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About CAS2

Grounded in Innovation Science and the Study of Complex Systems

Every challenge exists on a spectrum from “simple” to “CAS2”

CAS2 stands for Complex Adaptive Systems, Type 2, a term from evolutionary biology and complexity science describing systems where people, organizations, and environments continuously adapt to one another.

In these settings, every action reshapes the system, even as the system reshapes the next action, making lasting impact possible, but profoundly challenging.

Examples of CAS2 Challenges

  • Developing scalable solutions to socio-cultural, -economic, and -technical challenges

  • Building multi-stakeholder collaborations to achieve community-level goals

  • Mapping influence pathways to shape strategies that maximize social impact

  • Translating scientific discoveries into scalable innovation pathways

  • Identifying catalysts of desired change and related policy strategies

  • Designing institutional models that accelerate knowledge diffusion and cross-sector collaboration

  • Designing and resourcing innovation ecosystems to address regional or national priority challenges

  • Shaping roadmaps that guide RFA and funding strategies for critical technology platforms

  • Translating research outputs into positive community and economic development

  • Identifying investment priorities across complex contexts

  • Developing portfolios of scalable solutions to advance system-level goals

  • Ensuring long-term impact of philanthropic investments

  • Leveraging emerging technologies to drive corporate transformation and long-term growth

  • Identifying profitable pathways to achieve environmental and sustainability leadership

  • Building organizational resilience in an increasingly dynamic business environment

Built from Research. Shaped by Practice.

CAS2 is grounded in 10+ years of research in Innovation Science led by Co-Founder Joseph Sinfield, Sc.D., founder and director of the Purdue University Institute for Innovation Science. The field explores how innovation unfolds within complex systems.

There’s a wide gap between what we know about complex systems and how we act within them. CAS2 seeks to bridge that divide. We combine Innovation Science research findings with systems thinking and proprietary AI tools to help mission-driven teams navigate from complexity to impact.