Membership Opportunities

Your decision to join as a formal Member of  the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) comes with many benefits, including:

 

1. Joining a prestigious group conceived in 1954 by pioneering thinkers like Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Kenneth Boulding, Ralph Gerard, and Anatol Rapoport. ISSS is historically significant as the oldest interdisciplinary organization dedicated to developing general systems theory and promoting the unity of science across diverse fields.
2. ISSS provides a premier global forum for interdisciplinary collaboration, connecting scientists, researchers, and practitioners to study complex, interconnected systems across diverse fields. It fosters the development of general systems theory and promotes the application of these systemic frameworks to solve critical, real-world problems facing humanity and nature. 
3. Members enjoy significant discount for participation in the society's annual meeting and conference.
4. Members have access to the Systems Research and Behavioral Sciences Journal readership subscription from Wiley (typically several hundred dollars).
5. Most weeks on  Saturday and Mondays or Wednesdays, ISSS members meet for a couple of hours to attend a Book Club, a Mini-symposium, a Webinar, roundtables, Special Integration Groups, or other activities that offer opportunities to learn, share and deepen knowledge.
6. Members can have a Wikipedia-like personal page as well pages for their theories, methods, tools, books, chapters, journal publications, video presentations, etc. in the wiki.isss.org pedia.
7. The wiki.isss.org pedia also serves as our open access, crowd-sourced platform.
8. Students in the systems sciences can receive one of several prestigious awards that encourage and recognize outstanding research:  Sir Geoffrey Vickers Memorial Award, Anatol Rapoport Memorial Award, and the Margaret Mead Memorial Award.
9. Students can join for free the first year (and can enjoy a second free year) if they engage and do some work for the society
10. Younger Members may request pairing with a senior member who serves as mentor.
11. Members have ample opportunities to promote and test their activities, theories, methodologies, tools or other ideas by presenting them within one of the activities (such as in a Conference, Mini Symposium, SIG, etc.)
12. ISSS awards prizes and distinctions to renowned, well-respected or committed Members.
13. Members can benefit from ISSS's numerous Partnerships.

 

 

Below are short descriptions of key group activities which Members can join:

 

ISSS Annual Meeting and Conference	The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) Annual Meeting and Conference is a prestigious, long-running conference (the 2026 is the 70th) that serves as a global gathering point for academics, practitioners, researchers, and students working with systems thinking, cybernetics, and complexity science.  In 2021 and 2022 the ISSS Annual Conference was all online. Some of the keynotes and other presentations can be viewed here Online 2021 Public (isss.org)  and here https://www.isss.org/online-2022-public/
Book Club	Launched in 2021 and coordinated by Marty Jacobs, its purpose is to explore the systems science literature in depth. The members of the Club choose specific books, which they collectively read over several months. The process includes monthly reading assignments of approximately 50-100 pages. Participants can both suggest books to read and vote on a selection of books.
Mini-Symposia	Weekly mini-symposia and open mic sessions during their operational season to explore systems science, holistic thinking, and global challenges. These sessions typically feature expert presentations followed by, or in combination with, open discussions, and are held online via Zoom to accommodate a global membership across different time zones.
Special Integration Groups (SIGs)	A Special Integration Group is not a Special Interest Group. See Special Integration Groups Purpose. SIGs may jointly focus on common interests (at a distance) over the year, and/or join in formal discussion at the Annual Meeting. They are designed to synthesize diverse disciplinary knowledge into cohesive, systemic wholes, rather than fragmenting into specialized interest groups. These groups act as communities of inquiry, fostering research and application across academic, business, and social sectors.

 

 

           

 

Below are samples of recent Mini Symposia presentations. 

 

 

March 25 2023 - The Nature of Health and Disease - Gary Smith

 
Gary Smith, our VP for System Practice shares his exploratory journey into health and disease using a system approach in three parts.
 
Each part of the journey can be reviewed separately dependent on your interests:
 
The first part was a reflection on complex human disease and the importance and origins of chronic inflammation.
The second part was on common patterns found in living systems defence and security. It concerned the application of systems thinking in the appreciation of these patterns in the time and space of disease progression in infection and sepsis.
The final part is thought provoking on the health and operation of the isss. It considers work from the ISSS futures report and progress that has been made.
 
The overall flow begins by going deep into exploring mechanisms and paradox, then going high to see big pictures, changes in time and space, finally drawing attention to questions and insights for the vitality of the ISSS.
 
The dance in the dynamics of togetherness between the parts and the whole becomes evident.

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 11 2023 Mary Parker Follett - Matthew Shapiro