The judges for the Global Final weekend were:
- Jill Andres, Creating Value
- Joe Hsueh, Omplexity
- Becky Ryder, The Omidyar Group
- Josiane Smith, SIX
- Ed Straw, Open University
- Sharon Zivkovic, Wicked Lab
Teams were judged on their ability to demonstrate their understanding of the broader system in which their challenge exists, identifying root causes of the problem and surfacing any critical assumptions, systemic patterns, and potential levers of change that their systems analysis surfaced. One of the judges, Jill Andres, noted, “Our decision as judges was incredibly difficult, as there were phenomenal entries this year. However, one thing stood out above all else. To paraphrase one of the other judges, Joe Hsueh, seeking to understand systems requires more than just technical know-how and mapping skills; it also requires heart and a connection to our own and others’ humanity.”
First place was awarded to University of Oxford’s team, who explored the systematic and causal relations between violence, colonialism and the exploitation of women in Papua. The team made up of three Oxford MBA candidates, Shola Diop, Freya Jansens, Snigdha Serikari, along with Kaiya Aboagye and Matalena Tofa from the University of Sydney, won a £4,000 cash prize, and also took home the Audience Choice award, voted for by attendees of the public virtual event.
Second place went to the University of Illinois team, awarded £3,000 for their examination of women’s health inequities and menstruation in the United States. They explored themes of education, social norms and infrastructure, finding that the menstrual hygiene needs of millions of women are not being consistently met.
Third place was awarded to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Their team used systems science to better understand disparities in smoking rates in the United States. They found that traditional tobacco control efforts fail to consider the root causes of smoking among populations burdened by tobacco use and recommended existing stakeholders should partner with new stakeholders in tobacco control to address this. The team won £2,000.
The three runner-up teams who also presented in the final round, were:
- Ashesi University, who examined poor plastic waste management in their city, Accra in Ghana.
- University of Chicago from the USA, who presented on the topic of adolescent pregnancy in Peru.
- University of Rochester, also in the USA, who set out to better understand the country’s opioid epidemic.
‘I was deeply moved by the sense of connectedness that emerged from behind digital screens’ said Map the System Programme Manager Anna Johnson.
‘At a time when good news is feels hard to come by, the Global Final was an important reminder of the Map the System community’s enduring drive to make the world a better place. It has been an absolute honour to have been part of this year’s edition. Regardless of it being held on land or online, I have no doubt that Map the System 2021 will see another exceptional round of submissions that contain meaningful insights at a moment of opportunity for profound systemic change.”
If you are an educator interested in teaching systems-led thinking at your institution and want to be a part of the 2021 Map the System competition, please contact mapthesystem@sbs.ox.ac.uk