Operations are intact and continuous. All financial information is computerized using the accounting program "QuickBooks."
I see the position of Executive Director as having two distinct parts: the first part is maintaining current and routine operations, and the second part is development and new initiatives. Items listed below have been completed, are in the works or are planned for the future. With the guidance of the Administration Committee I am forging ahead. I look forward to advice from the Policy Council on any item.
Membership services and recruitment. Continuous phone, E-mail and mail coverage are being provided. The replies are fast, focused and very responsive as shown by the positive feedback we have received. A sales and contact database has been growing since January 1, 1997. Currently we have over 2,700 records of members, non-members and conference registrants who have contacted this office for products or information. (1998 - 1,500 records) An E-mail distribution list, made up of all E-mail contacts, is also being maintained and updated with every contact.
In 1999 the Society office processed 145 new or renewal memberships for both 1999 and 2000 through this office. (1998 - 41)
Forty-five new or renewal memberships resulted from the Society Sponsorship incentive program. (1998 - 34) With the Society Sponsorship incentive, a sponsor receives up to three personal memberships.
After the New Zealand conference, a personal invitation to become a member of the Society was sent to 210 conference attendees who were not members. This resulted in 16 new members registering through this office. (Others may have contacted Wiley directly.) In addition, in October 1999 we sent out 259 letters to 1998 members who did not renew for 1999. This resulted in 24 renewals at the end of 1999. A survey was also sent to non-renewing members asking the reason. Most who responded said that system dynamics was not longer a part of their work or study.
Since June 1998 a system was set up to send welcome letters to new members of the Society. When the Society office receives new member information from John Wiley & Sons, we mail out a welcome letter, brochure and a directory. John Wiley & Sons continues to be very helpful and responsive.
1999 membership directory was produced and distributed by the Society office. In the past, the membership directory was done by John Wiley & Sons. A request for updated information was mailed to all 1998 and 1999 members in October 1999. Forty-six percent replied with updated or corrected information. The 1999 directory was distributed in December 1999. We received many compliments this year on the directory. Ms. Jen Rowe was primarily responsible for managing the update of the directory. This is reflected in the increase in her percentage of time spent on core operations in the "Current Allocations of Efforts" chart below.
(Please see Attachment II for more detailed membership information.)
A Society home office website is currently being maintained by a volunteer at the University at Albany. Jack Pugh, the newly appointed webmaster, will begin management of the site shortly, with the assistance of Vedat Diker, Ph.D. candidate at the University at Albany. The site currently contains brochure information, including how to order past publications and the beer game, and how to become a member. The website contains Norway conference information, including the call for papers, list of abstracts received, abstracts received by country, the registration information, the tentative conference schedule and all conference details available at this time.
1998
| August: 863| September: 835 | October: 775 | November: 812 | December: 669
| |
1999
| January: 1,004| February: 1,000 | March: 1,114 | April: 1,032 | May: 1,230 | June: 1,169 | July: 1,080 | August: 1,160 | September: 1,339 | October: 1,370 | November: 1,273 | December: 1,302
| |
2000
| February: 2,879| January: 1,652
| |
The site address is http://www.albany.edu/cpr/sds/
The domain name systemdynamics.org has been reserved.
There is great interest in the Beer Distribution Game, but sales are down 18% from 1998. There is increased demand for the Proceedings and back issues of the System Dynamics Review, sales are up by 40%. Orders filled (including bibliographies) as of December 31, 1999 totaled 765. (1997 - 271, 1998 - 560) The number of game boards sold in 1999 was 619. (1998 boards - 839)
Regarding the Beer Game: The project to produce a training video is still active, but no action has been taken. According to input from a range of clients from large corporations to small consulting firms, there seems to be a strong need for an instruction video to "train the trainer." Raw material exists for this project, but more videotaping needs to be done to produce the training video.
