What are the systemic causes of the shrinking of the Great Salt Lake? This was the question addressed by a team of University of Utah Prosperity Scholars students as they competed in the Map the System competition run by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. With support from the Center for Business, Health, and Prosperity, the team was made up of Aiden Bennett (Health, Society, and Policy), Liesel Madrian (Health, Society, and Policy), Ashton Reeder (Design), Max Schultz (Biology / Health, Society, and Policy), and Gage Urry (Health, Society, and Policy).
Map the System is a global competition that challenges students to use systems-thinking to develop new insights into some of the world’s most complex challenges. Teams are asked to select a social or environmental issue that is important to them and examine it from a comprehensive systems perspective to create deeper understanding that can lead to new solutions. After probing and connecting the elements of a selected issue, teams work to put together both a written paper and an oral presentation to communicate their findings to further support future change. This year’s competition included 64 teams from around the globe with the top teams exploring Financial Exclusion in South African Mortgage Provision (University of Cape Town), Water Access in the Navajo Nation (North Dakota State University), and Human Trafficking in Assam (Grinnell College). The competition took place at Saïd Business School which is part of the historic University of Oxford, where many of the world’s great discoveries and innovations since it was founded in 1096.
The University of Utah team performed well in its inaugural debut at Map the System. The team received the Project of Excellence Award for a Newcomer Institution for their work entitled Factors affecting the Shrinking of the Great Salt Lake. The team also developed a working understanding of systems-thinking as a new way to approach some of the most pressing issues that plague our world today. When asked about takeaways from their own project, Liesel Madrian reflected that, “What I loved the most was the opportunity to gain expereince of collaborative research as an undergraduate student. And having the opportunity to work with local experts in the University of Utah community on their work involving this issue.” The team noted in their paper that much of the previous system-level research done on the shrinking of the Great Salt Lake has been neglected by those developing solutions, and they hope with a better understanding of the systemic dynamics of this essential ecological feature, both local and national leaders can unite to restructure water use regulations and practices to preserve this lake for future generations.
Since returning from the competition, the issue of the shrinking of the Great Salt Lake has made both local and national headlines for multiple weeks. Stephen Alder, Executive Director for the Center for Business, Health, and Prosperity noted, “that systems-thinking approach could provide additional options when looking at issues as large as the shrinking of the Great Salt Lake, System thinking’s points out solutions or leverage points for reversing the lake’s decline that complement the work being done by both the state of Utah and other organizations. This type of thinking could provide solutions that would augment the work already being done.”
The group is appreciative of Stephen Alder, Professor and Executive Director at the Center for Business, Health, and Prosperity (BHP), for his role as faculty advisor; Jill Stephenson, Director of Student Expereince at BHP, for her role as team coach, Jim Agutter, Associate Professor in the College of Architecture + Planning, for systems-thinking and visual mapping; Kevin Perry, Associate Professor in the College of Mines and Earth Sciences, on environmental effects including air quality.
Students wishing to learn more about systems-thinking or Map the System are encouraged to join Prosperity Scholars through the Center for Business, Health, and Prosperity. More information can be found at Eccles.links/BHP or by emailing bhp@utah.edu.