A collaborative learning network of cities

Abstract Cities as local complex systems are uniquely equipped to, and increasingly looked upon, to battle 'wicked problems' such as the obesity epidemic. Applying a WSA, Amsterdam works to provide optimal conditions for children to grow up with healthy dietary, sleep and physical activity habits to stimulate healthy weight development. As a WSA, it does not consist of predictable, linear sequencing of events 'from input to impact', but rather of iterations of responsive actions within a complex adaptive system within its own policy context, enabling responsive program actions over time. Despite increasing advocacy for WSAs in dealing with wicked problems, there is a need to further learn how they can be effectively implemented, evaluated and shaped as a dynamic, adaptive, self-learning system. Therefore, Amsterdam and London created a Collaborative Learning Network (CLN) to facilitate mutual learning and dynamic WSA-growth by exchanging knowledge and experiences, and creating a joint advocacy platform. This creates collective doing, e.g. a joint lobby and agenda setting, and collective learning, i.e. exchanging knowledge and experiences. Despite these initial valuable results, a further expansion and evolution of the network is needed. Firstly, expansion means more advocacy power and more impactful actions, but also having a larger variety of political and policy contexts to learn from and distill more (in)effective ingredients. Secondly, it could involve policy makers as well as researchers, so that researchers can, in a scientifically valid way, distill lessons learned and test new ideas empirically. Conversely, this provides researchers with a 'living lab' to study and develop new approaches/interventions, and empirically evaluate them, potentially as a self-sustaining endeavor via joint research grant applications and local advocacy. This workshop aims to discuss, and potentially advance, the purpose(s), operationalization and structural self-sustainability of the CLN.