Managing Complexity Through Methodic Participation: The Case of Air Quality in Santiago,Chile

Three concrete results have been achieved over a 5-year period in Santiago, Chile, in a process addressed to managing through participation the difficult air quality situation of this 5-million-person metropolis: (1) a highly complex problem has become manageable, (2) a legitimate and effective Prevention and Decontamination Plan is in operation, and (3) citizens and the government are mutually committed to this process. This paper describes how these results have been achieved by applying Innovative Development, a social systems methodology developed by the author and co-workers and applied in many fields over the last 20 years. Following a review of the problem and results that have been achieved, an explanation is offered for why a participative methodology is necessary for dealing with a highly complex problem like the current one. The fourth section provides a brief outline of the Innovative Development methodology. The last section presents the case itself, describing three stages. In the short space available we have tried to balance the practical, methodological, and conceptual issues of this case and this approach.