Strategy and analysis

Leverage Point Prioritisation

Identify where small changes could create large systemic effects. Useful for systems thinking, sustainability, organisational transformation, and policy design. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.

Start

What the framework is

Leverage points are places in a system where a small change can shift the whole system's behaviour. Donella Meadows described them in her 1999 essay "Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System". The template compares candidate leverage points on five criteria: Systemic Impact, Feasibility, Political Acceptability, Time to Effect and Adaptability. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.

What the result looks like

EXAMPLE
Where should we intervene first?
Top ranked
Change the default option
Systemic Impact 92% · 1st
Feasibility 63% · 1st
Political Acceptability 38% · 3rd
Time to Effect 75% · 1st
Adaptability 50% · 2nd
63%
Weighted win rate

Overall

Options Weighted win rate
01
Change the default option
Systemic Impact 1st · Feasibility 1st · Political Acceptability 3rd · Time to Effect 1st · Adaptability 2nd
63%
02
Publish performance data
Systemic Impact 2nd · Feasibility 2nd · Political Acceptability 1st · Time to Effect 3rd · Adaptability 1st
52%
03
Adjust the funding formula
Systemic Impact 3rd · Feasibility 3rd · Political Acceptability 2nd · Time to Effect 2nd · Adaptability 3rd
35%

Overall with the criteria

Rank
Options
 Systemic Impact
20%
 Feasibility
20%
 Political Acceptability
20%
 Time to Effect
20%
 Adaptability
20%
 Overall
Weighted win rate
01 Change the default option
92%
1st
63%
1st
38%
3rd
75%
1st
50%
2nd
63%
02 Publish performance data
42%
2nd
58%
2nd
71%
1st
33%
3rd
54%
1st
52%
03 Adjust the funding formula
17%
3rd
29%
3rd
42%
2nd
42%
2nd
46%
3rd
35%

By the options

01 · Change the default option 63% weighted win rate
–
Systemic Impact
92%
1st of 3 · 22 Wins · 2 Losses
–
Feasibility
63%
1st of 3 · 15 Wins · 9 Losses
–
Political Acceptability
38%
3rd of 3 · 9 Wins · 15 Losses
–
Time to Effect
75%
1st of 3 · 18 Wins · 6 Losses
–
Adaptability
50%
2nd of 3 · 12 Wins · 12 Losses
02 · Publish performance data 52% weighted win rate
–
Systemic Impact
42%
2nd of 3 · 10 Wins · 14 Losses
–
Feasibility
58%
2nd of 3 · 14 Wins · 10 Losses
–
Political Acceptability
71%
1st of 3 · 17 Wins · 7 Losses
–
Time to Effect
33%
3rd of 3 · 8 Wins · 16 Losses
–
Adaptability
54%
1st of 3 · 13 Wins · 11 Losses
03 · Adjust the funding formula 35% weighted win rate
–
Systemic Impact
17%
3rd of 3 · 4 Wins · 20 Losses
–
Feasibility
29%
3rd of 3 · 7 Wins · 17 Losses
–
Political Acceptability
42%
2nd of 3 · 10 Wins · 14 Losses
–
Time to Effect
42%
2nd of 3 · 10 Wins · 14 Losses
–
Adaptability
46%
3rd of 3 · 11 Wins · 13 Losses
Scoring Explanations
CRITERIA WEIGHTINGS — The % weighting for each criterion is shown in the table header. Unless this was entered in the setup, the weighting is equal across criteria.
WEIGHTED WIN RATE — Each criterion's result, in the measure they share, averaged using the assigned weightings.

When it earns its place

Use it after mapping a system, such as a supply chain, a service pathway or a local economy, when you have several possible points of intervention and limited capacity to act.

The trap is choosing the most visible lever. Changing a target or a budget line is easy to see; changing a rule or an information flow often does more. Comparing on systemic impact and feasibility separately keeps both in view.

How to run it with a group

  1. List each leverage point as a specific change, such as "publish waiting times weekly".
  2. Agree the weights for this system and timescale.
  3. Participants compare the leverage points two at a time on each criterion. Participants do not need an account to respond. Three to six options keep it manageable: with five options and five criteria, each person makes 50 comparisons.
  4. Read the overall ranking, then the ranking per criterion. A point with high systemic impact and low political acceptability may need allies before it can be pulled.

Get started

Start