As a convenience to our customers we offer "parts" to be sold with the Beer Game. These parts now include the deck of customer order cards, plastic playing chips, color coordinated order slips and pencils. Including them makes the game more user friendly and they have been well received. Retail costs have been modestly raised for the Beer Game in 2000. Postage is paid by the consumer on all Beer Game sales. Although sales are down and will probably continue to slowly decline, I remain enthusiastic about the continued interest and sales of the Beer Game. The profit from this "cost center" helps supports the core operations offered by the Society office. Possible new initiative would be to sell the game to resellers and/or to invent a new product to sell.
Regarding back issues of the System Dynamics Review: A set of 36 back issues from 1985 to 1998 (Volume 1-14) is offered for sale for $750.00, a savings of $410.00. The full-time student price for the Volume 1-14 set is $325.00. A minimum number of out-of-print issues has been photocopied and bound for sale, so now all past issues are available. A gradual reduction in price on old issues has been suggested. If this decision is made, clearance will be sought from the Administration Committee.
Bibliography disks continue to be available. The bibliography has been updated through the end of 1999. This project is now being routinely performed by Jennifer Ferriss, bibliographer. The project was originally overseen by Deborah Lines Andersen, from the Information Sciences Department at the University at Albany. In addition, William Steinhurst was consulted for continuity and consistency. Entries include the conference proceedings with system dynamics references if provided; the System Dynamics Review and the relevant bibliographies, as well as other miscellaneous entries. A request for bibliography information is printed in each issue of the Review. The bibliography is a continuous work in progress. It currently contains over 5,550 database entries (July 1999: 5,367).
The bibliography information that is currently maintained at the Vensim website will be moved to the Society website in the near future.
In an effort to increase membership, the arrangement for sponsorship has been slightly changed. In lieu of receiving a free subscription with a sponsorship, the corporate sponsors now will receive up to three free annual memberships. We have had success with this new arrangement. For 1999 sponsorship income was $12,738. (1997 - $4,000, 1998 - $11,000)
A systematic Society sponsorship program is on the administrative calendar for September of every year. We contact all past Society sponsors and conference sponsors, inviting them to continue their support in. In addition, we identified and mailed out letters to repeat customers, to organizations with numerous members and to other consulting firms owned by members. This mailing is not only to solicit, but to also cultivate a relationship, to involve our members and others in the field. To date in 2000 we have five new Society sponsors. A total of eighteen existing or new sponsors have either sent in their gift or made a verbal commitment.
The 1999 amended budget projected a loss of $39,410. We are in fact showing a loss of $22,534. The Society is managed around three cost centers. Combining all three shows a net loss. The cost centers are Conference, Core Operations and Sales. The core operations cost center is running in the negative, being subsidized by the sales and conference cost centers. Please refer to the full statement shown in David Andersen's VP Finance Report.
Due to customer demand and conference involvement by the Society office, the Society accepts credit card payments. This eliminates significant purchase barriers, especially for international customers. Our "break even" point is approximately $1,200 per month. The total credit card purchases for 1999 were $86,058, and for 1998 were $124,956. For credit card costs, please refer to the Financial Reports. For credit card sales history (including conference registrations) over the past two years, please see Attachment V.
Per vote of the Policy Council, the Society has undertaken a shared responsibility in the planning and management of our conferences.
For the 1999 conference, the Society office worked with Bob Cavana and Jac Vennix. The call for papers and registration brochures were mailed from the Society office, advertisements in related journals were posted and conference sponsors were being contacted. Our office handled registrations as we did for the Quebec conference. The conference finances were maintained on our QuickBooks program. The New Zealand conference showed a profit of $3,228 for the calendar year of 1999. The net income for the conference was US$40.00.
The 2000 conference in Bergen, Norway is well underway. The program is being developed and sponsors have been contacted. The first registration brochure and contact by e-mail was done in February. Abstracts received were over 330. Sponsorship participation is currently at a minimum of $14,500 with a potential of about another $3000 - $5000. This office became much more involved in the conference planning this year, working with Pål Davidsen, Ali Mashayekhi and David Ford.
