2011 Winter Meeting of the Policy Council
Email Discussion Detail by Date
February 2011
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Reminder: Winter Policy Council Meeting on February 14
System Dynamics Society
Tue, 1 Feb 2011 18:05:50 -0500
Dear Members of the Policy Council and Other Interested Parties:
This is a reminder that the Policy Council will hold the face-to-face part of the Winter Meeting on Monday, February 14 at 11 AM. The meeting will be held in the Garrison Room at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge Hotel, 575 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The purpose of the face-to-face meeting will be to discuss administrative and open policy issues, and then refine and propose motions for the following electronic part of the meeting (starting on February 21).
All motions will be discussed and voted electronically. The agenda and schedule can be found on the PC Menu page. Clarification questions about agenda items may be posted via For questions about meeting logistics, please contact the Society office at : office@systemdynamics.org Executive Director
Best, Roberta on behalf of David C. Lane, President 2011
Roberta L. Spencer
SYSTEM DYNAMICS SOCIETY
phone (518) 442-3865 fax (518) 442-3398
Milne 300, Rockefeller College 135 Western Avenue
University at Albany, State University of New York
Albany, NY, 12222, U.S.A.
http://www.systemdynamics.org/
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Report on VP Chapters
Rogelio Oliva
Fri, 4 Feb 2011 12:58:54 -0600
Hello,
In the spirit of starting the conversations in the electronic PC meeting -- the forum has been surprisingly quiet this year. I would like to first congratulate Martin Schaffernicht for a terrific start of activities as VP of Chapters, and for a thorough report on those. Thank you Martin!! I appreciate with all the work that it went into assessing the current situation and agree with your diagnosis. Great job. A few comments triggered by your report. 1. I really like your two-staged plan to work with the existing chapters. I do not know if you need PC approval to disenfranchise a chapter that is not in compliance (as per the three criteria that you outlined), but my recommendation is that if you do not succeed in reactivating those chapters in the next five months, that you generate a set of motions for the Summer PC to go ahead and disband ineffective chapters. 2. I really like your criteria for assessing the possibility of success of a new proposed chapter based on the level of activity and credibility of funding members. I also agree with you that it does not makes much sense to change the rules on how to form a chapter, but I think it is perfectly appropriate to incorporate the heuristic that you propose, into the check list for the VP of Chapters. That way, as a nascent chapter approaches de VP for approval the VP office could coach them to include more prominent/active members in the society. 3. This is a question for previous administrations. Is there a reason why we have an Economics Chapter? i though chapters were meant to be geographical and that SIGs were to be defined by 'interest.' From that perspective, doesn't it make more sense to have the Economics Chapter turned into a SIG?
Martin: Thanks again!!
Colleagues: Any thoughts?
Rogelio
Rogelio Oliva
Associate Professor Mays Business School
Wehner 301C - 4217 Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-4217
Ph 979-862-3744 | Fx 979-845-5653 | http://iops.tamu.edu/faculty/roliva/
Re: Report on VP Chapters
Michael J. Radzicki
Fri, 4 Feb 2011 14:16:01 -0500
Dear Colleagues:
To answer Rogelio’s question vis-à-vis the Economics Chapter I quote Policy 8, Section 1 of the Society Constitution: Section 1. Purpose. Chapters of the Society are intended to further the dissemination and encourage the advancement of system dynamics. Chapters can do this by undertaking activities that are specific to the interests or convenience of a subset of all practitioners and researchers in system dynamics. A subset of all practitioners might be delineated on the basis of location (regional or national), language, culture, application area, research interest or software use. As you can see, chapters are not limited to geographic definitions. As such, I oppose changing the Econ Chapter to a SIG.
Cheers.
