Along with the development of digitalization, it has become apparent that focusing on technology is not enough but the crucial issue is how to link together technological and human resources. Systems thinking is needed to understand the interdependencies resulting from these linkages at different levels: in activity systems at the micro level, in networks and ecosystems at the meso level, and in the institutional set-up that supports and regulates the development at the macro level. In this chapter, we analyze these interdependencies in more detail. As a starting point for these analyses, we point out basic principles of systems thinking and present central benefits of the application of this thinking. We also consider the highly dynamic nature of the development of digitalization: we examine how the systems perspective can be applied in the conditions of change. A central message throughout is the view that the value of a specific resource depends on its relation to other resources.

Experimental development has been suggested to answer the problems of slowness and ineffectiveness in current innovation activities. It is also applied in the public sector, where it raises specific issues due to traditional bureaucracy and strong professionalism. In our study, carried out via interviews, we examined experimental development and its challenges in a middle-sized Finnish city. The experiment focused on a new integrated model of wellbeing that aimed to promote multiprofessional collaboration and citizen empowerment in child and family services. A common service plan and a digital platform were core elements in the model. However, the purpose of the experiment remained too vague to the practitioners and the experiment was stopped before the dead line. Central challenges were the one-sided focus on top-down management, growing workload, and problems of the digital platform. Despite the 'failure', the experiment offered valuable learnings that can be applied in the future. Clarifying the concept of experimenting and improving the collaboration between local activities and governmental policies are among the most important lessons learned.

In 1956, Kenneth Boulding explained the concept of General Systems Theory as a skeleton of science. He describes that it hopes to develop something like a "spectrum" of theories-a system of systems which may perform the function of a "gestalt" in theoretical construction. Such "gestalts" in special fields have been of great value in directing research towards the gaps which they reveal.There were, at that time, other important conceptual frameworks and theories, such as cybernetics. Additional theories and applications developed later, including synergetics, cognitive science, complex adaptive systems, and many others. Some focused on principles within specific domains of knowledge and others crossed areas of knowledge and practice, along the spectrum described by Boulding.Also in 1956, the Society for General Systems Research (now the International Society for the Systems Sciences) was founded. One of the concerns of the founders, even then, was the state of the human condition, and what science could do about it.The present Translational Systems Sciences book series aims at cultivating a new frontier of systems sciences for contributing to the need for practical applications that benefit people.The concept of translational research originally comes from medical science for enhancing human health and well-being. Translational medical research is often labeled as "Bench to Bedside." It places emphasis on translating the findings in basic research (at bench) more quickly and efficiently into medical practice (at bedside). At the same time, needs and demands from practice drive the development of new and innovative ideas and concepts. In this tightly coupled process it is essential to remove barriers to multi-disciplinary collaboration.The present series attempts to bridge and integrate basic research founded in systems concepts, logic, theories and models with systems practices and methodologies, into a process of systems research. Since both bench and bedside involve diverse stakeholder groups, including researchers, practitioners and users, translational systems science works to create common platforms for language to activate the "bench to bedside" cycle.In order to create a resilient and sustainable society in the twenty-first century, we unquestionably need open social innovation through which we create new social values, and realize them in society by connecting diverse ideas and developing new solutions. We assume three types of social values, namely: (1) values relevant to social infrastructure such as safety, security, and amenity; (2) values created by innovation in business, economics, and management practices; and, (3) values necessary for community sustainability brought about by conflict resolution and consensus building.The series will first approach these social values from a systems science perspective by drawing on a range of disciplines in trans-disciplinary and cross-cultural ways.