The 2001 Atlanta conference palns are progressing nicely. The venue will be the Emory Conference Center. The dates are July 23-27, 2001.
A guide to organizing an International System Dynamics Conference written by Jac A.M. Vennix and Loes H. Builtjes in July 1992 is currently being updated by the Society office. Please see Attachment VI for conference planning schedule.
Please see the attached draft of the Administrative Calendar (Attachment III). Key people will need to comment on the Administrative Calendar and related processes to make it complete. The role of the Executive Director would be to help keep all the Society processes timely. Unfortunately, there has been little progress on the Administrative Calender to date. As always, I appreciate input.
1999 added the UK and Australasian Chapters. A group of students is still pursuing the creation of a student chapter and have plans to discuss this further in Norway. As requests for information come in, they are forwarded to VP Members/Chapters Nan Lux.
Daily time sheets are recorded and time is separated into three cost centers at the System Dynamics Society. Most of my time on Society work continues to be spent on current operations. Breakdown of time for Roberta, working at 75%:
| Core Operations: 41%| Sales: 28% | Quebec Conference: 27% | New Zealand Conference: 4%
| |
| Core Operations: 46%| Sales: 14% | New Zealand Conference: 28% | Norway Conference: 12%
| |
My time commitment to the Society for 2000 is now at 90%.
Jennifer Rowe, Assistant Director, worked one-half time in 1999 and has moved up to 60% for 2000. Breakdown of time for Jen, working 50%:
| Core Operations: 41%| Sales: 35% | Quebec Conference: 22% | New Zealand Conference: 2%
| |
| Core Operations: 59%| Sales: 30% | New Zealand Conference: 9% | Norway Conference: 2%
| |
| Update Society information vehicles, including brochures, System Dynamics Review
Support website maintenance
|
Order and Market Beer Game
|
Inventory and Fill Orders for back issues of Proceedings
|
Inventory and Fill Orders for back issues of System Dynamics Review
|
Respond to general member inquiries/member services
|
Respond to non-member inquiries
|
Membership maintenance and recruitment
|
Reconcile Membership Issues/Discrepancies with John Wiley & Sons
|
Work with President as needed
|
Work with Vice Presidents and Secretary as needed
|
Archiving/Records Retention and Preservation
|
Maintain Checking Account
|
Society Sponsorship Solicitation
|
Produce Membership Directory
| |
| 1999 - 995| 1998 - 808 | 1997 - 680 | 1996 - 572 | 1995 - 504 | 1994 - 484 | 1993 - 487 | 1992 - 406 | 1991 - 418
| |
| Country | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
| Argentina | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Australia | 17 | 15 | 21 | 31 |
| Austria | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Bangladesh | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Belgium | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Brazil | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Canada | 15 | 23 | 24 | 33 |
| Chile | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| China | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Columbia | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Cote d'Ivoire | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Croatia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Czech Rep | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Denmark | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Finland | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| France | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 |
| Germany | 14 | 21 | 23 | 34 |
| Greece | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Hong Kong | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Iceland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| India | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Indonesia | 4 | 6 | 7 | 15 |
| Iran | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ireland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Israel | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Italy | 17 | 23 | 28 | 28 |
| Japan | 31 | 33 | 32 | 36 |
| Korea | 4 | 8 | 7 | 12 |
| Kuwait | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Lebanon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Malaysia | 0 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Mexico | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| New Zealand | 4 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Nigeria | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Norway | 9 | 16 | 22 | 32 |
