Minutes of 22 July 1999 PC Meeting

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Minutes of the Meeting of the Policy Council of the System Dynamics Society

22 July 1999

Wellington, New Zealand

In Attendance.

Officers:

Alexander L. Pugh, III (President), Jac Vennix (President Elect)

Policy Council:

Carmine Bianchi, Ginny Wiley, Graham Winch (System Dynamics Review Editor)

Guests:

Julia DiStefano, Saburo Kameyama, Habib Sedehi, Roberta L. Spencer (Executive Director), Toru Suetake.

1. Call to Order.

The meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM by President Jack Pugh.

2. Informational Items

Jack summarized the Canadian Interest Group Report. The Society is pleased we are kept informed. The Canadian Group has chosen not to become a Chapter yet.

Jack summarized the update on the Society's electronic presence. Roberta read a report by Mike Radzicki stating that the Society office website is currently being maintained by a volunteer at the University at Albany, until it is completely taken over by Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The server has been purchased and physically resides at WPI. The server is up and running, but the site will not be active until the address for the domain name has been transferred. The domain name www.systemdynamics.org has been reserved and will soon be registered to the Society.

The Society office and WPI will work closely together to keep the new site updated. The new site will merge the current Society site and the Policy Council Website together. Additional information under consideration to be contained on the new website includes:

the membership directory,

the bibliography,

full E-commerce capability,

several system dynamics models that can be run via a browser (e.g. Forrester's Market Growth Mode - for non-members and people new to the field, and the "Future of the Field" Model - presumably of interest to members),

possible conference proceedings, model equations listings that cannot be published in the Review due to space limitations, and more links (including one to Wiley's website housing the back issues of the Review).

Access to some areas, such as the directory, will be limited to current members with passwords.

In the near term, the Policy Council will be asked to consider creating the position of Society Webmaster. The Webmaster will be under the jurisdiction of the VP - Publications, and appointed, just like the Editor of the Review.

Discussion: Graham asked when access to Wiley Interscience would happen. Roberta responded that maybe October 1999, but all this needs to be worked out with Wiley. Roberta also noted that Wiley has been great to work with. Graham agreed.

Announcement of the Week of the 2000 Winter Meeting of the Policy Council: President Elect Jac Vennix has picked either the week of February 13 or the week of February 20, 2000 for the Winter Policy Council Meeting. It will be held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. A more firm date will be advised.

3. New Action Items.

	Teleconferencing Policy Council Meetings. Paul Langley has asked the Society to look into ways for Policy Council Members to participate, when they cannot attend the meetings. Jack mentioned the February 1999 webcast at the Winter Policy Council Meeting and noted minimal participation and technical problems.
	Bylaws and Policy Changes. Jack recommends forming two committees to approve the changes. He hopes all this can be done by e-mail.
	Priorities of the System Dynamics Society. Jack spoke on Tuesday morning in the Presidential address about areas that were most interesting. Jack will summarize all the suggestions and would like to see a committee for Priorities of the System Dynamics Society. Jack will poll the entire Policy Council. Ginny Wiley mentioned perhaps past PC members could be involved in commenting on the priority items. Jack stated that all this information will go into the second newsletter and that he feels strongly that the Society must have goals other than just spending money. The question is "What is the wisest use of our funds?"

4. Discussion Items.

The 2002 conference and Beyond. Jack stated we all had Bob Eberlein's report.

Establishing a Section in INFORMS. Jack stated that there was a suggestion to form a section at INFORMS. Jack has reservations. Conference attendance can be affected. If the System Dynamics section is strong, it can detract from attendance at the Society's annual conference. There also has not been strong communication to date between the two organizations.

Graham Winch also feels there would be a danger that it can be used as an excuse. He stated that this year's conference is having a big impact.

5. Further Business.

	Jack suggested that chapters give him reports to be included in the Newsletter.
	Carmine Bianchi asked if the general business meeting could have a different time slot during the conference (i.e., not the very last slot), as attendance is usually low.
	Roberta asked that if possible, please plan on attending the February Winter Policy Council Meeting, as the tentative dates have been announced. Graham suggested that the Council could move to an electronic Winter Meeting, that would be conducted asynchronously over a two week period. Graham also suggested that important decisions should always be made at the summer/conference meeting(s) and move away from two meetings.

6. Adjournment.

Jack Pugh adjourned the meeting at 5:45 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Roberta L. Spencer
Executive Director