Principia Competes in “Map the System” Championship
How can Principia students apply their knowledge and skills to real-world issues while still in college? This past year, faculty members from the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Center for Sustainability, Global Studies program, and Leadership Institute saw an opportunity to provide students with a chance to do exactly that—by entering the "Map the System" global competition, which challenges students to think differently about social and environmental change. It encourages recognition that effective solutions first require gaining a deep understanding of the complexity—the interconnected factors and actors—around an issue, using the tool of systems mapping.
In early June, Connor D’Amico, a rising senior, and Sophie Hills and Nadja Peschke, both rising sophomores, traveled with sustainability and economics instructor Nick Johnson (C’04) to England for the championship round of the Map the System competition, sponsored by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. In its fourth year, the competition at Oxford is the culmination of earlier contests taking place at educational institutions across the world, ranging in size and type from Principia College to the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town.
Typically, three or more teams at each institution compete among themselves, with judges from the institution choosing the winner. At least one team member must be a student at the institution; the others can be external consultants, but most teams are made up entirely of students. Each institution’s winning team advances to the Oxford competition. (In Canada, the competition is so popular that a regional contest has been added to further winnow the number of Canadian teams.)
Map the System topics range broadly—from honor killings to errors in healthcare billing. Connor, Sophie, and Nadja examined the proliferation of single-use styrofoam containers, which they dubbed “America’s Obsession.” In their research they found that less than 1 percent of styrofoam is recycled, since very few recycling programs accept #6 plastic, from which styrofoam is made. As a result, containers go to landfill, with 20 percent of them winding up above ground or in waterways, eventually making their way into the food chain. Considering the cost of health and environmental externalities, team members concluded that it would be cheaper for the U.S. to avoid using single-use styrofoam containers.
As part of their research, the team conducted a number of interviews, including with Jenn DeRose, former director of St Louis’s Green Dining Alliance, and David Miller, North America director of the C40 Coalition and former mayor of Toronto. Team members also spoke with representatives from a local farm-to-table restaurant, a local ice cream shop that went back to using styrofoam because of its ability to keep things cold, Chick-fil-A, and Trader Joe’s, among others.
This was Principia’s first time participating in Map the System, and while the team wasn't among the six finalists, our students represented Principia admirably and learned a great deal. Half of each team’s score is based on their written report, systems map, and list of references, while the other half is based on a 10-minute presentation. Nick Johnson ranked Principia’s presentation—both the visuals and the students’ poise—among the top five at the competition, but he felt their written report lacked depth in some areas. Map the System judges gave similar feedback.
Principia’s year-long, internal competition initially involved four teams, two of which made it to the campus contest. In second place were sophomore Delaney Gatine and seniors Hannah Hathaway, Sophia Hathaway, Matthew McLeod-Warrick, and Victoria Vandiver, who used a systems approach to explore dropout rates in the Los Angeles public school system, especially among Latino youth.
Faculty sponsors of the project included Dr. Sarah Andrews, Dr. Karen Eckert, Nick Johnson, Dale Matheny, Dr. Sally Steindorf, and David Wold. Travel expenses to England were partially supported by the College’s Experiential Learning Fund. Because of the students’ positive experience, Principia plans to enter the Map the System competition again.
Learn more about the this year’s Map the System competition and winners.