Mike Radz
Michael J. Radzicki, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Economics Worcester Polytechnic Institute
100 Institute Road Worcester, MA 01609-2280
(508) 572-2612 (Cell) (978) 422-7765 (Home) (508) 831-5767 (Office) (508) 831-5896 (Fax)
Re: Report on VP Chapters
Zagonel, Aldo A
Fri, 4 Feb 2011 13:17:18 -0700
As described to me by Deborah Campbell in 2007: "I understand the difference between SIGs and chapters to be primarily formality and overhead. SIGs were invented to allow members to cluster together in a more informal way than forming a chapter... As for my opinion which form of organization you should recommend, it, of course, depends on what your members want. Most (though as you know, not all) groups within our Society based on a subject matter have formed SIGs. I think they appreciate the ease with which they can form and maintain the structure. Not everyone wants to deal with presidents and vice presidents and elections and such. Being a legal entity like a chapter has its overhead. It has not yet been done, but I could imagine the day when a SIG chooses to morph into a chapter. I don't see why one couldn't start out as a SIG, and change later if it made sense. But if your group wants the additional formality of a chapter then that's the way you should go." Also, I am under the impression that Chapters can charge membership fees, whereas SIGs cannot. If this is true, it would make sense that if a group is well structured, holds regular meetings, produces documents that might be publishable, then, it might need to be organized as a Chapter, with the ability to raise moneys to cover for expenses, and with the increased demands for financial reporting and oversight. I agree that these interest groups should be as informal as possible, to avoid unnecessary bureaucratic burden (both for the groups and for the Society). In fact, we chose to NOT form a Chapter to organize the Participatory Approaches to M&S activities. Although we have been meeting as a SIG (informally, I must add), the level of activity and participation has been fairly low. What seems to be working was the creation of a program thread for clustering conference papers under this theme/interest. I also agree that the VP Chapters should be proactive about dissolving Chapters that are not working nor responsive to the Society. This may be true as well for SIGs --which can function informally if there is not enough activity going on to justify their formal existence. I guess that I don't mind if Chapters and SIGs can be approved with relative ease, so long as they can be dissolved with relative ease as well. But, there may be a need to avoid this approach if it creates unnecessary disturbances and disappointments for the Society, and for the membership in general.
Aldo
Re: Report on VP Chapters
Rogelio Oliva
Sat, 5 Feb 2011 12:25:33 -0600
Thank you Michael and Aldo for the clarification re the formation of chapters and how it compares to SIG's. Under this perspective, Martin's proposed strategy re chapters becomes even more meaningful.
Thanks,
Rogelio
Rogelio Oliva Associate Professor Mays Business School
Wehner 301C - 4217 Texas A&M University | College Station, TX 77843-4217
Ph 979-862-3744 | Fx 979-845-5653
http://iops.tamu.edu/faculty/roliva/
Re: Report on VP Chapters
Mike Kennedy
Sun, 6 Feb 2011 20:03:07 -0000
Rogio,
AS one who has been heavily involved in both a Chapter and a SIG I would like to support the previous contributor’s excellent descriptions by providing a list of those things that (at least some) Chapters have done over and above providing a focus for SDS society members with a sector or geographical focus for their interests: 1.. Organise significant events other than at ISDSC 2.. Organise joint events with other professional societies in their own name 3.. Publish documents arising from the above or otherwise 4.. Have an independent membership list and permit ‘local’ membership for those who are not necessarily full SDS members 5.. Raise membership dues from the above 6.. Maintain a bank account and prepare Financial Statements (Accounts) In summary the Chapters have an added level of formality and organisational complexity over and above the relatively loose structures that may suffice in a SIG. I hope that this helps!
