1. Making sense of complexity
Development of the “human-sphere” within
the Circular Economy
through Systems Archetypes
Amir M. Sharif and Ian Fouweather 
University of Bradford

2. Systems Archetypes

3. Systems Archetypes
Common dynamic structures that seem to recur in many different situations
Popularised through systems models derived by the likes of Meadows, Klein, Senge, Kim and others.
Try to fit a real-world (complex) situation into one or more appropriate archetypes in order to:
Help you better understand your dynamics of interest;
Communicate ideas with others

4. Systems Archetypes Drifting Goals Escalation Fixes that Fail
Growth and Underinvestment
Limits to Growth
Shifting the Burden (Addiction)
Tragedy of the Commons
Eroding Goals
Success to Successful

6. Effective solutions for this scenario never lie at the individual level. Need to reconcile short-term individual rewards with long-term cumulative consequences.

7. Why Systems Archetypes ?
Mapping systems archetypes to CE representations will provides an opportunity to visualise and address how the complexity of actors & groups shapes “behaviours over time”. It allows us to make sense of how the CE interacts with the human-sphere, as popularised through systems models.

8. Why Systems Archetypes ?
Currently limited research and application in terms of the human and socio-economic context, hence the so- called “human-sphere” of connected social systems. We seek to extend the debate and application of CE concepts by developing a novel(?) perspective on how systems archetypes may inform our understanding of circularity within complex systems

9. Why Systems Archetypes ?
To understand the behavioural challenges that we face in moving to a Circular Economy and how they might be addressed.

10. Why Systems Archetypes ?

11. Why Systems Archetypes ?

12. Why Systems Archetypes ?

13. Why Systems Archetypes ?

14. Research Approach
Examine and map existing SA patterns to the inner and outer loops of the CE representation.
Generate and refine explanations of archetype behaviour across the CE.
Test scenarios and loop behaviours using a variety of CE use cases where human behavioural inputs are significant
Continuous improvement loop from step 3 back into step 2

15. What have we missed?