Discussion on the three key features of wicked problems: change over time, conflict among stakeholders' values, and knowledge uncertainty. Three cases: mafia in agri-food systems, palm oil production and collective territorial branding in Italy.

1. Lecture 2:
Wicked problems in & around agri-food chains
Wednesday September 21st, 2016 | Instructor: Prof. Domenico Dentoni

2. Recap from Lecture 1
Our approach: Changing the broader system where
ag-food chains are embedded (Dentoni et al. 2012; Senge et al. 2015)
Dr. Anna Birney
Forum for the Future, UK

3. Recap from Lecture 1
Focal
company or
organization
Customers, customers
of customers
Suppliers, suppliers
of suppliers
OBESITY
MAFIA &
CORRUPTION
LAND, WATER,
ENERGY SCARCITY
POVERTY
VIOLATION OF
LABOR RIGHTS
POOR ACCESS TO
TECHNOLOGY
POOR ACCESS TO
CREDIT
WASTE
MANAGEMENT &
POLLUTION
CRIME
Our approach: Changing the broader system where
ag-food chains are embedded (Dentoni et al. 2012; Senge et al. 2015)

4. Recap from Lecture 1
From syllabus introduction:
This course focuses on understanding, explaining and activating processes of change in and around
agri-food chains. This will provide you, as course participants, with a dynamic, process-based
perspective to agri-food chain management. You will reflect and act upon the following questions:
 How do companies or other organizations (governments, municipalities, non-government
organizations, universities and start-ups) recognize and diagnose social, environmental and
economic problems in or around agri-food chains and develop strategies to address them?
 How can individuals, including you, support these organizations in recognizing, diagnosing and
addressing problems through suitable strategies?
By providing recent theories and methods to tackle these questions, the course is inherently
interdisciplinary and designed to integrate students’ diverse backgrounds and education with the
collective problems - and the suitable strategies sought by stakeholders - that we are currently
experiencing in local and global agri-food systems.

5. Recap from Lecture 1
From syllabus learning outcomes
By the end of the course, you will have:
Learning outcomes Learning methods
Developed understanding of
major theories of change in agri-
food
Lectures, readings
Practiced methods and
approaches to explain change at
multiple levels
Lectures, readings, tutorials
Developed competencies for
participating to change processes in
agri-food (creativity, systems
thinking, problem solving,
negotiating, teamwork, forward-
thinking, others!)
Tutorials, group-work,
presentations, role plays, guest
lectures, Facebook group

6. Today’s lecture + tutorial plan
PART I:
Understanding
problems
PICK A PROBLEM
THAT YOU WANT TO
ADDRESS
VISION: IMAGINE
YOUR DESIRED
FUTURE IN A
PERIOD BETWEEN
2020 and 2050
PART II:
Social innovation &
entrepreneurship
PART III:
Building
partnerships
PART IV:
Continuous
learning & change
I. Describe the nature
of the problem
This afternoon, let’s
brainstorm on YOUR
IDEAS AND
INTERESTS

7. Today’s lecture + tutorial plan
Three tales of “wicked” problems in agri-food chains:
• Mafia in food & agriculture
• Deforestation, food insecurity, poverty & commodity markets
• Challenges in collective territorial & food branding
Theory:
• Three key features of “wicked” problems
• Implications for systemic change interventions
Tutorial:
 Let’s brainstorm about problem(s) that you want to address
 Let’s build a realistic but ambitious vision to address this problem(s)

8. Tale 1: Mafia in food and agriculture
Watch this video and let’s try to answer three sets of questions:
Actors:
 What are ALL the actors mentioned?
 Do actors have SIMILAR or DIFFERENT goals? Who has power and why?
Causes:
 What is exactly the problem?
 What is (are) the cause(s) of the problem?
 What are the barriers to solve this problem?
Changes over time:
 Has the problem changed over time? How has it changed?

