The Reimagining Development initiative pursued a methodological strategy that viewed emerging development issues through multiple perspectives; juxtaposed different sets of issues; tested the resonance of narratives across multiple sites of engagement; drew new boundaries around key problems; and generated questions to pursue elsewhere. It was an attempt to use a systems approach to get a less partial picture of a large and complex system. This article describes such approaches generally, their strengths and limitations, and reflects on their application to the Reimagining Development initiative.