Abstract for: Escape from the Death Spiral: The Survival of Peer Mentoring Groups

The benefits of peer mentoring are well known and widely advocated. Practitioners mentoring each other could get support, build up social networks, satisfy their curiosity, and share resources. But why is it that, even when people find peer mentoring groups (PMG) useful and want to participate, many groups die out? At the 2020 International SD conference in Bergen we will present simulation results that show the structure and behavior of PMGs. To achieve these objectives, we developed a simulation model so far, reflecting the major causal links that either drive or impede the successful implementation of a PMG to a level that will maximize the chance of its survival. We expect to identify the main drivers that influence behavior of PMGs towards dying out in the early period. In doing so one can study possible shifts in dominance, identify, and describe early warning signals and tipping points, shedding light on why so many PMGs die even though they seem to be useful. Utilizing this information, we would like to propose effective policies and recommend actions that would help PMGs survive by avoiding death spirals