| Peru | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Philippines | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Poland | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Portugal | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Russia | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Singapore | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| South Africa | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Spain | 21 | 24 | 22 | 26 |
| Sweden | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Switzerland | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Taiwan | 4 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Thailand | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| The Netherlands | 12 | 18 | 21 | 24 |
| Turkey | 1 | 7 | 6 | 17 |
| UK | 44 | 65 | 89 | 104 |
| USA | 297 | 323 | 386 | 451 |
| Venezuela | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Vietnam | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | 572 | 680 | 808 | 995 |
| Tax Filings
Manage agenda and follow-up for Winter Meeting of Policy Council (Jan, Feb)
|
Manage agenda and follow-up for Summer Meeting of Policy Council at |
Research Conference
|
Manage agenda and follow-up for Fall (?) Meeting of Policy Council
|
President's Newsletter Feb/March and after conference
|
Manage Nominations and Elections Procedures
|
Awards:
|
Manage Society Sponsors (mailout in September)
|
Membership Issues - work with Wiley
|
Annual Membership Directory
|
Manage Conference Site Selection (3-4 years in advance)
|
Update Bibliography
|
Executive director's report
|
Editor's report
|
Treasurer's report
|
Member/Chapter's report
|
Conference report
|
Notices in journals - for what and when
|
Update SDR - SDS publications for sale page, officers page, conference information page
|
May 15 Federal (no fee) and State ($100 fee) review to be filed
|
By November 15 - File a list of officers and policy council members with the MA Secretary of State - a one page form that gives officers and date of annual meeting for the past year. Clerk has to be resident of MA
|
Work with Administration Committee to refine processes.
|
|
A. Develop Records and Archive System
| Developments
Next Steps
|
|
B. Make Contacts and Support Special Interest Groups, Sponsors and Chapters
| K-12, Consultants, Systems Thinking
Developments
|
Next Steps
|
|
C. Link to Annual Research Conference
| Define Executive Directors Role for conferences
Notice of Conference in Research Journals
|
Manage Mechanics of Conference Program including:
|
Call for Papers
|
Proposed Review
|
Paper Selection Program Design
|
Contact Sponsors and Special Interest Groups
|
Manage Site Arrangements
|
Registration
|
Receiving Fees
|
Special Events
|
Developments
|
Next Steps
|
|
D. Develop Electronic Presence
| Developments
Next Steps
|
|
E. New Product to Broaden Sales Possibilities Beyond the "Beer Game"
| Developments
Next Steps
|
|
F. Update Conference Guide, Including Policy on Financial Aid for Needy Attendees
| Developments
Next Steps
|
|
G. "Own" membership process
| Developments
Next Steps
|
|
H. Active Job Exchange Message Board
| Developments
Next Steps
|
|
I. Upgrade Computers and Furniture in Office.
| Developments
Next Steps
|
|
1998
December: US$3,744
November: US$4,038
October: US$6,006
September: US$4,049
August: US$3,753
July: US$35,104
June: US$24,719
May: US$11,832
April: US$15,678
March: US$8,465
February: US$2,664
January: US$4,904
Total for 1998: US$124,956.
1999
December: US$2,834
November: US$6,319
October: US$4,646
September: US$4,512
August: US$10,824
July: US$4,620
June: US$22,714
May: US$10,346
April: US$4,700
March: US$8,465
February: US$2,309
January: US$3,769
Total for 1999: US$86,058
UP TO TWO YEARS BEFORE CONFERENCE
| reserve hotel/banquet/conference site
start to prepare social program
|
secure a travel agent for the conference
|
look into airline deals
| |
AT NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE, JULY/AUGUST 99
| hand out call for papers/preview sheet
promote next year's conference
|
have pre-conference meeting - create and sign memorandum of understanding
| |
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 99
| pre-conference planning meeting on site
call for papers mail out
|
email distribution of call for papers/list serve
|
information to publications - call for papers
|
contact sponsors (vendors), continue process until conference
|
continue to prepare social program
|
invite keynote speakers
|
monitor budget
|
form abstract review committee
|
prepare review process and guidelines for abstracts
|
form review committee for papers
|
prepare review process and guidelines for papers
|
close out previous year's conference finances
|
send JWF Award speech/presentation to Graham for SDR
|
