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
Mn hi i
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 Review is available online to Society
members through Wiley Interscience.
The Review is abstracted in Cambridge
Scientific Abstracts, CC/Social & Behavioral
Sciences, Computing Reviews, Geobase,
Geographical Abstracts: Human Geography,
Research Alert (ISI), and the Social Sciences
Citation Index (ISI).
International Conferences
The Society’s annual international 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; discounted conference rates; and
regular information about activity in the field.
Local chapters are active in:
¢ Australasia = ®_ Italy © Student
© China e Japan © UK
© Egypt © Korea
* Hellenic ¢ Latin America
Contact the Society
Roberta L. Spencer, Executive Director
System Dynamics Society
Milne 300 — Rockefeller College
University at Albany, Albany, New York 12222
Phone +1 (518) 442-3865
Fax +1 (518) 442-3398
system.dynamics@albany.edu
http://www.systemdynamics.org/
Pal I. Davidsen, President
University of Bergen
Information Science Department
Hermann Fossgt 6
5020 Bergen Norway
Phone: +47 55 58 4134
Fax: +47 55 58 4107
davidsen@ifi.uib.no
System
Dynamics
Society
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. For more information contact the
Society or see http://www.systemdynamics.org/
The PhD Seminar Series on Videotape
Professor Jay Forrester’s 1999 seminar at MIT
is presented in eleven three-hour sessions. The
series can be used in an educational setting or by
practitioners seeking to broaden their
understanding of the field. Tapes may be
ordered singly or as a set from the Society.
The System Dynamics Bibliography
The Society maintains an active database of
publications in the field, which is available
online on a shareware basis at
http://www.systemdynamics.org/ or on disk
from the Society.
Previous Publications
Most past editions of conference proceedings
(1986 - 2002) and the System Dynamics Review
(1985 - 2002) are available from the Society.
System Dynamics Listserves
General issues in the field:
Send the message “subscribe system-dynamics’
to majordomo@world.std.com or see
http://www.vensim.com/sdmail/sdinfo.html
K-12 school issues: Send a request to
subscribe to: k-12sd@sysdyn.mit.edu
Spanish language communication:
Send the message
“subscribe dinamica-sistemas” to
majordomo@campus.mty.itesm.mx
Sustainability Interest Group:
Visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDsustain,
or send a blank message to:
SDsustain-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Some Websites of Interest
Society executive office:
http://www.systemdynamics.org/
Introductory information:
http://sysdyn.mit.edu/sd-intro/home.html
Overviews and links by Ventana Systems:
http://www.vensim.com/resource.html
System Dynamics/Systems Thinking Mega Link
List by Giinther Ossimitz:
http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/users/
gossimit/links/bookmksd.htm
Programs and study sites around the world:
http://www.systemdynamics.org/courses_in_sd.htm
System Dynamics in Education site at MIT:
http://sysdyn.mit.edu/
Sponsors of the System Dynamics Society
Amber Blocks Ltd. New York, NY, USA
Accenture Global Locations
Arthur Andersen Global Locations
Cognitus Ltd. North Yorkshire, UK
Frank Davidson Lexington, MA, USA
Decision Dynamics, Inc. Waldorf, MD, USA.
Jay W. Forrester Cambridge, MA, USA
General Motors Corporation Detroit, MI, USA
Georgia-Pacific Corporation Adanta, GA, USA
Hall, Vasil & Dowd, CPA’s Belmont, MA, USA
Hewlett-Packard Company Palo Alto, CA, USA
High Performance Systems Hanover, NH, USA
HVR Consulting Services Ltd. Alton, Hampshire,
UK
Intel Corporation Global Locations
ITP Consultores Caracas, Venezuela
KBS (Knowledge Based Simulation), Paris, France
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
System Dynamics Group Cambridge, MA, USA
Mohaseboon Financial and Business
Consultants Cairo, Egypt
Nijmegen School of Management, Nijmegen
University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Pegasus Communications Waltham, MA, USA
Powersim Norway, and UK
Powersim Solutions Herndon, VA, USA
Project Performance Corporation McLean, VA,
USA
Proyectos Comerciales de México, S.A. de
C.V. una empresa de Grupo Proyectos, Querétaro,
México
PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Locations
PA Consulting Group (including the former Pugh-
Roberts Associates) Cambridge, MA, USA
Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and
Policy, University at Albany Albany, NY, USA
Strategic Clarity Austin, TX, USA
University of Salford, Centre for Operational
Research and Applied Statistics Salford, UK
Ventana Systems, Inc. Harvard, MA, USA
Ventana Systems UK Salisbury Wiltshire, UK
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.
