Systems Analysis in the Context of Resilience

Part of the FSIN Technical Series, this sixth paper elaborates on the concepts presented in Technical Series Nos. 1 and 2 regarding the definition, principles and proposed common analytical model for resilience measurement.

Resilience has been described as a complex systems issue (Constas et al., 2014a & 2014b). In very general terms, systems thinking "is a way of thinking about, and a language for describing and understanding, the forces and interactions that shape the behaviour systems" (Senge, 1990). In the context of this paper, systems thinking aims to understand communities and households in vulnerable areas as part of broader complex and interconnected sub-systems (including food, markets, and political, social and ecological networks) that interact with shocks and stresses. Systems analysis has been adopted by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN) Resilience Measurement Technical Working Group as integral to the task of developing a causal and analytical framework for resilience measurement.

This paper describes the implications of systems thinking and analytical techniques, particularly for collecting and analysing information for resilience programme planning, monitoring and evaluation.

Technical Series

• Nos. 1: Resilience Measuremnet Principles Toward an Agenda for Measurement Design
• Nos. 2: A Common Analytical Model for Resilience Measurement: Causal Framework and Methodological Options
• Nos. 3: Household Data Sources for Measuring and Understanding Resilience
• Nos. 4: Qualitative Data and Subjective Indicators for Resilience Measurement
• Nos. 5: Measuring Shocks and Stressors as Part of Resilience Measurement