CIREM Hub: Complexity, Systems Thinking & Action

Why do policies fail despite strong evidence? Because of complexity: politics, institutions, frontline discretion & feedback loops. Sharing lessons from my Policy Evaluation course in the #ComplexityInPolicy series (Sept, 2025). 🔗 Follow @CiremHub #SystemsThinking #Policy

Check out RIAHSAH Co.'s video! #TikTok vt.tiktok.com/ZSDHcjn2c/

Today we’re introducing Systems Informed Foresight (SIF®) at Makerere University School of Public Health @MakSPH. An approach that integrates systems thinking and foresight to support decision-making in complex and evolving environments. #SystemsThinking #Foresight

We’ve started. Introducing Systems Informed Foresight (SIF®) — integrating systems thinking and foresight for decision-making in complex and evolving environments. Live from @MakSPH with @CiremHub @LindaTKuvheya #SystemsThinking #Foresight

We’re live. Exploring why many interventions fail — and what it really means to work within complex systems. Introducing Systems Informed Foresight (SIF®) at @MakSPH with @CiremHub #SystemsThinking #Foresight

Many well-designed interventions fail, not because they are wrong, but because they do not engage how the system actually behaves. Outcomes emerge from interactions, not just activities. @MakSPH @CiremHub #Complexity #SystemsThinking

A system is not a single issue. It is a web of actors, incentives, narratives, and flows of information shaping outcomes.And it is constantly evolving.@MakSPH @CiremHub #SystemsThinking #Foresight #SystemsInformedForesight

In complex environments, outcomes are shaped by relationships, incentives, and feedback loops, not just plans. Systems thinking helps us engage dynamics, not symptoms. @MakSPH @CiremHub @LindaTKuvheya #ComplexSystems

Understanding the system today is not enough. Strategy also requires anticipating how the system may evolve. This is where foresight becomes critical. @MakSPH @CiremHub #Foresight #SystemsThinking #SystemsInformedForesight

Systems thinking helps us understand how systems behave. Foresight helps us explore how they may change. Systems Informed Foresight integrates both.@MakSPH @CiremHub #SystemsThinking #Foresight #SystemsInformedForesight

Systems Informed Foresight (SIF®) enables organisations to: • understand the system • identify leverage points • explore how these shift under different futures Strategy that evolves with the system. @MakSPH @CiremHub #Strategy #Foresight #SystemsInformedForesight

Awareness (Sense): Move beyond symptoms to understand system architecture, actors, and leverage points. @MakSPH @CiremHub #SystemsThinking #SystemsInformedForesight

Application (Shape): Translate system insight into action through experimentation, intervention design, and scenario exploration. @MakSPH @CiremHub #Innovation

Adaptation (Shift): Strategy is not static. It evolves through learning, signals, and continuous adjustment. @MakSPH @CiremHub #AdaptiveStrategy

Yesterday at Makerere University, we unpacked Systems Informed Foresight®: not just understanding systems, but acting within them to shape the future. Strong engagement, sharp questions, real conversations. 🎥 Watch this short intro video ⁦@MakSPH⁩ ⁦@CiremHub⁩

Webinar Invitation: Imagining and Acting on the Complex Future Now @Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), through the Complexity, Innovative Research and Evaluation Methodologies (@CiremHub) Hub, warmly invites you to participate in an upcoming session of the Navigating Complexity Webinar Series, organised in collaboration with RIAHSAH Co. (@RiahsahC). Topic: Imagining and Acting on the Complex Future Now: An Introduction to Systems Informed Foresight® This webinar will introduce participants to systems-informed foresight and explore how institutions can better anticipate, interpret, and act on emerging challenges in complex and rapidly evolving policy environments. Presenter: @m_ngombe Chief Enabler, RIAHSAH Co. Moderator: Dr. @assennyonjo Date: Wednesday, 18th March 2026 Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM (East Africa Time) Register to join via Zoom: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regist…

Kampala at a Crossroads: What New Research Reveals About Mobility, Governance, and the City’s Public Health Risks Gridlock, boda-bodas, polluted air, and unsafe streets are part of everyday life in Kampala, but new research suggests these are not just transport problems. Researchers at @Makerere University School of Public Health are examining how governance, policy choices, and power shape urban mobility and, in turn, public health outcomes in the city. Through a multi-country study spanning Kampala, Kigali, and Lilongwe, the research reveals why some transport options are prioritised while others are neglected, and how these decisions affect safety, equity, and wellbeing. As Kampala grows rapidly, the findings raise urgent questions about whose interests current mobility systems serve, and at what cost. Read the full article: sph.mak.ac.ug/kampala-at-a-c…

As the year comes to a close, we are grateful for the partnerships and conversations that shaped 2025. Sharing our CIREM Hub Christmas and New Year card, with thanks to everyone who has been part of the journey.

The School acknowledges the rigorous scholarly engagement of the examining team, led by Prof. Stella Neema as Opponent, with Dr. Stephen Langole serving as External Examiner and Dr. @assennyonjo and Dr. Muhwezi Wilson Winstons as Internal Examiners. Appreciation is also extended to the doctoral committee and the supervisory team: Prof. @GarimoiOrach and Dr. Lynn M. Atuyambe, for their sustained academic guidance. The defence was ably chaired by Dr. @cnalwadda.

Successful PhD Defence: Mr. Henry Komakech @Makerere University School of Public Health has recorded another successful Public PhD Defence following Mr. Henry Komakech’s defence today of his doctoral thesis titled Effects of repatriation of refugees on health services in three West Nile districts, Uganda. This milestone brings the total number of successful PhD defences in the Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences to five for the year, reflecting a strong and productive doctoral training environment.

Season greetings from all us at @CiremHub