[A fairly substantial newsletter that I’m reproducing in full as I can’t find a link to share an online version]

CSS NewsletterJuly 2023 Issue – Systems ProspectsWelcome from the EditorsWelcome to the second electronic issue of ‘Systems Prospects’, the newsletter of the Centre for Systems Studies (CSS) at the University of Hull. After our inaugural issue two months ago, we received large amounts of positive feedback on the diverse, cutting-edge work being done on systems thinking and practice. Also, people expressed appreciation that we were going beyond news of our own work to publicise events around the world on systems thinking, systems science, cybernetics and complexity. We hope you find this issue just as interesting and inspiring. Since we launched that first issue, we have been working behind the scenes to improve the way we communicate news. In addition to sending the first issue of the newsletter to several hundred people who specifically requested it, we have also written to over 3,800 people about the Systems Thinking stream that we’re running at the Annual Conference of the Operational Research Society on 12-14 September, 2023. That was an opportunity, not just to let people know about the stream, but also to ask them if they want to be on our mailing list for communications like this bi-monthly newsletter: people had the option of either unsubscribing or staying on that list. The fact that you are reading this now means you opted in. If that was not intentional, there is an ‘unsubscribe’ button at the end of this newsletter, but we hope you will stay with us. We promise not to bombard you with emails: we are sticking with a two-monthly publication schedule for this newsletter, and will not send extra emails unless there is an overriding, time-sensitive reason for doing so. Let us end with a request. If you have friends, colleagues or collaborators who are interested in systems thinking, please copy this newsletter to them and suggest they drop a note to systemsprospects@hull.ac.uk to go on our mailing list. If everybody identifies just one other person who wants to read our news, we will double our readership overnight! Thank you. Matt and Raj. Matt Lloyd – m.lloyd-2021@hull.ac.ukRaj Chowdhury – Rajneesh.Chowdhury@hull.ac.ukA Note from the CSS DirectorsThe summer conference season is upon us, and this is a good opportunity to tell you about some of the events we have recently spoken at, or are shortly contributing to. Gerald Midgley has given two keynotes recently, both co-delivered with Rachel Lilley (Birmingham Leadership Institute, University of Birmingham). The first was in May, at the 2023 Cornell University International Systems Thinking Conference. This was an online event that attracted over 2,000 delegates, which might make it the largest specialist systems thinking event ever held. The second keynote was in June at the 2023 Annual Conference of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS). In our view, the ISSS is the premier systems society worldwide, so it was an honour for our Centre for Systems Studies to be represented there in such a high-profile role. As we have done for the last five years, the Centre for Systems Studies is also going to be convening the Systems Thinking Stream at the 65th Annual Conference of the Operational Research Society, to be held in Bath (UK) from 12 to 14 September 2023. This year, we have 41 paper presentations and 11 workshops. We will be starting the stream with a workshop on defining systems thinking, and we will end it with a workshop supporting people in proposing new research agendas. We also welcome a high-profile Stream Keynote speaker: Angela Wilkinson, Secretary General of the World Energy Council. She will talk with us about how the Council deploys systems and futures thinking in its work on the global energy transition. We hope you enjoy the rest of this newsletter. If you have any news of forthcoming events to share, please send it to the editors. Gerald and Amanda Gerald Midgley, g.r.midgley@hull.ac.ukAmanda Gregory, a.j.gregory@hull.ac.ukA Thought PieceIn 2006, Ackoff made the observation about systems thinking that, “very little of our literature and lectures are addressed to potential users” whilst Checkland (2012) noted that one of the issues is that academics are being encouraged to “take the easy option: writing papers about other papers, rather than describing engagements with complex reality”. And yet, we, as members of the systems thinking community, can often be heard complaining about why systems thinking isn’t more mainstream or why it is not taught at most academic institutions. In fact, there are a number of instances of systems thinkers suggesting that systems thinking should be taught at primary school level. Personally, I believe that Ackoff hit the nail on the head when he wrote, “until we communicate to our potential users in a language they can understand, they