Michael Kennedy
Co-Chair Education SIG Former President of UK Chapter
Re: Report on VP Chapters
Zagonel, Aldo A
Mon, 7 Feb 2011 13:12:11 -0700
I'd like to corroborate the point that Martin makes about the need of a critical mass, and the problem with geographic dispersion, by showing a concrete example, to contrast with the very successful UK Chapter experience offered by Michael Kennedy. In the process of reestablishing the Brazilian Chapter, one of the things we did was to map those who are full members (affiliated to the SDS). This gave us a sense of how difficult it would be to require face-to-face interactions in administrative or substantive meetings. I'll summarize the results: - Brazil is geographically larger than the continental USA - There are 30+ full members in the Chapter, distributed geographically in the following manner: o 8 in the State of Sao Paulo (6 in the city itself) o 4 in the city of Brasilia (~1100 Km from the city of SP) o 4 in the state of Parana (~400 Km from SP) o 2 in the city of Rio de Janeiro (~400 Km from SP) o 2 in the northeast of Brazil (+1 thousand miles from SP) o 1 in Florianopolis (~800 Km from SP) o 5 living in the United States o 2 in Europe o 1 in Argentina o 1 in Australia! - There are 3 people affiliated with Duke University, 2 with the Brazilian Air Force, and 2 with the University of Brasilia; nobody else is part of the same organization - There are only 2 women who are members As you can imagine, it is very difficult to have frequent, meaningful interactions, with this degree of geographic dispersion. Still, this group will host its 2nd Regional Conference (the first having been in 2006 and this one in conjunction with the Latin American Chapter -which has been holding annual regional conferences on a regular basis for a number of years now). The sad part is that for 3 years the Chapter went through a hiatus, and there is no guarantee that this won't happen again. Although we are trying to structure it in a manner to provide institutional continuity while at the same time promoting leadership renewal. A few years from now, we'll know if this is a successful change (in the form that the Chapter was structured and will run from here on). We established a triumvirate to run the chapter, with each member running through 3-year terms, first as Secretary, second as Liaison, and third as President, with a new member elected each year at the International SDS Conference. We also "mandated" at least one substantive face-to-face meeting per year, preferably in Brazil. All of the other interactions, whether substantive or administrative, can be held asynchronously and electronically. Hopefully we have now sufficient critical mass and an appropriate organizational structure, to will allow for the sustainability of the Brazilian Chapter. Yet, I remain concerned, that it will be difficult to achieve the level of activity that I observe from the UK and Latin American Chapters. A smaller geographic area (as is the case for the UK) and/or a greater concentration of members (as in Columbia for the LA Chapter), as well as members with strong credentials, well-funded research programs or prosperous consulting companies, are essential to the success of SDS Chapters. In addition, I am looking forward to the Society thinking through and providing direct services to Chapters, particularly those far removed from the main hubs of SD concentration and excellence. If the Chapters are indeed important to the Society, particularly now with conferences being held at fixed sites, in terms of promoting SD throughout the world, it is crucial to understand the critical elements necessary to Chapter success and the ways that the Chapters can be induced into higher levels of meaningful activity, quantitative growth, and qualitative improvement.
Aldo
Re: Report on VP Chapters
Kim Warren
Mon, 7 Feb 2011 20:50:48 +0000
I have been watching the discussion on this, and agree with most of it. Could I just moderate the impression that the UK chapter has been 'very successful'. In spite of considerable hard work by many great SD people over many years, the Chapter still struggles hard to make much impact. For example, we have had about 40-50 people at our annual Gathering for many years, with the inflow of new people more or less matched by the substantial outflow. SD still has very low recognition in the UK - more promising application domains include Healthcare, Justice, Defence, but even those are limited. The point of this observation is not to complain, but to point out the challenge of sustaining even a modestly successful Chapter. It needs a large amount of effort from more than a handful of individuals - corroborating the need for critical mass. One possibility that may help the more geographically dispersed Chapters is to leverage online facilities. It is now possible to have quite effective meetings amongst large numbers of remote individuals using facilities such as MS LiveMeeting - many of which are now quite affordable. Presentations can be given by any participant, and recording can capture good exchanges - but someone still has to administer such activity and edit it into decent records for public consumption.
