The architectural foundation of the whole GIGF programme. Introduces ten system functions that every system needs to survive — Sensing, Boundary, Coordinating, Resourcing, Communicating, Deciding, Adapting, plus three others — and teaches learners to spot them in systems they already know (their family, their school, the government).
Learning objectives
By the end of this module, participants will be able to:
- Name the ten functions that every system needs to survive
- Recognise those functions in systems they already know (their family, their school)
- Explain why some functions are more critical than others (systemic vs local failure)
- Identify the real person or role responsible for each function in a project
- Understand that every project role exists because a system function demands it
- Begin to see careers they have never heard of as essential, visible, and achievable
Format
Approximately 2.5–3 hours including discussion and the entry knowledge assessment. Whiteboard or large paper for system diagrams. Sticky notes in four colours (one per system: family, company, government, project). Online module + video clips. Discussion-based facilitation, not lecture.
Cross-curriculum
- Relating Intelligently — Module 1: What Is Intelligence, Really? (sister NEO-original; both Module 1s introduce a conceptual architecture that frames the rest of their respective courses)
- Life and Work — Employability (introducing project roles and careers as systemic positions)
- KS4 Science — Working scientifically (systems thinking is also scientific thinking)
Suggested evidence types
- Family / school / government / project mapping table (the four-system mapping exercise)
- Systems diagram drawn by the learner
- Entry knowledge assessment results
- Reflective writing on a system in their life and which functions they recognise
Verse-ality alignment
The ten-function architecture is the curriculum-level expression of bounded autonomy: every function has a scope and a responsibility, and when functions blur or fail, the system’s coherence is at risk. A learner who can name where Deciding lives in their family, their school, and their imagined project has practised the systemic seeing Verse-ality applies to AI agents.