I use Adobe Illustrator a lot, and there is a neat little feature that lets you step and repeat graphics on the screen. You make a change to the "master" graphic, and all other graphics you made with this feature change automatically.
Thinking out loud here, but I'm wondering if a new effect, or some method, could be created that would allow you to "link" back to the original effect. Change the original effect, and the linked effects change too. Parent - child relationship so to speak.