The VUCAcanvas
A framework for thriving in VUCA conditions
Research-baked - Field-tested
Lead with clarity
The VUCAcanvas helps leaders, teams, and organisations navigate complexity by strengthening the human and relational capacities that make systems thrive.
Developed over six years of applied research across sectors, the VUCAcanvas is a practice-ready framework and approach for understanding, adapting, and sustaining change in complex adaptive systems.
It transforms uncertainty into insight and insight into collective action.
Why it matters
Today’s world is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA). Traditional control models fail to keep pace with emergent change. Organisations that thrive are not the ones with the best plans, but those with the strongest capacities to adapt, connect, and learn.
The VUCAcanvas was created to help leaders shape those capacities. It brings systems thinking to life in a tangible, human-centred way, turning abstract complexity into shared language, visual dialogue, and actionable intelligence.
Six human and relational capacities
At the heart of the VUCAcanvas are six interdependent capacities that enable systems, and the people within them, to stay viable, responsive, and connected in change. Together, they form a shared language for leadership in complexity enabling teams to see their system as a whole, surface hidden dynamics, and design interventions that matter.
Adaptability is the capacity to adjust course with ease as circumstances shift. In adaptive organisations, leaders cultivate a climate of curiosity and experimentation - encouraging teams to explore new strategies, ideas, and innovations in response to emerging conditions.
Traditional management often views experimentation as inefficiency or risk, yet in complexity, it is a vital form of learning. Nokia’s evolution from a paper and rubber manufacturer to a global digital network company illustrates how adaptability enables renewal and long-term viability.
No organisation can predict the future with certainty. Yet sensitive organisations cultivate the ability to notice early signals - subtle patterns, shifts, and weak indicators that point to deeper social, economic, or environmental change. They actively seek diverse information and perspectives to enrich their foresight and scenario planning, allowing them to anticipate challenges and imagine alternative futures before disruption strikes.Shell is a well-known example of this sensitivity in practice, consistently scanning global trends and adjusting its strategies to stay responsive in a rapidly changing world.
Resilience is the capacity of an organisation to absorb disruption, recover quickly, and emerge stronger from challenge. In volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) conditions, resilience depends on creating buffers - maintaining reserves of time, resources, and energy that allow systems to bend without breaking. Yet many organisations erode this capacity by prioritising short-term returns over long-term stability. Research from the Reserve Bank of Australia shows that dividend payouts have risen to more than 80 cents of every dollar of corporate profit in recent decades - leaving limited room to invest in people, innovation, and sustainable growth.
Resilient organisations, by contrast, view resources not just as financial assets but as the foundation of renewal - ensuring they can adapt, sustain their workforce, and continue to learn under pressure.
Connective capacity is the ability of an organisation to build and sustain meaningful relationships across its wider ecosystem. It’s about seeing connections as sources of strength, cultivating trust with diverse partners, understanding interdependencies, and intentionally shaping networks that enable shared value creation. Connective organisations don’t only collaborate, they weave. They exchange knowledge, co-create insights, and balance openness with discernment about which relationships truly add resilience and purpose. For example, while maintaining multiple suppliers across regions may seem inefficient, it often safeguards continuity during disruption. The global shortage of PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the risks of overreliance on a single source and the importance of distributed, trusted connections that keep systems viable in crisis.
Diversity is the capacity of an organisation to draw on a wide range of partners, perspectives, ideas, and innovations to stay adaptable in changing conditions. Just as biological systems rely on diversity to remain resilient, organisations thrive when they include varied viewpoints, disciplines, and experiences. In complex environments, sameness breeds fragility, while difference fuels creativity and renewal. Diverse organisations deliberately invite multiple ways of seeing and knowing, ensuring that decision-making and innovation are enriched by contrast rather than confined by consensus. The Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium (NAT Lab) exemplifies this principle: by fostering cross-disciplinary teams and open exploration, it built a culture where diversity of thought became a catalyst for breakthrough innovation.
Collaboration is the capacity of people within a system to act with shared purpose and mutual trust. In collaborative organisations, teams don’t wait for direction, they move together with clarity of intention, adapting fluidly to what emerges while maintaining coherence. When trust is strong and purpose is shared, coordination becomes natural, and autonomy strengthens rather than fragments the whole. This collective responsiveness is vital in VUCA conditions, where no single actor can see the full picture or control outcomes alone. The Dutch healthcare organisation Buurtzorg exemplifies this capacity: when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, its self-managing teams quickly mobilised to source masks and protective equipment, guided by trust, purpose, and a deep commitment to care.
The VUCAcanvas® materials are shared under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
How it works
The VUCAcanvas isn’t a model to fill in, it’s a conversation to hold. It combines structured dialogue, visual tools and playful materials like canvases and Duplo® bricks to make systems visible and discussable. In workshops, leaders and teams explore three guiding questions:
- What? — What’s happening in our system right now?
- So what? — What patterns and insights do we see?
- Now what? — What can we design to strengthen our capacities?
The process builds collective intelligence, helping teams shift from reacting to complexity to working with it.
Research-backed
Developed through six years of research in complexity and systemic design, the VUCAcanvas has been tested across education, corporate innovation, government, and community contexts. This foundation was built through an extensive programme of applied research and collaboration:
- 9 structured interviews
- 6 design sessions
- 11 participatory workshops
- 100+ participants across sectors and countries
Both academically grounded and field-proven, the VUCAcanvas bridges theory and action to strengthen the human and relational capacities that make systems thrive.
