Realizing Complex Policy
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Collaborative : In collaborative policy systems-of-systems , the component policies interact more or less voluntarily to fulfill agreed upon central purposes . The central players collectively decide how to provide or deny service , thereby providing some means of enforcing and maintaining standards . Virtual : Virtual policy systems-of-systems lack a central management authority and a centrally agreed upon purpose for the systems-of-systems . Large-scale behavior emerges — and may be desirable — but this type of systems-of-systems must rely on relatively invisible mechanisms to maintain it .
Meta Systems-of-Systems
According to the OECD , at a fundamental level , the world consists of
11 core systems 10 ( refer Figure 14 ). Each of the 11 core systems has evolved over time to serve a specific need or want of society . Collectively , they form a global meta systems-of-systems ( SoS ).
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Each of the 11 core systems itself operates as a meta SoS . Countries and businesses operate as meta SoS at the national , regional , and local levels .
In government today , there is a need for acknowledged policy systems-of-systems to deal with complex policy issues including multi-jurisdiction policies .
Like directed policy systems-of-systems , acknowledged policy systems-of-systems have recognized authorities and resources at the systems-of-systems level . However , because an acknowledged policy systems-of-systems comprises policies that maintain independent objectives , management , and resources , along with independent development processes , these policy systems-of-systems are largely collaborative in practice . For policies in these systems-of-systems , in particular , their normal operational mode is not subordinated to the policyowner ( which is a distinct feature of a directed policy systems-of-systems ).
Government policies and funding are still largely ministry-focused , and many policy systems-of-systems do not have authority over the component policies . Typically , they try to address policy systems-of-systems ’ objectives by leveraging the developments of their component policies , which are normally more long-standing and better supported than the policy systems-of-systems . Consequently , acknowledged policy systems-of-systems , like directed policy systems-of-systems , have objectives , management , and funding without authority over the component policies . Like collaborative policy systems-of-systems , changes in component policies to meet policy systems-of-systems ’ needs are based on agreement and collaboration , not top-down authority from the policy systems-of-systems owner .
Complex policies are complex meta systems-of-systems that are best understood as having two separate , but integrated systems-of-systems : Complex policy objectives , strategy , and political support ; and Complex policy emergent implementation using a systems-of-systems .
9
US Office of the Secretary of Defense , Systems Engineering Guide for Systems-Of-Systems . Version 1.0 August . Director , Systems and Software Engineering Deputy Under Secretary of Defense ( Acquisition and
Technology ) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense ( Acquisition , Technology and Logistics ), 2008
10
IBM Global Business Services , The World ’ s 4 Trillion Dollar Challenge . Using a Systems-of-systems Approach to Build a Smarter Planet , 2010 .
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