and we will not understand what we are talking about”. What is especially interesting in that one sentence is the use of the word, communicate, given communication is rarely identified as a component of systems thinking. As systems thinkers, we often talk about holism, interconnections, perspectives etc., however we often give little thought to communication. While contemplating the use of the word communicate, it is important to remember that communication is not a one-way interaction, as that would be preaching, and that effective communication involves feedback, whether formal or informal, with feedback being often cited as a primary component of systems thinking. On this basis, the question I would pose to the community of the Centre for Systems Studies (CSS), is how well do we communicate with current and potential practitioners? After all, communication is not just newsletters, elite practitioner events or academic papers as the potential practitioners may not be the people within our community. How often do we reach out to potential users, whether in a formal or informal setting, to discuss systems thinking in a way which is accessible and invites people to start a personal, or professional, enquiry into the fundamentals, tools and methodologies that systems thinking is comprised of?  Additionally, there are initiatives, such as the Systems Student Community and the CSS Community Café that exist to provide a safe and supportive environment to discuss and debate systems ideas (further information on how to access these initiatives can be found below). If we want the CSS to be at the forefront of exploring and developing the body of knowledge that systems thinking consists of, then we, as the community that makes up the CSS, need to start reflecting on how we communicate, not just with each other or the systems community, but with potential practitioners. It is not enough to preach but we also need to listen and engage, with an understanding that communication is at the heart of our areas of interest, whether it be developing critical systems thinking skills or applying systems methodologies creatively and flexibly to address real-life situations as a way of regular practice, and sharing learning from our experience. Mingers (2014) made the observation that the “ability to communicate is grounded on the capacity to understand each other” and therefore, in order communicate effectively with our potential audience, we must embrace understanding, not just of people and concepts within our community, but more importantly, with people and concepts that we would like to introduce to our field. References Ackoff, R., 2006. Why few organizations adopt systems thinking. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 23(5), pp.705-708.Checkland, P., 2012. Four Conditions for Serious Systems Thinking and Action. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 29(5), pp.465-469.Mingers, J. Systems Thinking, Critical Realism and Philosophy. P.199 Matt Lloyd – Director – Greycat Associated Ltd. and PhD Student at the CSS Matt Lloyd – m.lloyd-2021@hull.ac.uk Systems Students’ CommunityThe online systems students’ community is six months old -which is of course halfway to our first year, and we thought that is worth celebrating. Well, what would you expect? We’re students so we don’t need much as a reason to throw a party. We also thought this would be a good opportunity to let you know more about us, and how to get involved. The idea to get this community underway came from a very welcome increase in the number of students studying systems. This is of course a good thing, but distribution is fragmented in isolated pockets, separated by either geography or learning institution. There didn’t appear to be easy means by which systems students could link up with each other, and that made it difficult to share knowledge, experiences, hints and tips, and generally support one another when the going gets a little tough. Three PhD students from the Centre for Systems Studies saw there was a niche to be filled and set about filling it. And here we are, six successful months on. If lock-down has made one thing easier it’s our capacity for connecting in a virtual space, and we took full advantage of that. We have a rhythm of monthly meetings underway, held via MS Teams on each last Tuesday at 1700 (UTC), and we have an online communication platform, via Discord, through which we chat and swap notes in the interim. We ask that presentations in the monthly meetings are pitched at a level which neither overwhelms nor intimidates students who are just starting their systems journey. Our thanks go to Dr Rajneesh Chowdhury who launched the very first official meeting with an excellent and stimulating presentation on methodological flexibility. In subsequent meetings several of our members have made presentations of their own, and the discussions that followed have been just