mail out President's Newsletter #2 with next year's conference information
|
update website
| |
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 99
| email distribution of call for papers/list serve - reminder
invite session conveners
|
notify authors of receipt of their abstract
|
create author e-mail distribution list
|
create master abstract spreadsheet with author/reviewer information for program use
|
review abstracts
|
prepare guidelines for final paper to be included on the CD
|
update website with information and abstracts received (published/unpublished sites)
|
assist program committee with management of abstracts
| |
JANUARY 00
| January 15 deadline for abstracts submissions
assist program committee with management of abstracts
|
create report of conference status for February Policy Council meeting
|
talk to President about President's Newsletter
|
draft 1st registration brochure, produce final copy
|
get labels for 1st registration brochure from mailing partners
|
look into customs information for sponsors/vendors (maybe obtain a customs broker)
|
look into visa information
|
talk to Usman Ghani and this year's Consultants' Roundtable host
|
update website
| |
FEBRUARY 00
| February 1 deadline for tutorials/workshops submissions
produce brochure, ready envelopes and labels
|
mail out 1st registration brochure - early February to arrive mid - late February
|
find printer for printed abstracts proceedings after comparing costs
|
find CD manufacturer after comparing costs
|
produce President's Newsletter #1 with information about conference
|
assist program committee with management of abstracts
|
assist conference chair with schedule
|
update website
| |
MARCH 00
| March 1 deadline for abstract acceptances
March 1 deadline to send invitation to submit full paper for plenary
|
send letters of (non) acceptance with guidelines, reminder of deadlines for final paper
|
e-mail distribution of 1st registration brochure
|
bulk mail out to universities of 1st registration brochure
|
arrange for draft of conference evaluation
|
mail out President's Newsletter #1
|
contact exhibitor supplier for exhibitor needs
|
update website
| |
APRIL 00
| April 15 deadline for completed papers submission
April 15 deadline for receiving CD materials
|
check on progress of Forrester Award
|
plan for planning meeting for next year's conference
|
send out tentative schedule with PC meetings, editor's meeting, curriculum committee, chapter presidents, next years conference planning meeting
|
decide on plenary and parallel papers
|
send out form requesting special AV or other equipment
|
arrange for on site photocopier
|
update website
| |
MAY 00
| mail out of 2nd registration brochure
produce next year's preview sheet/call for papers
|
e-mail distribution of 2nd registration brochure, travel information and instructions
|
track coffee/tea/lunch/dinner/other reservations and activities
|
produce next year's preview sheet/call for papers
|
send out letter of acceptances of paper for plenary/parallel session presentation
|
order satchels, folders, pens, pads of paper, etc.
|
update website
| |
JUNE 00
| electronic CD papers and artwork to CD maker (assign ISBN)
produce printed abstracts (assign ISBN)
|
create email distribution list of registrants
|
schedule registration desk helpers
|
send out hotel reminder
|
order award winner plaque
|
delivery of CD for approval
|
updated conference schedule mailout with new information
|
check authors to registrants
|
check registrants who claim to be members
|
buy supplies for badges, etc.
|
update website
| |
JULY/AUGUST 00
| e-mail/fax of newest information
delivery of CDs and printed abstracts
|
produce preliminary participant list for folder
|
produce participant list for updating at conference
|
produce registration check in lists
|
produce on-site registration form
|
make badges
|
make sign posts
|
stuff satchels/folders on site and stuff registration envelopes
|
distribute next year's preview sheet/call for papers
|
update website for current and make new website for next year
| |
| computer equipment and presentation equipment
credit card capability at conference
|
on-site registration forms
|
free registrations to sponsors
|
dress code information
|
weather information
|
tipping customs
|
local - day pass newspaper ad
|
news story
|
day passes
|
conference banquet in one room
|
overheads only with specific standardized format
| |
| registrants without e-mail (need to fax late information)
student status clarification
|
waivers and discounts for students and low income
|
grants/funding in addition to waivers
|
lame duck last day
|
ensure placement of award presentation (middle day of conference)
|
registration
|
|