Regards - Kim
Re: Report on VP Chapters
Tue, 8 Feb 2011 15:56:45 +0100
Dear colleagues, Martin is travelling in Europe and visiting Nijmegen today, and we thought we should take the opportunity to sit down together and try to make our ideas more concrete. It seems to us that we have lost contact with some of the Chapters and SIGs and this process with shared responsibilities. Our idea to reestablish contact is to sit down with representatives of each Chapter/ SIG at the coming conference and ask 1) how and what they are doing and 2) how the Society can support them. One possible way of support is bringing over a prominent SD person for a training or create more internet material such as videos (similar to TED talks). The second question has also been discussed in the Seoul Chapter/ SIG meeting. There at least two ways for support were suggested. One was to have some sort of budget for Chapter/ SIG activities. Chapters/ SIGs would propose a plan, get funded if the Policy council approves, and report on how things went (not only financially). This report can then be sent out to other Chapters/ SIGs as a lessons learned document. The second is to point to or even help in setting up a web based meeting, maybe along the lines Kim suggested. In geographically dispersed areas this may be a great help. We think it would be useful to show we remember and want to act on the discussion in Seoul, and not only again ask the open question ‘what can we do for you’. We keep open the possibility of disenfranchising Chapters/ SIGs as a last resort, but the above is a proposal to start the conversation from a more positive angle. Looking forward to your reactions,
Martin
Etiënne
Re: Report on VP Chapters
Zagonel, Aldo A
Wed, 9 Feb 2011 07:34:30 -0700
Etienne and Martin,
I think the simplest solution to setting up an effective program for the SDS to support and develop its geographically-based Chapters is to: 1. decide how much financial resources will be made available to this strategic initiative per year, for the next 5-10 years; 2. establish some guidelines as to what we want to accomplish, as opposed to how we want to accomplish it; 3. set up a procedure for Chapters to submit proposals to use this funding; 4. allocate the funding/resources to the best proposals that advance the strategy and goals of the SDS Kim, It's in human nature to never be satisfied with what we are able to achieve, and most things if not all are measured in relative terms. Give yourself and your colleagues a pad in the back for being the most successful Chapter of the SDS, probably followed by the Latin American Chapter -which is trying to catch up and take the lead btw ;-) I am only referring here to geographically-based Chapters. Otherwise, I would highlight the Student Chapter as well, for its many and continuous achievements.
Aldo
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India Chapter Re: Report on VP Chapters
Karan Khosla
Tue, 8 Feb 2011 22:36:06 +0530
Dear SDS Colleagues,
I hope all is well!
We've been working hard over the past year at getting the logistics for the India Chapter into place, our website is up (though the site still needs a fair amount of work): http://www.systemdynamics.co.in
Martin and Roberta have been extremely helpful, and I believe the original VP report has been appended with a recent update about the Indian Chapter; I have attached my brief, original report for your reference, in case you haven't already received it. Suggestions, advice, comments are welcome!
I believe Skype can handle up to twenty five callers at a time now (we've used this to some success over the past few months whilst trying to plan our first conference this coming May). Unfortunately, at least in a country like India, poor internet connectivity and reliability plays a signifiant role in our ability to stay consistently in touch!
Content generation for the SDS and Chapter websites is also important; as a community, we also need to put a fair amount of effort into to making more public-friendly material e.g., tutorial videos etc.
With regard to fund raising from within the Chapter community, we've been toying with a couple of ideas, including a "franchisee" model for member-consultants, but these are still just ideas and would need considerable SDS policy council inputs and approval - a dialogue with Martin has already been started on this.
Best Wishes,
Karan
Karan Khosla
Chief Executive Officer
EarthSafe Enterprises
22 Olof Palme Marg
Vasant Vihar
New Delhi
110057 - India
Ph: +-91-98-1073-2215
Fax: +91-11-2614-2213
Website: www.earthsafe.in
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Results of voting: 101 regarding Slate of Candidates
System Dynamics Society
Wed, 9 Feb 2011 13:16:37 -0500
Dear Policy Council Members and Other Interested Parties:
Below please find the results of Motion #101: Motion #101:
SUBJECT: Slate of Candidates to take office on January 1, 2012 by Rogelio Oliva, seconded by Ignacio Martinez-Moyano)
Voting open date: 2011.01.29 Voting close date: 2011.02.08
Yes: 22 No: 0 Abstain: 0 Did Not Vote: 1
Roberta Spencer
Executive Director System Dynamics Society
office@systemdynamics.org
phone +1 518 442 3865 fax +1 518 442 3398
www.systemdynamics.org
Milne 300, University at Albany 135 Western Avenue Albany, NY 12222 USA
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Motion to recognize the Benelux Chapter of the System Dynamics Society
Martin Schaffernicht
Sun, 13 Feb 2011 15:01:46 -0300
Hi,
a group of dynamicists has decided to formalize their operations as the "Benelux Chapter of the System Dynamics Society". The constitution complies with the Society's rules; 28 active members have signed the petition, 12 of them are full members. The officiers will be: - President: Erik Pruyt - Vice prdt. Meetings: Etiënne Rouwette - Vice prdt. Members: Bart Steverink This group has already organized first activities, and the founding members are well-known members of the Society. I believe the list is acceptable even though we have it in scanned format. Therefore I have moved the petition to recognize the Chapter. The proposed constitution and a scanned copy of the signatures have been uploaded in the submission system.
