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
Wiley-Blackwell, 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 ¢ Korea
¢ Brazil ¢ Latin America
¢ China ¢ Pakistan
e =Egypt ° Russia
¢ Germany ¢ — Switzerland
¢ Hellenic ° UK
e Italy ¢ Economics
e = Japan ¢ Student
In addition, a growing number of Special
Interest Groups are active, including:
¢ Business Inter- and
* Education Intranational
° Energy Conflict
© Environment © Model Analysis
* Health Policy * Psychology
© Information Science and * Security
Information Systems
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 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 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.
The System Dynamics Bibliography
The Society maintains an active database of
publications in the field, which is available
online at www.systemdynamics.org.
The Electronic Oracle
A new reprint of the original 1985 book by
Donella H. Meadows and Jennifer M. Robinson.
New forewords by Dennis Meadows and John
Sterman are included.
Fireside Chat with Jay W. Forrester
George Richardson’s wide-ranging and often
humorous interview with Jay W. Forrester, now
on DVD. Recorded at the Atlanta 2001
International Conference of the System
Dynamics Society.
Conference Proceedings
Printed conference proceedings and full papers,
as provided, are available for sale in hard copy
and are also available as open source on our
website, www.systemdynamics.org.
Contact the Society
Erling Moxnes, President
Professor
University of Bergen
Bergen, Norway
erling.moxnes@ifi.uib.no
Roberta L. Spencer, Executive Director
System Dynamics Society
Milne 300 — University at Albany
Albany, NY 12222 USA
Phone +1 (518) 442-3865
Fax +1 (518) 442-3398
office@systemdynamics.org
www.systemdynamics.org
System
Dynamics
Society
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
Center for Sustainable Ecosystem
Nanotechnologies Albany, New York, USA
Centre for OR and Applied Statistics, Salford
Business School, University of Salford UK
Complexio Paris, France
Decision Dynamics, Inc. Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Delft University of Technology Delft, Netherlands
e-integrate Brussels, Belgium
Evans & Peck Pty. Ltd. East Roseville, Australia
Forrester Consulting, LLC Boca Grande, Florida,
USA
Jay W. Forrester Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Grupos Proyectos Querétaro, México
Health Market Science King of Prussia, Pennsylvania,
USA
Homer Consulting Voorhees, New Jersey, USA
isee systems Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA
The Manufacturing Game Humble, Texas, USA
Mohaseboon Financial and Business Consultants
Cairo, Egypt
Murphy Hall & Company, CPA’s Burlington,
Massachusetts, USA
PA Consulting Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
PAR-Group, Nijmegen School of Management,
Radboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen,
Netherlands
Patterson America, Inc. Toronto, Canada
Pegasus Communications, Inc. Waltham,
Massachusetts, USA
Powersim Solutions, Inc. Herndon, Virginia, USA
Proverbs Corporation Prague Czech, Republic
Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy,
University at Albany Albany, New York, USA
System Dynamics Group, MIT Cambridge,
Massachusetts, USA
System Dynamics Group, University of Bergen
Bergen, Norway
transentis management consulting GmbH & Co.
KG Wiesbaden, Germany
Union Graduate College Schenectady, New York, USA
Ventana Systems, Inc. Harvard, Massachusetts, USA
Ventana Systems UK Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK
Whole Systems Partnership North Yorkshire, UK
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
XJ Technologies St. Petersburg, Russia
The System Dynamics Society is an international non-profit
y al organization devoted to encouraging the development and use of
S 1 system dynamics and systems thinking around the world.
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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.
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