as we’d hoped they’d be, i.e., very much in keeping with the community’s foundation principles of being a psychologically safe environment, that is truly inclusive, and which encourages the asking of questions as much as the volunteering of answers. As we swell our ranks and build our confidence, we’re exploring ideas to bring more value. For example, how would you feel about a series of podcasts produced specifically for the community? Watch this space to find out how we get on with that. We are also looking to solve a problem; that of providing access to MP4 recordings of the monthly sessions. At the moment they’re trapped within the University of Hull’s firewall. Attempts with a YouTube Channel haven’t worked, at least not so far. There’s an issue with file size (for a one hour recording). If you know of a way to overcome this problem we’d love to hear from you. Our next meeting is Tuesday 25th July. We don’t yet have a presentation lined up so if you’re interested in leading a discussion, please let us know. Otherwise, we’ll have an open mike, and take it from there. If you wish to join the community, you will be made very welcome. The main qualifying criteria is being a systems student. If you’d like to join but don’t qualify on that basis, simply convince us that you’re committed to life-long learning and so have never really stopped being a student, then we’ll let you in anyway. To get involved email Chris at C.N.ABBOTT-2021@hull.ac.uk, and you’ll be included in the mailing list and receive details of how to connect via Discord. With best regards from the current custodians of the Systems Students’ Community Jennifer Makar, Matt Lloyd, and Chris Abbott Jennifer Maker – j.makar-2018@hull.ac.ukMatt Lloyd – m.lloyd-2021@hull.ac.ukChris Abbott – c.n.abbott-2021@hull.ac.uk LikeAnnouncementsRajneesh Chowdhury, Amanda Gregory and Miguel Queah have published a paper, Creative and flexible deployment of systems methodologies for child rights and child protection through Holistic Flexibility, in Systems Research and Behavioral Science. This is available as open access. Rajneesh Chowdhury has published a paper, Conscious systemic leadership, in the Journal of Awareness-based Systems Change, 3(1), pp. 39-67. This is available as open access. A new journal, Enacting Cybernetics, has been launched by the UK Cybernetics Society: https://enacting-cybernetics.org/. Enacting Cybernetics is an open access journal focused on exploring and developing the many ways in which cybernetics may be practiced in the world. The journal invites contributions that engage deeply with cybernetics, its possibilities, histories, and practices, and especially those that develop its radical transdisciplinarity in tangible ways. Gerald Midgley (Co-Director, Centre for Systems Studies) delivered a keynote address at the 2023 conference of the International Society for Systems Sciences in South Africa. The title of the talk was: Rethinking Systems Thinking: Towards an Anticipatory Systems Perspective. Gerald Midgley (Co-Director, Centre for Systems Studies) delivered a talk at the 2023 Cornell University International Systems Thinking Conference. The title of his talk was: How DSRP Relates to the Plurality of Systems Approaches. Gerald Midgley (Co-Director, Centre for Systems Studies) has been appointed to an advisory role on VISION: a five-year, UKPRP programme focusing on the measurement, prevention and mitigation of violence as part of public health practice. In May 2023, Gerald Midgley (Co-Director, Centre for Systems Studies) gave a keynote presentation on managing sustainability value conflicts through systems thinking to the Final Conference of SYSTEMA – a European Union initiative building capabilities in systems thinking to tackle highly complex policy problems in the areas of sustainability and artificial intelligence. Gerald Midgley (Co-Director, Centre for Systems Studies), Monika Zurek (Oxford) and Ioan Fazey (York) have been awarded £24k by the BBSRC to undertake research across all the projects in the BBSRC’s food systems portfolio to see what they tell us about how to facilitate food system transformation. The team will undertake workshops to explore transformation issues; do a small amount of capability building in systems thinking across all the projects; and propose a theory of food system transformation of use in future research. Gerald Midgley (Co-Director, Centre for Systems Studies), Monika Zurek (Oxford) and Ioan Fazey (York) have been awarded £24k by the BBSRC to undertake research across all the projects in the BBSRC’s food systems portfolio to see what they tell us about how to facilitate food system transformation. The team will undertake workshops to explore transformation issues; do a small amount of capability building in systems thinking across all the projects; and propose a theory of food system transformation of use in future research.LikeCSS EventsFriday 7th