Best greetings,
Martin Schaffernicht
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Re: Combined chapters workshop at Washington SD conference?
Zagonel, Aldo A
Thu, 17 Feb 2011 07:29:24 -0700
The successful format that Kim describes for the annual gathering of the UK Chapter is very similar to the PhD Colloquium that takes place during the SDS conferences, organized by the Student Chapter; to the MIT/U-Albany meeting that is held twice per year; and to the SD Winter Camp that is held every other year. All of these are very good events that provide subsidy to what could be done and perhaps should be required of every regional chapter on a regular basis. I have never been to the UK gathering, but I have attended at least one or two of each of the other meetings. There are some aspects that are very important to their success. Of course, there's the organizational aspect, which includes setting it up, inviting and accepting contributions, etc. However, one aspect that seems critical is to bring to these events people who are BOTH highly qualified AND excellent in providing feedback. I remember some PhD colloquiums being much better than others due to the presence of exceptional members of the SDS faculty who were there to listen to the presentations, critique the work, and more importantly provide suggestions and feedback. It has also been my experience that the SD Winter Camp is an excellent event because it attracts some of the best professionals and academics in the field, in a small and supportive environment. Perhaps this is one of the most important ways that the SDS can contribute to the growth and development of regional chapters, by committing to sponsor the attendance of one or two of our leading scholars at these chapter gatherings. I am not referring to paying for their time, but covering their expenses (travel, lodging, meals), when the meeting organizers are not able to do so themselves. An alternative format to these 1-3 day mini-conferences would be to support capacity-building workshops that are 1-2 weeks in length. These workshops would go beyond the usual "teasers" and deliver a more meaningful curriculum. They would have as their main audience people who already have some experience in SD but have not had the benefit of formal training at one of the main SD campuses. Perhaps these folk have had an introductory class or did some work on their own using a textbook. But, going through an intensive workshop with someone like Sterman or Richardson or Morecroft, to name only some examples, would provide more substantive knowledge and, more importantly, a better idea of what these leading figures expect of good SD modeling and simulation work. These are not my own ideas, but reflect my experiences and conversations with others much more knowledgeable and experienced than myself. These may be two paths forward to consider and take, probably simultanenously (mini-conferences and capacity-development workshops), if we want to proceed more aggressively with growing the field abroad, more quickly and with greater consequence.
Aldo
Combined chapters workshop at Washington SD conference?
Andersen, David F
Fri, 18 Feb 2011 19:29:43 -0500
I think that Aldo is raising some very interesting and good ideas here. There will be financial implications both for the Society and for the Chapters and I look forward to helping to think these through more completely.
David Andersen
VP Finance
Re: Combined chapters workshop at Washington SD conference?
Zagonel, Aldo A
Sat, 19 Feb 2011 12:26:46 -0700
David,
Thank you for your interest in this discussion and attention to this issue. Also, I would like to publicly recognize and thank you for your support of an earlier initiative that came to fruition due to your predisposition to entertain proposals while at the same time safeguard the long-term financial health of our Society. I distinctively remember a very fruitful conversation that we had with Lees Stuntz and others, at the Winter PC meeting in Worcester 2-3 years ago, when you promptly committed to provide some financial support to include a special K-12 program for the 2009 ISCDS. I hope that we did not disappoint you and the Society with what we were able to accomplish at that event, and I regard with great joy the fact that a similar effort is being included for the 2011 ICSDS program. I hope this initiative continues every other year, to supplement the CLE biennial conferences; that it grows in volume and significance, to provide an early entry point for young system dynamicists into our field and our Society, and to contaminate all of us with the excitement of their high energy and youghful dreams.
