Abstract for: Insights from Two Concurrent System Dynamics Group Model Building Projects: Documenting Five Lessons Learned With Audiovisual Evidence

Few studies have addressed maternal health outcomes from a complex systems perspective. To bridge this knowledge gap, two SD modeling projects that apply system dynamics group model building (SD GMB) are ongoing, with core SD GMB meetings with community participants having taken place within the same calendar month. The close timing of SD GMB activities provided a unique opportunity for rapid learning and adaptation by the research team. Applying tenets of reflexivity, a manuscript was recently published in System Dynamics Review that described how SD GMB activities were conceptualized, planned, and implemented, offering reflections on the effectiveness of our approach. This paper augments the original publication by providing audiovisual documentation, drawn directly from SD GMB session recordings, to support these reflections. Drawing upon our own insights about successes, failures, and apparent enigmas in each project, these reflections and supporting audiovisual evidence are presented as five ‘lessons’. These lessons summarize the challenging, yet rewarding, experience of having engaged in these closely-timed SD GMB activities. The five lessons derived from the two concurrent SD GMB activities may offer valuable insights for others engaging in the formative phase of SD GMB projects. By using audiovisual evidence, this paper may enhance understanding and increase uptake among researchers and practitioners who engage in SD GMB.