Group Model Building
Group Model Building (GMB) is a participatory research methodology that convenes stakeholders in structured group settings to develop shared understandings of complex social problems. Emerging from system dynamics research in the 1980s, the approach has been adapted across multiple fields including public health, environmental management, and social policy. GMB operates on the principle that collaborative dialogue among individuals with diverse perspectives and expertise can reveal the underlying structures and feedback loops that drive systemic issues.
In the context of history and anthropology, particularly within research spaces focused on children and family violence, GMB serves as a critical tool for clearing houses and community-based organizations. It facilitates the integration of local knowledge with theoretical frameworks, allowing participants to map causal relationships specific to their cultural and historical contexts. This process helps identify leverage points for intervention by making implicit assumptions about family dynamics and violence explicit through visual modeling.
The methodology emphasizes the co-creation of causal loop diagrams or stock and flow models during facilitated workshops. By engaging community members, social workers, and historians in the modeling process, GMB ensures that the resulting representations of social problems reflect the lived experiences and structural realities of the affected populations. This collaborative validation enhances the credibility of the findings and supports the development of more culturally responsive policies and interventions.