Photography by Rik Berbé
What leaders gain
- A clear framework for understanding how human and relational capacities shape system health.
- A visual, shared language for discussing what usually stays hidden.
- A strategic process for aligning people, learning, and innovation under uncertainty.
- A scalable toolkit for guiding transformation across teams or communities.
Leaders describe the VUCAcanvas as 'a mirror and a map', revealing how their system really works and where to focus next.
Applications
Used in strategy sessions, transformation programmes, and leadership development, the VUCAcanvas helps:
- Executive teams shape future-ready organisations
- Urban places and communities strengthen resilience and collaboration
- Cross-sector partnerships create stronger networks
- Innovation labs explore emergence and uncertainty through systemic insight
Each session is tailored to your context. Whether you’re shaping culture, leading change, or rethinking how your organisation navigates.
Let's go
Bring the VUCAcanvas into your organisation or leadership programme and start building the capacities to thrive in complexity. Together, we’ll explore how your teams can navigate uncertainty, strengthen connection, and lead with clarity in changing conditions.
Let's train
The VUCAcanvas Training is a hands-on learning experience for leaders and teams ready to navigate uncertainty with confidence. Through interactive sessions and practical tools, you’ll learn to apply the VUCAcanvas in your own context.
Testimonials
The VucaCanvas toolkit offers an excellent vehicle for participatory design and engagement of stakeholders grappling with complex issues and dependencies. The tactile learning inherent in the kit helps make visible the assumptions that underpin our perceptions of complex phenomena, and fosters dialogue as to prioritization and action. The session on the VucaCanvas model was an engaging exercise led by an experienced facilitator.
In these turbulent times, it is critically important for leaders and their organization to take stock of their capacity to respond to rapidly emerging challenges. The VucaCanvas® is a unique tool that supports leaders in their stocktaking efforts that enables them to generate ideas and strategies on how to strengthen their personal and organizational agility. It has now become a foundational tool in my practice that is both practical and insightful..
As a facilitator and strategist, I’ve found the VucaCanvas® provides a unique framework for addressing the assessing any organization’s capacities for adapting to VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) business environments and unexpected challenges. It’s a powerful assessment tool for various stages of projects – when you’re kicking off an initiative involving diverse stakeholders; during implementation planning; and as part of a performance evaluation 'dashboard'. Now, more than ever, developing VucaCanvas® capabilities is proving to be invaluable, for us and our clients.
VucaCanvas is an excellent framework for understanding how an organization can position itself for managing its business like an all-star while staying competitive in turbulent times. Through VucaCanvas, practitioners can develop a “Cultural Creative Mentality” for success both now and in the future and, pardon the paraphrase, 'boldly succeed as we journey together where no one has gone before'.
When you are navigating the unplanned and disruptive change space its so easy to get overwhelmed by too many moving parts, competing for space. I love that the VucaCanvas® gives you the tool and technique to deconstruct the current situation and recognize where development of potential is present for any organization, to be supported in moving ahead of the curve.
The VucaCanvas is a brilliant tool to analyse organisation's ability to be future-proof, but not only that, it is also really inspiring experience for the people involved. I heard later that the workshop really gave the participants a hefty load of food for thought, but also gave them peace of mind in certain respects, because after the dilemmas had been spread out on the table, they became manageable.
Origin and ongoing development
The VUCAcanvas emerged from a six-year design and research journey led by Rik Berbé MSc, founder of ChangeLabs and lecturer and researcher in systemic design. Grounded in evolutionary biology, systems thinking, and complexity science, the framework and approach was shaped through cycles of prototyping, field testing, and reflection across sectors and countries.
From its earliest versions, the VUCAcanvas grew through collaboration with a Community of Practitioners: facilitators, educators, and leaders who helped refine its language, visuals, and facilitation methods. Each workshop and dialogue added new insight into how people and organisations adapt, connect, and sustain themselves in VUCA environments.
Today, the VUCAcanvas continues to evolve through active partnerships with practitioners, researchers, and institutions committed to strengthening human and relational capacities for transformation. It remains what it was always intended to be: a living framework and approach built through practice, shared learning, and the belief that complexity is best navigated together.
Title: The VUCAcanvas: A framework for strengthening human and relational capacities in complex adaptive systems
Subtitle: A practice-ready framework for thriving in VUCA environments
Published: October 8, 2025 at RSD14 conference: Arcs of Impact
Published by: Rik Berbé MSc
Overall findings
Across interviews, sessions and workshops, the VUCAcanvas framework and canvases
consistently proved usable, relevant, and adaptable to different organisational and
cultural contexts. Quantitative scoring provided a shared reference point, while
qualitative dialogue surfaced deeper insights into system dynamics. The combination of
tangible tools (canvases, Duplo® bricks, scoring scales) and structured dialogue enabled
participants to externalise assumptions, diagnose invisible dynamics, and identify
strategic opportunities. This process reflects systemic design principles emphasising
multiscale perspectives, stakeholder participation, and the co-evolution of systems and
design interventions (Jones, 2015). Data was triangulated through post-session
interviews, cross-case comparison, and peer review, confirming the framework’s
conceptual robustness and practical utility as both a diagnostic and developmental tool
for developing sustainable CAS.
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