  This contribution shortly outlines and reviews a theoretical and
computational approach for a theory of change concerning systems where it is
not possible to apply the laws of motion ab initio. The concept of
meta-structure relates to the emergence of forms of spatiotemporal coherences
in collective behaviours intended as coherent sequences of multiple structures.
The essential difference compared with traditional methods is the role of the
cognitive design by the observer when identifying multiple mesoscopic
variables. The goal is both to study the "change without physics" of the
dynamics of change and to design non-catastrophic interventions having the
purpose to induce, change, keep or restore collective behaviours by influencing
-at the mesoscopic level -and not prescribing explicit rules and changes.