Aldo
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From David Lane RE: February 14 Policy Council Meeting Minutes
System Dynamics Society
Fri, 25 Feb 2011 07:14:53 -0500
Dear Policy Council Members and Other Interested Parties,
The minutes of the 14th February face-to-face meeting have now been posted on the Conference Web Submission System, Policy Council Menu, in the section with the other reports. Morrison, J. Bradley is the author. Based on the meeting and other contributions, a series of motions and other discussions will now be initiated. Motions will be made on the Policy Council menu of the Web Submission System: Discussion will take place using this listserv. We will make, discuss, and vote these motions during the "Second Electronic Meeting" between now and March 25.* Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.
Best regards,
David C. Lane, President 2011
* Post F2F Schedule: February 25 - March 10: Online discussion of proposed motions, including any non-binding straw pollos on motions March 11 - March 17: Formal posting of (revised) motions and finaldiscussion March 18 - March 24: Voting on motions March 25: Meeting adjourned
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Motion 106: Disband Organization and Bylaws Committee
Bob Eberlein
Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:05:48 -0500
Hi Everyone,
I am concerned about, and strongly oppose, this motion to disband the bylaws committee. This committee is at the heart of Society governance, and we need to reinvigorate it and provide support, not disband it. When a Policy or Bylaw is changed, that change needs to be incorporated into our written rules. This committee is responsible for making sure that incorporation is done, and done correctly. While one person may be more effective at incorporating changes, to not have such changes checked by a broader set of eyes would be folly indeed. A small number of people working in concert is exactly what is needed.
Bob Eberlein
As background, the following is from the Society Policies The Organization and Bylaws Committee shall observe the management of the Society from the point of view of compliance with the Bylaws and Policies of the Society. It shall study all proposals for changes in the regulations, and shall make recommendations as appropriate. It shall make recommendations to the Council concerning the organization and objectives of the Society. It shall examine all chapter Bylaws, and changes thereto, for conformity with the Bylaws and Policies of the Society. The current members of this committee are: Brad Morrison (Chair), Oleg Pavlov, and Jack Pugh.
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109: Form ad hoc committee on Organization of the SDS
Bob Eberlein
Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:20:12 -0500
Hi Everyone,
Under bylaw VII: Any officer wishing assistance in carrying out prescribed duties may appoint Ad Hoc Committees, provided that the term of said committee falls within the officer's own term of office, and provided said committee does not infringe unduly upon the authority of a Standing Committee or an officer of the Society. So obviously there is no problem with the President Elect setting up this committee, and it does not really require a vote. I do want to note that the mandate sounds very much like that of the strategy committee. I don't think there is much concern about infringing authority, since neither of these committees has been endowed with executive powers, but I wonder if it would make more sense to simply reconstitute the Strategy Committee.
Bob Eberlein
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Promoting Chapter Activities and boosting SDS outreach
Zagonel, Aldo A
Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:37:02 -0700
I'd like to applaude the effort by the Officers of the Society to generate a discussion and possibly approve, effective this year, the allocation of resources to promote Chapter activities, as well as to propose a vehicle to look into fruitful pathways to boost SDS outreach in general: Motion 103: The System Dynamics Society will allocate $20,000 in the 2011 budget for the promotion of capacity building activities of Chapters in good standing. Chapters are encouraged to develop and submit proposals to the VP Chapters. Capacity building as used here means workshops and/or training delivered by established system dynamics experts external to the proposing group. Final approval to be agreed upon by the VP Chapters, VP Finance and President. Motion 111: In order in ensure continuation with all of the duties/responsibilities of the VP at Large, an Education, Outreach, and Public Understanding (EOPU) Ad Hoc Committee be formed to define the structure, purpose, and mission for education, outreach and public understanding. The committee will report to the PC at the Summer '12 meeting. L Stuntz is nominated Chair. Other members include R Oliva and L Malczynski. The Committee is encouraged to appoint a student member. The committee will report to the President. I look forward to learning from these discussions as I think it is useful to get a variety of perspectives that will inform and enhance these initiatives.
Thank you!
