#ISSS2016 Boulder

Description: This year’s conference focuses on what it means for a system to be sustainable (“systemic sustainability”): exploring more holistic science and thinking to understand, manage, and create sustainability in complex socio-ecological systems. We are intentionally stepping outside traditional comfort zones to explore new territory and possibly find new answers. For this we recognize the importance of empowering students; removing philosophical and institutional blocks to their inquiry into such questions, and providing them with the best tools to guide their research and practical experiences. From development of new theories and practices to integration of existing ones, our challenge is to determine what will lead society into the transformations needed for a sustainable future and beyond to even greater symbiotic and innovative opportunities; and how we as a society can help initiate those changes. [Chair: John Kineman]

Description: Although every environmental agency today is calling for ways to manage whole ecosystems, we do not know how to do that. Our theories and methods to address the question of whole-system sustainability are incomplete and as a result our actions regarding individual processes, sectors, and resources can contribute to problems as much or more than to solutions. How can systems thinking help us move to another level of understanding where we can address the pressing complex systemic issues of inter-related socio-ecological systems to resolve the dysfunction of their often contradictory sectors and components? [Chair: Judith Rosen]

Description. Current ecological trends present a dramatic picture of potentially catastrophic change in the world. At the same time, our human and societal response mechanisms seem poorly designed for coping with complexity, and science seems unable to address systemic problems and systems as a whole. What are the challenges in science, policy, and ethics to become a sustainably healthy civilization with creative options for the future? [Chair: Jeremiah Osborne-Gowey]

Description: Adequate resilience and appropriate response (interventions)  to crises and disasters and continuous improvement thereof is a growing global need and a social responsibility in view of the seemingly growing number of disasters endangering a growing number of people and even our civilization. Can we do a better job of anticipating, systemically  understanding and mitigating the   cycles of crisis and recovery   by combining exploratory ‘crisis science’ with long-term ‘sustainability science’? Can we unravel the antithesis of incompatible response systems and find new ways to integrate scientific, technological, cultural,  ethical, political and  economic influences? Preparedness must systemically consider the  often emergent interplay of supporting and obstructing factors.   Actual interventions (responses)  must holistically evaluate the total situation and make decisions, unfortunately to be performed under high uncertainty, extreme  stress and time pressure. Despite the often singularity of disasters we have to identify similarities and powerful abstraction in order to support scientific analysis and improved mitigation. A long range target could be an interdisciplinary ‘Strategic Crisis Science’.

The panel of international experts will discuss these issues from their different backgrounds and national priorities with respect to preparedness and interventions.  We will attempt to esablish common grounds and basic solutions.

Chair: Gerhard Chroust

Description: We need to examine the foundation of our global economic system that assumes unlimited growth in a finite world, to consider the paradigms of regenerative capital, steady-state economics, and innovation. This means considering no-growth and negative-growth models, and perhaps shifting our concept of growth from quantity to quality, from extraction to investment in natural and human capital.

Chair: Alec Tsoucatos and Mila Popovitch

Description: We need to examine the foundation of our global economic system that assumes unlimited growth in a finite world, to consider the paradigms of regenerative capital, steady-state economics, and innovation. This means considering no-growth and negative-growth models, and perhaps shifting our concept of growth from quantity to quality, from extraction to investment in natural and human capital.

Chair: Alec Tsoucatos and Mila Popovitch

e

Description: Recent times have seen the emergence of new theoretical insights that may help to establish the frameworks, theories and methodologies we need to understand, design, build, explain, communicate about, utilize or operate, maintain, and evolve resilient and sustainable socio-ecological systems.  In this panel we bring together experts to present on such emerging developments in the areas of engineering, science, research, practice and philosophy, and to reflect on how these different stands can contribute to the formation of a new systemic synthesis that will make the ‘whole systems perspective’ scientific and practical. The panel presentations will be delivered in the last plenary before lunch, and be followed by an open discussion between the panellists and audience in a break-out session immediately after lunch.    

Chair: *David Rousseau

Panelists:

• Bill Shindel - The S* minimal general systems meta-model, and its prospects as a general modelling foundation for Systems Engineering.


• Len Troncale - Systems Processes Theory (SPT) , and its prospects as a general theoretical core for a science of systems and sustainability.


• John Kineman - The PAR/Holon Relational Framework, and its prospects as a general methodology for Systems Research


• Jennifer Wilby - Systemic methodologies and the prospects for enhancing them on the basis of emerging general systems theories and models.


• David Rousseau - Systems Philosophy and the prospects for employing scientific general systems principles as the foundation of a systems worldview.

• Description:  Systemic Sustainability and Systems Literacy ultimately involve transformative changes at the personal and social level. What individual competencies are needed and how will student researchers navigate the treacherous waters ahead for ‘out-of-the-box’ thinkers? We emphasize the importance of integrated personal skills and effective collaborative and innovative networking to build transformative communities.

Chair: Pamela Buckle

Invited Speakers:

• Pamela Buckle (The Challenge of Graduate Research in systems science and practice)


• Delia McNamara (Ranulph Glanville Memorial Talk) – Importance of collaboration and connection for student research.


• Student Award Papers (Vickers, Rappoport, Mead)

Description: Achieving sustainable and more synergistic futures requires education in systems thinking and connection with new modes of social communication. Our highest priority should be to legitimize whole systems research and to provide adequate guidance to student/expert collaborative learning within a program of Systems Literacy. How do we ‘train the trainers’ and launch this program? [Chair: Peter Tuddenham]

Speakers: 

• Peter Tuddenham Systems Literacy Education


• Graduate Course Student Report (introduced by Ray Ison)