What is Boundary Critique?

Boundary critique is a systems thinking practice that asks, deliberately and repeatedly, what has been included in and excluded from the definition of a problem or a project, and who decided where that boundary should sit. Every system definition is a choice, and that choice determines whose interests count.

Because boundaries are rarely neutral, boundary critique surfaces hidden assumptions and power dynamics that shape whose voice is heard in a decision, making it a key tool for anyone designing an intervention that affects people who were not in the room when the boundary was drawn.