Aldo Zagonel
Re: Promoting Chapter Activities and boosting SDS outreach
Martin Schaffernicht
Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:14:14 -0300
Hi, some words concerning Motion 103: "The System Dynamics Society will allocate $20,000 in the 2011 budget for the promotion of capacity building activities of Chapters in good standing. Chapters are encouraged to develop and submit proposals to the VP Chapters. Capacity building as used here means workshops and/or training delivered by established system dynamics experts external to the proposing group. Final approval to be agreed upon by the VP Chapters, VP Finance and President." This is a great step. I was trying to imagine a procedure that would assure fair treatment to all proposing chapters and good use of the $20.000 at the same time. I ignore how many capacity building activities can be financed with this amount, but probably there is not enough money for each of the chapters in good standing to be able to participate in one year. No problem, we just have to be clear about the way decisions will be made. I think we should define a deadline for proposals to be turned in and develop an application form where chapters shall describe the planned activity and present their arguments on how it will build capacity. We should also have a transparent (publicly known) set of criteria in order to compare proposals and justify why some get funded and others do not. (Last not least, once per year we ought to ask ourselves if the amount of $20.000 should be revised.) I can develop a draft form once we have the criteria. My first ideas on criteria would be: - It seems to me that a first topic is "who are the people whose capacity will be enhanced?" Are they members of the chapter (already with SD experience) or newcomers? Are they in a teaching position or practitioners (or both)? How many are they? - Then I'd like to know who will be the lecturers or the ones who do the capacity building. - (I'd certainly give an extra point if the sessions are videotaped and made available to the other chapters.) - Also, I'd give importance to the % of total cost that would be financed out of the SDS fund (should there be a limit?). One question on how to proceed: if there are more proposals than can be funded, will we establish a ranking and fund the strongest proposals or is there an alternative procedure?
Best greetings,
Martin Schaffernicht
Re: Promoting Chapter Activities and boosting SDS outreach
Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:46:22 +0100
Hello all,
I completely agree to the draft criteria for allocating a capacity building budget, as proposed by Martin below. I notice that the motion is quite specific as to what constitutes capacity building: 'workshops and/or training delivered by established system dynamics experts'. At the Korea conference Martin and I met with Chapter and SIG representatives. In that meeting a couple of other capacity building activities were proposed, such as inviting an expert from the respective field to the SD conference (for instance, the Psychology Chapter invites a well-known psychologist to our conference and the Society sponsors his conference fee and/ or other expenses).
I am not arguing in favor or against this or other capacity building activities, but my question is: are we in principle allowing other 'creative' activities, or do we only sponsor workshops/ trainings?
Thanks,
Etiënne
Re: Promoting Chapter Activities and boosting SDS outreach
Kim Warren
Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:34:35 +0000
Could I just clarify a point - the Motion refers to 'capacity building', but I assume is also intended to address 'demand building'. With many SD-capable professionals unable to find employment that exploits their capability, the priority would seem to be demand, rather than capacity? Kim On 25 February 2011 15:37, Zagonel, Aldo A wrote: I'd like to applaude the effort by the Officers of the Society to generate a discussion and possibly approve, effective this year, the allocation of resources to promote Chapter activities, as well as to propose a vehicle to look into fruitful pathways to boost SDS outreach in general: Motion 103: The System Dynamics Society will allocate $20,000 in the 2011 budget for the promotion of capacity building activities of Chapters in good standing. Chapters are encouraged to develop and submit proposals to the VP Chapters. Capacity building as used here means workshops and/or training delivered by established system dynamics experts external to the proposing group. Final approval to be agreed upon by the VP Chapters, VP Finance and President. Motion 111: In order in ensure continuation with all of the duties/responsibilities of the VP at Large, an Education, Outreach, and Public Understanding (EOPU) Ad Hoc Committee be formed to define the structure, purpose, and mission for education, outreach and public understanding. The committee will report to the PC at the Summer '12 meeting. L Stuntz is nominated Chair. Other members include R Oliva and L Malczynski. The Committee is encouraged to appoint a student member. The committee will report to the President. I look forward to learning from these discussions as I think it is useful to get a variety of perspectives that will inform and enhance these initiatives.
Thank you!
Aldo Zagonel
Promoting Chapter Activities and boosting SDS outreach
eric wolstenholme
Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:01:57 -0000
I have been watching the discussion and think Kim makes a good point. It would be good to have financial help for Chapters to run awareness seminars for potential sponsors of SD projects.
Eric Wolstenholme
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