July – Community Café – Unveiling Trade-Offs in Systems Thinking for Equality and Equity – Ellen Lewis/Anne Stephens and Lisa Hilder. Please email Amanda Gregory if you want to participate in this event (a.j.gregory@hull.ac.uk).LikeEventsSCiO UK Virtual Open Meeting – July 2023Mon 10 July 2023 18:30–21:00 GMT+1Virtual Open Meeting: A series of presentations of general interest to Systems & Complexity in Organisation’s members and others. The focus of this meeting is the environment.Laws of Transformative Change – Gioia CaminadaHospital management from a systemic perspective, using VSM – Matvei Tobman (Dr)All welcome; Free; Online event; English; Book now (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/scio-virtual-open-meeting-july-2023-tickets-580275388307)  UKSS 23rd International Conference 202314th & 15th September 2023, at St Hilda’s OxfordSystems: Transition to a Sustainable Worldhttps://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/uk-systems-society-international-conference-2023-tickets-461932942867 The OR Society Annual Conference, OR65, will take place at University of Bath from the 12-14th September 2023 and will bring together hundreds of academic and professional operational researchers and other analysts to present the latest developments and showcase real-world applications.  This year one of the key streams will be on Systems Thinking and in OR, the profile of systems thinking is at an all-time high: in 2022, a survey of OR Society members revealed that systems thinking was one of the top three practices they wanted to learn more about. In the last four years, our systems thinking stream has been the largest at the annual OR Society Conference. This is why it will be a great experience to participate in the 2023 Systems Thinking Stream: you will be sharing ideas with a large, thriving group of fellow practitioners and academics.  More details here.LikeUpcoming issue of ‘Systems Research and Behavioral Science’, the official journal of the International Federation for Systems Research, 40.4A special issue of SRBS titled, Systems Thinking for Creative and Flexible Practice, guest edited by Rajneesh Chowdhury, has been published with cover date July/August 2023. The call for papers for this issue sought to capture learning about the creative and flexible use of systems ideas and also about how systems ideas can be used in conjunction with frameworks from other disciplines and sectors to contribute to the effectiveness of change interventions. We are overwhelmed with the interest this topic generated among practitioners and researchers. After careful consideration, the following 12 contributions have been included in this special issue: Critical systems practice 4: Check Evaluating and reflecting on a multimethodological intervention (Research article by Michael C Jackson)To the Editor (Letter to the Editor by Michael Quinn Patton)In search of a golden mean for systemic evaluation: A response to Michael Quinn Patton (Letter to the Editor by Michael C Jackson)The challenge of inclusivity, capability and change in complex, multi-stakeholder problem situations—Practical insight from the application of participative systems methods, models and facilitation within an organisational setting (Research article by Ian Newsome and Davod Lloyd)Creative and flexible deployment of systems methodologies for child rights and child protection through Holistic Flexibility (Research article by Rajneesh Chowdhury, Amanda Gregory and Miguel Queah)An adaptive use of Soft Systems Methodology with Strategic Assumption Surfacing and Testing, Critical Systems Heuristics and Interactive Planning in a women’s prison (Research article by Yasemin Torun and Nuri Gökhan Torlak)The viability and sustainability approach to support organisational resilience: Learning in a recent case study in the health sector (Research article by Angela M. Espinosa, Jon Walker, Kartikae Grover and Maya V Vachkova)The systems approach of strategic roadmapping: Framing challenges and contributions whilst flexing to changing conditions and circumstances (Research article by Clive Kerr)Within a mesh of expectations: Dealing with dilemmas in business families using systemic tools from family coaching (Research article by Theresa Arnold, Heiko Kleve and Steffen Roth)Exploring the relationships between Industry 4.0 implementation factors through systems thinking and network analysis (Research article by Christian Hoyer, Indra Gunawan and Carmen Haule Reaiche)The organizational systems thinking excellence model (OSTEM) (Research article by Masood Rabieh, Abbas Rezaei Pandari, Zeinab Amiri, Mahdi Esmaeili and Shermineh Mojtabavi Naeini)Indigenous systems knowledge applied to protocols for governance and inquiry (Research note by Gabrielle Fletcher, Joshua Waters, Tyson Yunkaporta, Chels Marshall, John Davis and Jack Manning Bancroft)  Like

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