt has developed novel ways to engage people in systems thinking, including game design and hosting the “It Depends Podcast”. Recent examples of his systems practice includes a Systems Theory of Change for Lawyer Wellbeing with the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner, participatory systems mapping on place-based service integration with the Casey Futures Partnership, and building capability in systems approaches to health promotion with VicHealth.
< Read Less
Mr Ani Goswami, Sax Institute
Ani leads the Sax Institute’s Decision Analytics service, helping organisations tackle complex policy and service challenges by understanding how different parts of a system interact. Specialising in dynamic simulation modelling and operational analytics, Ani combines expertise in health informatics, strategic management and digital transformation.
Ani’s team uses cutting-edge methods to create virtual replicas of systems where decision-makers can explore how their system behaves, test potential solutions and understand likely consequences and trade-offs before committing resources in the real world. This work has supported governments and service providers to improve policy and operational decisions at organisation, community, and national levels.
< Read Less
Dr Marino Festa, Westmead Children's Hospital
Dr Marino Festa is the Co-Director of Kids Critical Care Research and a senior specialist in Paediatric Intensive Care at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. He is also Medical Director of the NSW Kids ECMO Referral Service, which provides specialised life support for critically ill children.
Dr Festa is dedicated to improving outcomes for critically ill children through clinical innovation, research and health system improvement. He partnered with the Sax Institute to develop a simulation model that identified the best way to reduce rescheduled cardiac surgery without creating problems for non-cardiac surgeries or unplanned emergency admissions.
Dr Festa champions advanced analytics and simulation modelling to build shared understanding among clinicians, researchers and health service leaders, helping them see the system-wide impacts of service planning decisions and improve patient outcomes.
< Read Less
Dr Alice Knight, Sax Institute
Alice is Director of Evaluation & Evidence Services at the Sax Institute, where she leads a team that supports government and non-government agencies to design, implement and evaluate policies and programs that address complex health and social challenges.
Alice specialises in initiatives that span multiple organisations, stakeholders and communities. She helps decision-makers understand what works, in what contexts, and how initiatives can be improved and scaled. She has led projects for Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, NSW Ministry of Health, and dozens of not-for-profit organisations, and previously worked at the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.
< Read Less