9. Tale 1: Mafia in food and agriculture

10. Tale 1: Mafia in food and agriculture

11. Tale 1: Mafia in food and agriculture
Watch this video and let’s try to answer three sets of questions:
Actors:
 What are all the actors mentioned?
 Do actors have similar or different GOALS? Who has POWER and why?
Causes:
 What is exactly the problem?
 What is (are) the cause(s) of the problem?
 What are the barriers to solve this problem?
Changes over time:
 Has the problem changed over time? How has it changed?

12. Tale 1: Mafia problem
Cases:
Three features of
the problems:
Mafia in
agriculture
Unsustainability
and commodity
markets
Challenges in
collective
branding
Have actors
conflicting values?
Has the problem
many causes?
Does the problem
change over time?

13. Today’s lecture + tutorial plan
Three tales of “wicked” problems in agri-food chains:
• Mafia in food & agriculture
• Deforestation, food insecurity, poverty & commodity markets
• Challenges in collective territorial & food branding
Theory:
• Three key features of “wicked” problems
• Implications for systemic change interventions
Tutorial:
 Let’s brainstorm about problem(s) that you want to address
 Let’s build a realistic but ambitious vision to address this problem(s)

14. Tale 2: Unsustainability & commodity markets
…Which ingredients is Nutella made with?

15. Tale 2: Unsustainability & commodity markets
…Sustainable Palm Oil?

17. Tale 2: Unsustainability & commodity markets
To boycott...

18. Tale 2: Unsustainability & commodity markets
To boycott…

19. Tale 2: Unsustainability & commodity markets
…or not to boycott?

20. Tale 2: Unsustainability & commodity markets
Let’s try to answer three sets of questions:
Actors:
 What are all the actors mentioned?
 Do actors have similar or different GOALS? Who has POWER and why?
Causes:
 What is exactly the problem?
 What is (are) the cause(s) of the problem?
 What are the barriers to solve this problem?
Changes over time:
 Has the problem changed over time? How has it changed?

21. Tale 2: Unsustainability & commodity markets
Cases:
Three features of
the problems:
Mafia in
agriculture
Unsustainability
and commodity
markets
Challenges in
collective
branding
Have actors
conflicting values?
Has the problem
many causes?
Does the problem
change over time?

22. Today’s lecture + tutorial plan
Three tales of “wicked” problems in agri-food chains:
• Mafia in food & agriculture
• Deforestation, food insecurity, poverty & commodity markets
• Challenges in collective territorial & food branding
Theory:
• Three key features of “wicked” problems
• Implications for systemic change interventions
Tutorial:
 Let’s brainstorm about problem(s) that you want to address
 Let’s build a realistic but ambitious vision to address this problem(s)

23. Tale 3: Challenges in collective branding
A plethora of initiatives to collectively support
the “Marche place brand”…

24. Tale 3: Challenges in collective branding
…Involving a large number of actors across
multiple sectors

25. Tale 3: Challenges in collective branding
The University of Macerata played a key role as
project partner, trainer and facilitator...

26. Tale 3: Challenges in collective branding
…but, despite many cultural & natural
resources, a number of issues persist!
Lack of trust
?

27. Tale 3: Nature of the problem
Cases:
Three features of
the problems:
Mafia in
agriculture
Unsustainability
and commodity
markets
Challenges in
collective
branding
Have actors
conflicting values?
Has the problem
many causes?
Does the problem
change over time?

