Introduction to Human Action Under Uncertainty

In today's uncertain world, we need innovative tools to address novel challenges. This course introduces a systems approach to understanding and influencing human action, enabling you to navigate risks and seize opportunities more effectively in contexts where people play a crucial role.

This course may be for you if:

• You’re a professional looking to expand your toolkit for understanding and influencing human action in organizations, communities, and societies.

• You're interested in learning behavior change science from a complexity perspective, or want to deepen your understanding beyond conventional approaches.

• Your role requires you to collaborate and plan with a diverse group of professionals or service users in contexts where human behavior plays a key role.

This course may not be for you if:

• You’re primarily interested in non-applied research.

• Your main interest lies in understanding the physics and mathematical theorems underlying complex systems science.

• The contexts you work in are highly stable, or human action plays a negligible role in them.

Registration Dates

• Early Bird Pricing Ends: January 8, 2025

• Registration Closes: January 28, 2025

Early Bird prices are as follows:
Corporate - $499
Government/NGO - $499
Individual - $459
Student/Academic - $409*
*Must use college or university email address to receive this rate

Scholarship Application Window

• Scholarship Applications Open: December 20, 2024

• Scholarship Applications Close: December 27, 2024

To apply for a scholarship, click here.

Are you looking to apply this course in an organizational context? Attending as a team can enhance your learning and create a lasting impact in your organization.

Take advantage of this opportunity by registering with one or more colleagues. Please contact us at programs@necsi.edu and ask about our group rates!

Your Instructor: Matti TJ Heino

Matti TJ Heino is a social psychologist studying human behavior change processes in complex systems, motivating interaction, and societal crisis resilience. In addition to his research, he has worked on practical applications of behavioral science in organizations as well as public policy at both national and local levels.

www.mattiheino.com

Registration

Enrolling in this course grants you access to five immersive sessions, hours of self-paced content, and a peer network for collaborative learning. Each session combines thought-provoking lectures with hands-on exercises, reinforcing key ideas and introducing practical tools to get you started in practice.

Schedule and Timing

This course will be conducted over five weekly sessions, each held on Wednesdays. Mark your calendars with the following schedule and and reserve additional time each week for self-paced material:

• Start Time: 11:00 AM EST / 5:00 PM CEST / 8:00 AM PST

• End Time: 1:30 PM EST / 7:30 PM CEST / 10:30 AM PST

Session Dates

• Session 1: Wednesday, January 29, 2025

• Session 2: Wednesday, February 5, 2025

• Session 3: Wednesday, February 12, 2025

• Session 4: Wednesday, February 19, 2025

• Session 5 (Final): Wednesday, February 26, 2025
  
  

Fifty years ago, we lived in a fundamentally different world. With fewer interdependencies, leaders could make informed decisions from the top of a hierarchy, and adaptability was less of a concern. The world changed at a manageable pace—there was no internet or social media to accelerate the rapid spread of information. Challenges like climate change and pandemics were only distant possibilities. How much has changed since then!

Today, while our knowledge expands faster than ever, our ability to anticipate and respond to challenges or opportunities often falls short. Thriving in an increasingly complex and uncertain world requires understanding human behavior as part of interconnected systems. This course integrates behavioral science, complex systems thinking, and sense-making, offering practical frameworks and methods to navigate modern complexity effectively.

Traditional approaches to planning still have their place, but they often fail under conditions of high uncertainty. Recognizing this limitation allows us to design more resilient and adaptable change initiatives that evolve alongside the systems they aim to influence. Creating lasting impact also requires collaboration with diverse stakeholders and the cultivation of robust sense-making skills. These skills enable early detection of warning signals, identification of emerging opportunities, and the harnessing of collective intelligence.

This course offers a practical introduction to theoretical concepts and actionable tools. You’ll gain access to lectures that explore human behavior in complex systems, supplemented by weekly discussions that reinforce key ideas and introduce hands-on tools. This combination of understanding and practice will transform your approach to behavior change, help you ask insightful questions, and guide you toward taking more effective actions in an uncertain world.

Join a pioneering community of diverse change-makers to address real-world complexity. You’ll sharpen your analytical lens, expand your skill set for understanding and influencing social systems, and empower yourself to adapt and thrive in a rapidly evolving world.

Here’s What You’ll Learn

*No prior knowledge of social psychology, behavior change, or complexity is required.

Questions? Contact us at programs@necsi.edu.