Learn more about the programs and projects of the Center for Systems Awareness and join our community of systems change leaders.
CENTER PROGRAMS 2025-2026
At the Center for Systems Awareness, we have a strong emphasis on capacity building to support learning and development for very diverse groups of people to become compassionate systems practitioners and leaders.
We host open introductory workshops for those who are interested to start working with a systems awareness orientation. And we run longer term, broad scale change projects where capacity building is an integrated aspect of our support and commitment.
Foundations I
(Center Programs - Open to all)
Registration is Open!
Hybrid
March 11-14, 2025
Location: MIT, Cambridge, MA USA (Hybrid)
Facilitated by Mette Boell & Peter Senge
Application is Open!
In-person only
Foundations I - Introduction to Compassionate Systems Framework in Hong Kong
May 15-17, 2025
Location: St. Stephen’s Girls' College | 2 Lyttelton Road, Hong Kong
Facilitated by Peter Senge (in-person), Mette Boell (virtual) & more
Application Form
Foundations II
(Offered for those who have completed Foundations I)
Foundations II Series - A new series of advanced workshops, providing opportunities for practitioners to deepen their knowledge in key concepts and skills. Read more about our Foundations II series here.
- Foundations II for Systems Change – a practical deep dive into Compassionate Systems tools and practices in education and workplace contexts.
- Foundations II for Systems Awareness – a focused opportunity to practice cultivating somatic and relational awareness, to work intentionally to grow our quality of attention, presence, aspiration, grounding and compassion.
Coming Soon
Fully Virtual
Date & Time - TBA
Location: Zoom
Facilitated by Mette Boell, Peter Senge, and the Center for Systems Awareness facilitators
Eligibility: Alumni of the Foundations I Introductory Workshop
Indication of Interest form
Coming Soon
In-person
Foundations II for Systems Awareness
Indication of Interest form
More details will be provided soon.
Advanced
(Offered for those who have completed Foundations I)
New Structure!
Prerequisite
A year long blended program with monthly virtual convenings plus one week-long in-person retreat.
Facilitated by Mette Boell & Peter Senge
Eligibility: Foundations I workshop alumni
Applications for 2025-2026 Cohort to open in Spring 2025.
Advanced
(Offered for those who have completed Foundations I)
Prerequisite
Blended program with multiple virtual convenings plus one week-long, in-person retreat.
Faculty: Mette Miriam Boell, & Roger Burton
Dates TBA
Indication of Interest form
Special Programs
Affiliate Program
"Towards a Science of Systems Change"
Three-day, in-person conference with virtual keynotes available
January 21 - 23, 2025
All welcome
PROJECTS
Over the past decade, a gradual approach to "compassionate systems change" has started to gain momentum – first and foremost in educational systems – in many different places in the world.
The Compassionate Systems Framework has been trialed and tested in diverse educational settings, across all spectrums of hierarchies – from students and teachers, principals, district-level leaders, ministry leadership, community-based organizations, out-of-school learning as well as with boards, parents, and communities - in different countries and cultures.
Below are some overviews of the various types of projects and initiatives that the Center for Systems Awareness is involved with.
For more information on how we partner, contact info@systemsawareness.org.
"It is our aspiration with this work that people feel not only better equipped to tackle challenging, complex issues in their personal and professional lives, but also a greater sense of connectedness and belonging, an overall increase in experience of well-being and meaning in life."
-Dr. Mette Miriam Boell
RESEARCH
Over the past years, we have been prototyping systems awareness initiatives in multiple settings. We are continuously designing more substantial pilots and projects based on the findings of these prototypes.
In 2021, the MIT Systems Awareness Lab was launched, led by Dr. Mette Miriam Boell, Dr. Peter Senge, and Dr. Eric Klopfer. The Lab represents a community of researchers and practitioners dedicated to the rigorous, scientific study of long-term, transformative, and ongoing “systems change in the making.”
We are interested in developing a systems awareness methodology, an approach to understand better what change processes actually work for people and also to understand what it takes for these changes to stick, and to become self-sustaining over time.
Visit the MIT Systems Awareness Lab website for more on research on systems awareness and our ongoing compassionate systems work.