page_title: System archetype
section_title: Shifting the burden to the intervenor
hierarchical_section_title: System archetype / Examples of system archetypes / Shifting the burden to the intervenor
caption_attribution_description: English: Shifting the burden to the intervenor Archetype
context_page_description: System archetypes are patterns of behavior of a system. Systems expressed by circles of causality have therefore similar structure. Identifying a system archetype and finding the leverage enables efficient changes in a system. The basic system archetypes and possible solutions of the problems are mentioned in the section Examples of system archetypes. A fundamental property of nature is that no cause can affect the past. System archetypes do not imply that current causes affect past effects.
context_section_description: A special case of the “Shifting the Burden” systems archetype that occurs when an intervenor is brought in to help solve an ongoing problem.  Over time, as the intervenor successfully handles the problem, the people within the system become less capable of solving the problem themselves.  They become even more dependent on the intervenor.  Examples:  ongoing use of outside consultants.
  In simple terms, this is an archetype whereby a system grows increasingly dependent on an outside intervenor to help it function. In the short-term this works, but in the long term the system is unable to function on its  own due to the dependence on the intervention and eventually fails to perform.
caption: Causal loop diagram "Shifting the burden to the intervenor"
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