What is System Dynamics?
System dynamics is a computer-aided approach
to policy analysis and design. With origins in
servomechanisms engineering and
management, the methodology uses a
perspective based on information feedback and
mutual or recursive causality to understand and
manage the dynamics of complex physical,
biological, and social systems.
The Field of System Dynamics
The field developed initially from the work of
Jay W. Forrester. His Industrial Dynamics
(1961) is still a significant statement of
philosophy and methodology in the field. Since
its publication, the span of applications has
grown extensively and encompasses work in
© corporate planning and policy design
public management and policy
biological and medical modeling
energy and the environment
theory development in the natural and
social sciences
¢ — dynamic decision making
¢ complex nonlinear dynamics
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Activities of the Society
The System Dynamics Review
The Society’s journal is published quarterly by
John Wiley & Sons, under the editorship of
Brian Dangerfield of the University of Salford
and an international editorial board. The Review
publishes high quality, peer-reviewed advances
in system dynamics and systems thinking and
their applications to societal, technical,
managerial, and environmental problems. The
journal is abstracted in the relevant major
bibliographic information services.
International Conferences
The Society’s annual conference is held
alternately in North America and Europe, with
occasional appearances in Asia and the Pacific
Rim. These conferences, and the meetings of
local chapters and interest groups, introduce
newcomers to the field, keep practitioners aware
of current developments, and provide
unparalleled networking opportunities.
Membership
Members receive an annual subscription to the
System Dynamics Review and access to the
Review online through Wiley InterScience;
discounted conference rates; and regular
information about activity in the field. Chapters
are organized in:
¢ Australasia ¢ Japan © Switzerland
¢ Brazil * Korea ° UK
© China * Latin America ¢ Economics
° Egypt ¢ Pakistan © Psychology
© Hellenic © Russia © Student
* Italy
In addition, a growing number of special interest
groups are active, including:
¢ Business © Health Policy
¢ Environment —¢ _ Information Science and
© Education Information Systems
¢ Energy © Security
Resources
The Production-Distribution (Beer) Game
Complete game kits for this deeply insightful
introduction to the power of a dynamic systems
perspective are available directly from the
Society. The purpose of the game is to illustrate
the key principle that structure produces
behavior. For more information, contact the
Society or see www.systemdynamics.org.
The Forrester Seminar Series on DVD
The Society is proud to present this series of
discussions with the founder of the field, Jay W.
Forrester. The eleven three-hour sessions
address a variety of topics which should be of
interest and benefit to any student or practitioner
in the field. An accompanying CD contains
suggested readings for each session. May be
ordered singly or as a set, in PAL or NTSC
format.
The Literature Collection on DVD
The MIT System Dynamics Group Literature
Collection was selected by Jay W. Forrester.
The collection spans nearly fifty years of work
in system dynamics, and reveals a rich historical
point of view. Included are over 3500 D-memos,
along with theses, publications, the Guided
Study Program, the Road Map series and
miscellaneous selected papers.
The System Dynamics Bibliography
The Society maintains an active database of
publications in the field, which is available
online at www.systemdynamics.org.
Conference Proceedings
Most past editions of conference proceedings
(1986 - 2006) are available, some with CD,
from the Society. Beginning with the 1997
conference, full papers are available on our
website, www.systemdynamics.org.
Contact the Society
Roberta L. Spencer, Executive Director
System Dynamics Society
Milne 300 — University at Albany
Albany, NY 12222 USA
Phone +1 518 442 3865
Fax +1518 442 3398
system.dynamics@albany.edu
www.systemdynamics.org
Qifan Wang, President
Professor, Fudan and Tongji Universities
Dean, Development Inst. of Tongji University
Yunchou Building, No. 1239 Siping Road
200092 Shanghai, China
qfwang@fudan.edu.cn
System
Dynamics
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Society Sponsors
Amber Blocks Ltd. New York, New York, USA
Atrivé Houten, The Netherlands
Bolide Pty. Ltd. Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia
Booz Allen Hamilton McLean, Virginia, USA
BP Global locations
CALIBRE Alexandria, Virginia, USA
Decision Dynamics, Inc. Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Delft University of Technology Delft, The
Netherlands
Deutsche Lufthansa AG Frankfurt, Germany
e-integrate Brussels, Belgium
Evans & Peck Pty. Ltd. East Roseville, Australia
sponsors continued on reverse
Society Sponsors continued
Jay W. Forrester Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
General Motors Detroit, Michigan, USA
Georgia-Pacific Corp. Atianta, Georgia, USA
isee systems Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA
Ledet Enterprises, Inc. Humble, Texas, USA
Master Systems, Inc. Carlsbad, California, USA
Mohaseboon Financial and Business
Consultants Cairo, Egypt
Northwater Capital Management, Inc.
Toronto, Canada
PA Consulting Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
PAR-Group, Nijmegen School of
Management, Radboud University
Nijmegen Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Pegasus Communications, Inc. Waltham,
Massachusetts, USA.
Plug Power, Inc. Latham, New York, USA
Powersim Solutions, Inc. Herndon, Virginia, USA
Proverbs Corporation Prague, Czech Republic
Proyectos Comerciales de México, S.A. de C.V.
una empresa de Grupo Proyectos, Querétaro, México
Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy,
University at Albany Albany, New York, USA
Toshiro Shimada JsD Chapter, Tokyo, Japan
System Dynamics Group, MIT
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
System Dynamics Group, University of
Bergen Bergen, Norway
Tecnolégico de Monterrey Monterrey, México
University of Salford, Centre for Operational
Research and Applied Statistics Salford, UK
Ventana Systems, Inc. Harvard, Massachusetts, USA
Ventana Systems UK Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
System
Dynamics
Society
Promoting the rigorous study of
systems and their behavior
using computer simulation and a
feedback perspective
for policy analysis and design
The System Dynamics Society is an international non-profit
organization devoted to encouraging the development and use of
system dynamics and systems thinking around the world.
With members in over sixty countries, the Society provides a
forum in which
researchers
educators
consultants
practitioners in corporate and public sectors
interact to introduce newcomers to the field, keep abreast of
current developments, and build on each other’s work.
