Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Professor Gerald Midgley's Outputs (41)

Festschrift for Mike Jackson (2024)
Journal Article
Dwivedi, A., & Midgley, G. (2025). Festschrift for Mike Jackson. Systems research and behavioral science, 42(1), 3-10. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.3127

This is the editorial for a festschrift for Mike Jackson. We begin by outlining six phases of Jackson's research, from 1982 to the present day: an initial critique of soft systems thinking and soft operational research (OR); a proposal for methodolog... Read More about Festschrift for Mike Jackson.

Accommodation and critique: A necessary tension (2024)
Journal Article
Smith, A., & Midgley, G. (online). Accommodation and critique: A necessary tension. Systems research and behavioral science, 42(1), 23-50. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.3096

A dilemma in critical systems thinking is how to balance a desire for critique to inspire far-reaching transformations in society with the requirement for people to reach accommodations to enable on-the-ground change. Both critique and accommodation... Read More about Accommodation and critique: A necessary tension.

Operational Research: Methods and Applications (2023)
Journal Article
Petropoulos, F., Laporte, G., Aktas, E., Alumur, S. A., Archetti, C., Ayhan, H., Battarra, M., Bennell, J. A., Bourjolly, J. M., Boylan, J. E., Breton, M., Canca, D., Charlin, L., Chen, B., Cicek, C. T., Cox Jr, L., Currie, C. S., Demeulemeester, E., Ding, L., Disney, S. M., …Zhao, X. (2023). Operational Research: Methods and Applications. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 75(3), 423–617. https://doi.org/10.1080/01605682.2023.2253852

Throughout its history, Operational Research has evolved to include methods, models and algorithms that have been applied to a wide range of contexts. This encyclopedic article consists of two main sections: methods and applications. The first summar... Read More about Operational Research: Methods and Applications.

The Four Waves of Systems Thinking (2023)
Journal Article
Cabrera, D., Cabrera, L., & Midgley, G. (2023). The Four Waves of Systems Thinking. Journal of Systems Thinking, 3, 1-51. https://doi.org/10.54120/jost.000051

This Handbook is about the past, present, and future of systems thinking. It captures the history of systems thinking over its first three ‘waves,’ which are thought of as significant paradigmatic time periods in the history of the field. It then int... Read More about The Four Waves of Systems Thinking.

Designing interagency responses to wicked problems: A viable system model board game (2023)
Journal Article
Sydelko, P., Espinosa, A., & Midgley, G. (2024). Designing interagency responses to wicked problems: A viable system model board game. European journal of operational research, 312(2), 746-764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2023.06.040

Government agencies struggle to address wicked problems because they are open-ended, highly interdependent issues that cross agency, stakeholder, jurisdictional, and geopolitical boundaries. While both quantitative modelling and qualitative problem s... Read More about Designing interagency responses to wicked problems: A viable system model board game.

Multi-level participation in integrative, systemic planning: The case of climate adaptation in Ghana (2023)
Journal Article
Helfgott, A., Midgley, G., Chaudhury, A., Vervoort, J., Sova, C., & Ryan, A. (2023). Multi-level participation in integrative, systemic planning: The case of climate adaptation in Ghana. European journal of operational research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2023.01.045

Adaptation to climate change is impacted by a range of interrelated processes operating from local to global levels. There are often significant disconnects between different people's perceptions of responsibilities, capabilities and motivations, and... Read More about Multi-level participation in integrative, systemic planning: The case of climate adaptation in Ghana.

Alexander Bogdanov and the question of unity: An emerging research agenda (2023)
Journal Article
Şenalp, Ö., & Midgley, G. (2023). Alexander Bogdanov and the question of unity: An emerging research agenda. Systems research and behavioral science, 40(2), 328-348. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.2923

In this paper, we propose a research agenda to support the recovery of Alexander Bogdanov's philosophical and systemic thinking that culminated in his magnum opus, Tektology. Our main reason for doing so is to re-address enduring questions about the... Read More about Alexander Bogdanov and the question of unity: An emerging research agenda.

Mindfulness and Behavioural Insights: Reflections on the Meditative Brain, Systems Theory and Organisational Change (2022)
Journal Article
Lilley, R., Whitehead, M., & Midgley, G. (2022). Mindfulness and Behavioural Insights: Reflections on the Meditative Brain, Systems Theory and Organisational Change. Journal of Awareness-Based Systems Change, 2(2), 29-57. https://doi.org/10.47061/jasc.v2i2.3857

This paper explores the impacts of the Mindfulness-Based Behavioural Insights and Decision-Making (MBBI) programme. Combining mindfulness with behavioural insights instruction, the authors have developed the MBBI programme through a series of iterati... Read More about Mindfulness and Behavioural Insights: Reflections on the Meditative Brain, Systems Theory and Organisational Change.

