Epistemic Intervention in Complex Systems: Rethinking Intervention Beyond Change Implementation

Abstract Interventions in organisational change are often understood as deliberate efforts to modify structures, behaviours, or outcomes. Such views frequently assume that the primary challenge lies in implementation, coordination, or resistance to change. This article proposes an alternative perspective by arguing that many difficulties in complex systems originate not only from organisational barriers but from epistemic conditions that shape what actors are able to perceive, interpret, and act upon. The article introduces the concept of epistemic intervention and explores the research question : What characterises an epistemic intervention in complex systems, and how does it differ from traditional change interventions? Drawing on complexity theory, systems thinking, action research, and empirical insights from municipal change initiatives, the article conceptualises intervention not primarily as an instrument for implementing predefined change, but as a process that alters conditions for knowing. The paper argues that epistemic interventions seek to expand interpretative capacity, increase systemic awareness, and support movement between alternative framings of complex situations. Rather than reducing uncertainty, they create conditions for reflection, reframing, and emergent learning. In this perspective, interventions may act less as mechanisms of control and more as catalysts for epistemic mobility. The article develops a preliminary conceptual framework linking epistemic inertia, epistemic intervention, and epistemic mobility as interconnected dimensions of change processes in complex systems. The framework contributes to complexity-informed action research by repositioning intervention as an epistemic practice and offers implications for public sector development, particularly in politically governed and uncertain environments.