Efforts to address complex social challenges increasingly emphasise the need for systems change. Yet while much attention is given to structural reform, funding strategies, or policy influence, less focus is placed on the psychological dimensions of change within the organisations and communities attempting to drive it. This presentation explores how concepts from applied psychology - particularly hope, agency, and relational trust- can support organisations working to change complex social systems.
Drawing on practice-based work with major UK funders including Comic Relief, Nationwide Foundation, and Resonance, we reflect on how organisations seeking to influence systems must also engage in processes of internal change. This includes shifts in mindset, power relationships, and ways of working with partners and communities. Systems change is not only technical or strategic; it is also psychological. It requires individuals and institutions to reconsider assumptions, tolerate uncertainty, and develop new forms of collaboration.
Our approach combines applied psychological insight with participatory and creative practice. Through facilitated learning partnerships, collective reflection, and creative methods drawn from community arts, we create spaces where organisations can explore complexity together, build relationships across sectors, and imagine more hopeful futures. These relational spaces are critical for sustaining motivation and agency in long-term social change work.
A central proposition of the presentation is that hope is not simply an outcome of successful systems change, but a resource that enables change to occur. Building hope within and between organisations helps create the conditions for collective action, trust, and sustained commitment to change.
By sharing examples from real-world practice, the session will explore how human-centred and creative approaches can support organisations to change themselves while working to change the systems around them.