System Mapping Homelessness
Public system reform | Data analytics and visualisation
Center for Homelessness Impact
We worked with the Centre for Homelessness Impact to make sense of the complexity of homelessness. With experts in the field we builta system map that charts the inter-related causes and consequences of homelessness to guide action in a complex world.
The need
The issue of homelessness has been in the public consciousness for over 50 years. Despite our best-evidenced interventions, it has not gone away. The issue is persistent in a large part because of its complexity: the causes and consequences of homelessness are wide-ranging and inter-connected. While individual policies and interventions may be effective, a meaningful and sustained reduction of homelessness requires a whole-system understanding and approach.
Our response
We convened a series of workshops that brought together people working across local and central government, the voluntary sector, academia and policy to gather their views of the complex causes and consequences of homelessness. These were captured in a systems map, developed iteratively with the Centre for Homelessness Impact and other experts in the field. The system map presents the systemic structures that are essential to understand in order to take a sustainable approach to tackling homelessness.