History
The Center for Systems Integration was founded in 2004 by Jewlya Lynn and Pilar Ingargiola, and Denise McHugh joined shortly thereafter. Rebecca Kahn, Natalie Portman-Marsh, Kiran Obee, and Lyn Kathlene all partnered with CSI on projects from the beginning and developed the shared commitment to working together on complex issues.
We developed the organization in response to the need for expertise on cross-system policy issues. After helping found the Colorado Systems of Care Collaborative, informing the legislation for the Collaborative Management Program in Human Services, and participating in cross-system planning at the state and local level, we learned that one of the greatest challenges to modern policymaking is the lack of knowledge on how to best tackle complex problems that cross many different policy arenas. Called “intractable problems” by some researchers, these problems have a mix of stakeholders at all levels of government, each of whom have different funding sources, mandates, and expectations; these problems also have private stakeholders, consumers, and communities who cannot be left out. We have dedicated CSI’s work to the challenge of addressing complex problems, bringing together a combination of research, engagement of all stakeholders, and information dissemination to help find solutions.
As CSI has grown, we have built skills and expertise to tackle complex problems in a wide variety of arenas: human services, health, behavioral health, natural resources, agriculture, housing, juvenile justice, criminal justice, education, early childhood, and diversity/disparities. We recognize that regardless of which policy arena a problem emerges from, common issues are often present:
- Policy solutions identified in one arena are likely to cause unintended consequences in others;
- Money talks – part of identifying any policy solution is understanding how public and private funding operates, what the limitations are, and where to find opportunities to leverage;
- Sustainable solutions and change in the status-quo are only successful when a wide range of stakeholders are involved in identifying both the problem and the solution; and
- Finding the solutions is only the beginning – implementing change is a long, slow process that requires commitment, resources, regular evaluation and feedback, and engagement of all the stakeholders.
The CSI team we have assembled over the years now includes a mixture of:
- Researchers who are adept at working in messy, complex settings and bring a wide variety of methodologies to their work including fiscal and legal research, evaluation, network analysis, q-methodology, focus groups, and many other quantitative and qualitative approaches;
- Facilitators who understand how to inform dialogue with external information and input, and can create a safe environment where all stakeholders, including community members, consumers, and even youth, can participate fully in complex policy dialogues;
- Project managers whose approach reflects the needs of their clients, and who can remain flexible as the policy environment changes; and
- Product developers, who specialize in ensuring reports, white papers, presentations, and other materials are rich in information and attractive in presentation, but more importantly, are committed to making sure no product becomes yet another report that sits on a shelf.
We believe in an organization where everyone contributes to the leadership, learning is a life-long process, and we set the direction together. Our team based approach ensures every challenge is met with flexibility, innovation, and the skills and expertise of all our staff.
