A global community connected through systems theory, science, and practice
"To gain knowledge, we must learn to ask the right questions; and to get answers, we must act, not wait for answers to occur to us."
ISSS Past President Anatol Rapoport
The ISSS is a community of researchers, learners, and practitioners who are devoted to transdisciplinary inquiry into the nature of complex systems and the application of systems approaches for transformative change.
Conceived in 1954, the ISSS advances systems science theory and application by connecting and enabling researchers and practitioners, and disseminates the knowledge of systems to a global audience.
As an international society we are exploring ways to translate this website into other languages. You can enter the website address here https://translate.google.com/?sl=en&tl=es&op=websites to start a machine translation process.
Conference 2023
The 2023 Conference will be at the Skukuza Lodge in Kruger National Park in South Africa in June 17-23 June 2023. More information on Conference Page
Intro to ISSS and Website
Short video introducing the ISSS and this website. Click bottom right of player to go full screen.
Membership
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ISSS President
The ISSS President for 2022-2023 is Roelien Goede PhD.
Incoming Address given at ISSS 2022 Conference, Monday 11 July 2022.
Calendar
ISSS Book Club
Thursday, October 20, 2022
12:30pm to 2pm
The purpose of the book club is to explore the systems science literature in depth, so books are read over several months, with monthly reading assignments of approximately 50-100 pages....
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in the Systems Sciences SIG Meeting
Monday, October 24, 2022
11am to 12:30pm
The DEI SIG is currently meeting monthly on the fourth Monday of the month.
ISSS Book Club
Thursday, November 17, 2022
12:30pm to 2pm
The purpose of the book club is to explore the systems science literature in depth, so books are read over several months, with monthly reading assignments of approximately 50-100 pages....
ISSS News Articles
October 2022 Newsletter
Posted on Oct 2nd, 2022
Published today https://www.isss.org/isss-newsletters/
New year of Saturday sessions for ISSS members
Posted on Sep 26th, 2022
A new year of Saturday sessions for ISSS members began this month. the sessions have been programmed by the current ISSS president Roelien Goede. Selected presentations can be viewed by anyone here https://www.isss.org/saturday-presentations/ After presentations are made the session continues with questions and answers, discussion and sometiimes a "roundtable".
Read More >>
Newsletter Signup
Blog
Posted on October 1, 2022 9:00 AM
Posted on September 24, 2022 9:00 AM
Posted on September 13, 2022 9:30 AM
Posted on July 29, 2022 8:30 AM
Posted on March 7, 2022 2:00 PM
Posted on February 22, 2022 1:00 PM
Posted on November 8, 2021 3:10 PM
Activities
ISSS members are engaged in a number of activities around the world. Read more at https://www.isss.org/activities/
Many member activities are collaborative in nature and also involve partnerships and collaborations with other organizations:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Systems Science Working Group
Systems Literacy
Systemic Action at the Village Level to encourage and support sustainable development.
World of Systems
The ISSS is one of the oldest organizations dedicated to the study, development and application of systems science, systems thinking, cybernetics and complexity science.
We are assembling lists of organizations, social network pages and groups, and also maps of the evolution of the field of systems and cybernetics. Here are some examples
Tom Marzolf's Systems Common Model
Watch video with Peter Tuddenham and Tom Marzolf in conversation about the model
Watch video with Peter Tuddenham and Tom Marzolf in conversation about the model
Please email me with comments, additions or corrections. Peter D Tuddenham peterdtuddenham at gmail.com
Meeting Proceedings
We Remember
We Remember
Ralph Stacey 1942 - 2021
Steven E Wallis July 29, 2021
James Robert Simms, December 5, 1924 - Saturday, May 22, 2021
Humberto Maturana 1929 - May 2021
Mary Catherine Bateson 1939 - 2 January 2021
Charles Bocage died 21 August 2020
Peter Caws May 25, 1931 - April 20, 2020 (ISSS President 1966)
Joe Simpson - June 2020
Jack Ring - April 2020
Enrique Herrscher 2019
Charles Francois 2019
Systems Science & Applications Spotlight
Members of ISSS are researching and applying Systems Science in a variety of situations and circumstances. we are creating a temporary Editorial Board to decide what new research and application by ISSS Members to feature here. For more information please email webadmin@isss.org
AAAS Affiliate
In 1954 the founders of the current ISSS met at meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). They decided to start the Society for General Systems Theory later renamed Society for General Systems Research and now called the International Society for the Systems Sciences. One of the early group of founders and first presidents of our society in 1957, Kenneth Ewart Boulding was President of AAAS in 1980