28. Today’s lecture + tutorial plan
Three tales of “wicked” problems in agri-food chains:
• Mafia in food & agriculture
• Deforestation, food insecurity, poverty & commodity markets
• Challenges in collective territorial & food branding
Theory:
• Three key features of “wicked” problems
• Implications for systemic change interventions
Tutorial:
 Let’s brainstorm about problem(s) that you want to address
 Let’s build a realistic but ambitious vision to address this problem(s)

29. Wicked problems: Theory
Many economic, social and environmental problems have a “wicked nature”
Three features of wicked
problems
Value conflict among multiple
stakeholders involved in the problem
Knowledge uncertainty: not even
scientists agree on causes and effects
of problems
Dynamic complexity: problems
change continuously yet always
unpredictably
Three features of
the problems:
Have actors
conflicting values?
Has the problem
many causes?
Does the problem
change over time?
(Rittel and Webber 1973, Batie 2008; Dentoni and Ross 2013)

30. Wicked problems: Theory
“There are a whole realm of social problems that cannot be treated with traditional
linear, analytical approaches” (Rittel and Webber 1973)
Analysis
(e.g.. Porter’s five
forces strategic
analysis)
Goal setting
(e.g. choosing
performance
objectives)
Implementation
(e.g. logistics,
operations, etc.)
Performance
assessment
(e.g. measuring
through indicators)
Long-term, linear
planning does not
work!

31. Wicked problems: Criticisms
Common criticisms to this problem-based view to agri-food chain management:
1. “Analysis paralysis”
2. “Business focuses on opportunities, NGOs/politics on problems”!

32. Wicked problems: Implications
So, if problems are so messy…
What should we do with them?
How can be make suitable plans?

33. Wicked problems: Implications
To make effective innovations in agri-food chains, YOU need to be aware
of the problems and act accordingly:
1. There will always be losers from your interventions. Talking of
“win-win-win solutions” is foolish! Instead, identify losers and seek
reasonable outcomes for them too.
Three features of the
problems:
Have actors conflicting
values?
(Value conflict)
Has the problem many
causes?
(Knowledge uncertainty)
Does the problem
change over time?
(Dynamic complexity)
2. Be ready to unintended consequences of your interventions. Do
not pretend you know everything and make no mistakes. Instead
coordinate with the stakeholders to find how you can address the
problem collaboratively.
3. Make yourself, your organization and your stakeholders ready to
learn and adapt continuously and from multiple disciplines and
multiple sources.
(Rittel and Webber 1973, Batie 2008; Dentoni and Ross 2013)

34. Wicked problems: Implications
To make effective innovations in agri-food chains, we need to be aware of
the problems and act accordingly:

35. Today’s lecture + tutorial plan
Three tales of “wicked” problems in agri-food chains:
• Mafia in food & agriculture
• Deforestation, food insecurity, poverty & commodity markets
• Challenges in collective territorial & food branding
Theory:
• Three key features of “wicked” problems
• Implications for systemic change interventions
Tutorial:
 Let’s brainstorm about problem(s) that you want to address
 Let’s build realistic but ambitious visions to address this problem(s)

36. Tutorial
PART I:
Understanding
problems
1. PICK A PROBLEM
THAT YOU WANT TO
ADDRESS
2. VISION: IMAGINE
YOUR DESIRED
FUTURE IN A
PERIOD BETWEEN
2020 and 2050
PART II:
Social innovation &
entrepreneurship
PART III:
Building
partnerships
PART IV:
Continuous
learning & change
The ideas that you produce in this
tutorial (or after that) are ideal to
write the INTRODUCTION and
PART I of your report3. DESCRIBE THE
PROBLEM (and start
thinking of its
implications)

37. 1. Picking a problem(s)
Let’s brainstorm in small groups about
problem(s) that you want to address!
Let’s start from here…
(e.g. corruption, distrust,
uninnovative culture)
from here…
(e.g. collective
branding)
…or from here
(e.g. IT solutions to
combine food,
tourism and
education)

38. 2. Visioning
Let’s imagine a vision for 2020 or up to 2050
An example?
https://www.zingt
rain.com/content
/why-and-how-
visioning-works

39. 3. Describe your problem(s)
Three features of the
problems:
Have actors conflicting
values?
Has the problem many
causes?
Does the problem
change over time?
We will work on suitable
innovations to address your
problem(s) and make a systemic
change in next lectures!