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The true test of government is whether it can mobilise a whole-of-system response to wicked projects
- natalieferrari5
- Aug 10
- 2 min read
What do you do when the problem you’re trying to solve is wicked? From climate change to organisational culture, housing affordability, mental health, offending, addiction, biodiversity, gender equality… wicked problems are everywhere, and the projects and programs we undertake in response to them are complex, adaptive, unpredictable, and all about long-term outcomes. They’re known as Type 4 projects (or “Air Projects”, to use the elemental theme after which our company is named).
Wicked problems can’t be solved with predictive project management, with its reductionist tools like resourced Gantt charts, monte carlo analyses and earned value metrics. In fact, this approach is counter-productive when the environment is complex and the goal is wicked.
Wicked problems require a fundamentally different kind of project & program leadership - one grounded in flexibility, rolling-wave delivery, iterative sensemaking, theories of change, adaptive management, atifragility, and deep collaboration across stakeholders, sectors, and systems.
Selena Griffith from Enactus Australia has extensive experience working in and with government on wicked projects, so who better to open an Artful Argument on this topic!
Selena’s opening argument – which you can watch below – started with an exploration of the wicked problems we face in Australia and the various approaches (effective and otherwise) used in response to them. Importantly, she delves into how the various players interact – with government, third/fourth sector, academia, industry, and community all playing different but important roles. Given wicked problems can’t be solved by any one party or sector working alone, this interaction is key to an effective whole-of-system response.
During the discussion, we explored questions like:
Is it government’s role to lead, or the system’s job to respond?
What happens when the third and fourth sectors are already delivering what government can’t (or won’t)?
How do we work across siloed portfolios, political cycles, and short-term fiscal scrutiny to create long-term, sticky solutions?
What models - like stakeholder collaboration, planet-centred design, and systems thinking - are actually working?
This conversation was rich with challenge and possibility. It reminded me that when you’re working with complexity and wicked outcomes, the measure of success is never black & white - it’s progress, iteration, and systems that are stronger (or antifragile, to be precise) because we dared to disrupt them.
Watch the full argument:
Thank you, Selena, and our Artful Sponsors: UniPhi, NEC Contracts®, Australian Cost Engineering Society (ACES), Elysium EPL, and IPMA-Australia.
The Artful Argument is a unique professional learning and networking event for senior project leaders to engage in collaborative conversations about today's increasingly complex, shared challenges in project delivery.
