Life does not unfold in straight lines. It is full of twists, loops and surprises. A harvest depends on the weather, but also on markets, the fertility of soil and decisions made on continents places. This is the reality we live and work: a complex reality.

Systems thinking offers an approach for understanding these challenges. Unlike reductionist approaches that isolate variables and restrict methods, complex systems encompass the interconnections of social and ecological components, considering how relationships between them give rise to new properties and behaviors.

This approach is not abstract. It is urgently practical. Consider climate adaptation, public health, or biodiversity loss: all these challenges involve diverse disciplines, scales, and actors; and, generally, do not to lend themselves to simple solutions.

The Complex Systems Group (CSG) was created to provide a hub for exploring this complexity. Here, researchers from diverse backgrounds come together to apply systems-based approaches to real-world problems, not despite their messiness, but because of it.

We aim to be a hub for dialogue, collaboration, and methodological innovation, with the overarching aim of promoting both science and practice to address complex real-world challenges.