Charley Johnson

Cohort 1

Get access to section 1 of the 100-page workbook that accompanies the course. The section is called, See your system clearly: power obscures problems in your sociotechnical system — learn to locate the problems! You can’t solve for what you can’t see.

Course Workbook 

The very first thing you will learn in this course is that there is no such thing as a ‘technology problem.’ Sure, your field demands that you work with, or even build, new technologies. But you also work closely with people, and technology is thoroughly entangled with societal and cultural norms, and power imbalances.﻿Technology is integral to the system you are seeking to change, but technology is not neutral. Understanding the power dynamics that technology obscures is absolutely key to moving your work forward. If you approach everything as a ‘technology problem’ and ignore the social side, you risk perpetuating the status quo in the name of technological progress and growth. In this fast-paced, interactive course, you will master the strategies, skills, and frameworks for true systems-change ﻿WHAT YOU'LL LEARN &nbsp;In this fast-paced, interactive course, you will master the strategies, skills, and frameworks for true systems-change: - Are your tech-for-good interventions continually leading to ‘unintended consequences’? Learn how to see your system clearly, anticipate its behavior, and ensure technology works for (not against!) it. - Do you see how technology is governed by more than just its underlying code — but are not sure what to do about it? I’ll guide you through concrete examples of how technology and data are societal constructs and help you anticipate their impact on your system. - Have you tried to effect change with partners &amp; collaborators in your field, but you get the same results over and over? I’ll provide you with frameworks to expose the constraints and dynamics of your system, and craft interventions that truly change its behavior. This course has four modules: 1. See your system clearly: power obscures problems in your sociotechnical system — learn to locate the problems! You can’t solve for what you can’t see. 2. Understand how your system is changing: and learn to leverage that change, rather than just letting it happen. Understand the capabilities and limitations of a technology, and anticipate how those shape your working relationships 3. Change your system as an individual: systems are unpredictable and do not abide by linear cause-and-effect rules — learn to intervene in complex systems by shifting the norms &amp; behaviors of teams, organizations, and multi-stakeholder collaborations. 4. Change your system as a collective: you now have the tools you need for systems change, but are met with a world of differences within teams, cultural contexts, or organizations. Learn strategies to align a diverse group towards a common vision — and ultimately catalyze meaningful systems change. WHAT TO EXPECT - This course is fast: you will learn how to catalyze real systems-change in just two days. - This course is interactive: don’t expect to sit back and be lectured by me; you will be participating in practical exercises throughout. - This course is loaded with exercises and tools: get your hands on a 100-page workbook and unlimited access to Untangled (https://untangled.substack.com/) for a whole year.

See your system clearly, and change it

Course syllabus

This is a fast, intensive, interactive course. You will learn how to catalyze real systems-change in just two days.

July 19 - 20, Saturday & Sunday 

You’ll get the chance to attend a Q&amp;A session following the course to dive into lingering questions about the material, and how to apply it in your working context.&nbsp;

Q&A  Session: July 29

After the course, we'll schedule a 1:1 coaching session, where I can guide you through any obstacles that are specific to your situation

1:1 Coaching

Course schedule

Senior policy, product, and partnership managers who want to shift the status quo in their company.

Funders focused on tech &amp; society issues, trying to align their programs and grantees towards collective action.

Non-profit &amp; public interest leaders who want to craft strategies that align AI to their vision of the future, not the other way around

Who is this course for

What you’ll get out of this course

You’ll learn new strategies and frameworks that will get you out of your system funk, complete with hands-on practice in a lab-like environment and a subsequent Q&amp;A session.

💻 9 hours of live & interactive sessions 

You’ll have access to a practical workbook by your side to guide future strategies and decisions as you put them into practice.&nbsp;

📓 100-pg workbook full of 30+ exercises & tools

Participants will join a private community with tech &amp; society leaders from organizations like New_Public, Discord, Center for Tech &amp; Civic Life, Siegel Family Endowment, Stanford’s Digital Civil Society Lab, LAist, and many more.

💡Access to a private community of tech & society leaders to support your ongoing learning and networking.

You'll have the opportunity to engage 1:1 with me in a free coaching session after the course is complete.

✨ A 1:1 coaching session 

You’ll develop a ‘Customized Systems Change Plan’ and get personalized feedback from me in the 1:1 coaching session.

➕Hands-on Capstone Project

Don’t let power imbalances hold you or your system back — learn how to change them. 

Learn directly from Charley Johnson

Charley Johnson

Courses

Systems Change for Tech & Society Leaders

Resources

Course Workbook