A systems perspective on systemic innovation (2021)
Journal Article
Midgley, G., & Lindhult, E. (2021). A systems perspective on systemic innovation. Systems research and behavioral science, 38(5), 635–670. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.2819

The term ‘systemic innovation’ is increasing in use, but there is no consensus on its meaning: five understandings of the term can be identified, each based on a different view of what the word ‘systemic’ should refer to. The first understanding focu... Read More about A systems perspective on systemic innovation.

Designing interagency responses to wicked problems: Creating a common, cross-agency understanding (2020)
Journal Article
Sydelko, P., Midgley, G., & Espinosa, A. (2021). Designing interagency responses to wicked problems: Creating a common, cross-agency understanding. European journal of operational research, 24(1), 250-263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2020.11.045

Wicked problems are open-ended, highly interdependent issues that cross agency, stakeholder, jurisdictional, and geopolitical boundaries. In response, there has been advocacy for interagency working. However, this confounds conventional approaches to... Read More about Designing interagency responses to wicked problems: Creating a common, cross-agency understanding.

Systemic evaluation of community environmental management programmes (2020)
Journal Article
Foote, J., Midgley, G., Ahuriri-Driscoll, A., Hepi, M., & Earl-Goulet, J. (2021). Systemic evaluation of community environmental management programmes. European journal of operational research, 288(1), 207-224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2020.05.019

© 2020 Elsevier B.V. Community environmental management (CEM) involves the facilitation of community partnerships, local dialogue, consultation and participative decision-making. This is increasingly seen as a solution to some of the more complex env... Read More about Systemic evaluation of community environmental management programmes.

Expertise in research integration and implementation for tackling complex problems: when is it needed, where can it be found and how can it be strengthened? (2020)
Journal Article
Bammer, G., O’Rourke, M., O’Connell, D., Neuhauser, L., Midgley, G., Klein, J. T., Grigg, N. J., Gadlin, H., Elsum, I. R., Bursztyn, M., Fulton, E. A., Pohl, C., Smithson, M., Vilsmaier, U., Bergmann, M., Jaeger, J., Merkx, F., Vienni Baptista, B., Burgman, M. A., Walker, D. H., …Richardson, G. P. (2020). Expertise in research integration and implementation for tackling complex problems: when is it needed, where can it be found and how can it be strengthened?. Palgrave communications, 6(1), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-019-0380-0

© 2020, The Author(s). Expertise in research integration and implementation is an essential but often overlooked component of tackling complex societal and environmental problems. We focus on expertise relevant to any complex problem, especially cont... Read More about Expertise in research integration and implementation for tackling complex problems: when is it needed, where can it be found and how can it be strengthened?.

Stakeholder identification and engagement in problem structuring interventions (2019)
Journal Article
Gregory, A. J., Atkins, J. P., Midgley, G., & Hodgson, A. (2020). Stakeholder identification and engagement in problem structuring interventions. European journal of operational research, 283(1), 321-340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2019.10.044

© 2019 The Authors This paper addresses the under-researched issue of stakeholder identification and engagement in problem structuring interventions. A concise framework is proposed to aid critical reflection in the design and reporting of stakeholde... Read More about Stakeholder identification and engagement in problem structuring interventions.

Towards a heart and soul for co-creative research practice: A systemic approach (2019)
Journal Article
Nicholas, G., Foote, J., Kainz, K., Midgley, G., Prager, K., & Zurbriggen, C. (2019). Towards a heart and soul for co-creative research practice: A systemic approach. Evidence and Policy, 15(3), 353-370. https://doi.org/10.1332/174426419X15578220630571

© Policy Press 2019 The language of co-creation has become popular with policy makers, researchers and consultants wanting to support evidence-based change. However, there is little agreement about what features a research or consultancy project must... Read More about Towards a heart and soul for co-creative research practice: A systemic approach.

Developing a systemic program evaluation methodology: A critical systems perspective (2018)
Journal Article
Torres-Cuello, M. A., Pinzón-Salcedo, L., & Midgley, G. (2018). Developing a systemic program evaluation methodology: A critical systems perspective. Systems research and behavioral science, 35(5), 538-547. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.2561

In recent years, there has been an increased interest within the program evaluation field for introducing systems thinking concepts. However, most of these attempts have been primarily directed towards supporting the practice of evaluation and not to... Read More about Developing a systemic program evaluation methodology: A critical systems perspective.