ABSTRACT This paper aims to support decision-making for the return of classes to determine actions to reduce the problems arising from the pandemic through a multi-methodological approach using Value-focused thinking (VFT) and Rich Picture (RP). The case study includes a Brazilian small university, in a region with social and economic vulnerability. Six stakeholders representing the students, the municipality community and the university were interviewed from which the hierarchy of fundamental objectives and an objectives’ network unfolded in education, health, and community were created. Even though health concerns were shared by all stakeholders, these networks revealed a variety of perspectives not typically discussed in large universities, such as access to information and communication technologies; awareness of biosafety measures; and real estate vacancy. These findings indicate that future research should address the specific needs of small universities in vulnerable cities, particularly those in developing and underdeveloped countries, where universities’ presence fosters the economy.

ABSTRACT The paper presents a structured approach to address decision-making challenges within the medical clinic service of a mid-sized hospital located in Brazil, using Soft System Methodology (SSM). Its application extends to the medical clinic, a previously unexplored domain within the hospital. Within this context, we introduce a novel conceptual framework for healthcare, wherein we integrate Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) tool into SSM framework. The overarching goal is to rectify the pivotal issue of excessive workload allocation among the medical clinic staff. The developed model effectively addresses this issue by optimizing task allocation. It achieves this by designating primary and auxiliary nursing staff for specific sets of tasks, taking into consideration the necessity for displacement and ensuring a fair distribution of workloads. Furthermore, our model incorporates PDCA into the implementation phase of SSM, thereby establishing a mechanism for ongoing improvement in the initial equilibrium achieved in terms of staff deployment and task distribution.