2021 International System Dynamics Conference
July 26 - 30, 2021
Attend Virtually or in Chicago

Plenary Presentations
The Conference attracts a diverse list of speakers from all over the world. They share ideas and stories that inspire and empower attendees.

Workshops
In the present moment, upskilling has never been more important. Join hands-on workshops that will help you develop valuable skills.

Networking
The Conference brings together professionals and organizations shaping the future of System Dynamics. Share your ideas, meet your future project partner, and seek advice from people with great experience.
Upcoming Deadlines
CONFERENCE SPONSORS
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Countdown to Paper Submission Deadline!
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Call for Papers,
Workshops & Contributions
Submissions for the 2021 conference will open on January 27, 2021 and close on March 25, 2021. The conference program will include invited as well as contributed sessions. Submissions are welcomed on all topics pertaining to System Dynamics, regardless of whether they easily fit within one or more of the conference threads defined below. We welcome all research and documented consulting activities in System Dynamics including applications of the methodology to solve real-world problems, new technical and software developments, and productive integration of complementary methodologies. Presented papers will include both quantitative and rigorous qualitative work on dynamic problems emphasizing feedback structure and the manner in which it generates behavior. We also welcome different analytic and computational approaches beyond stock and flow modeling, including discrete representations such as agent-based modeling with a focus on system behavior. In addition to the traditional research paper, we also encourage submissions of practitioner applications and work-in-progress. Special proposals for plenary or parallel sessions, panel discussions, roundtables, and other pre- or post-conference activities are encouraged. Proposals for workshops and tutorials are also welcome. If you have ideas for sessions and workshops focused on addressing practical issues in specific commercial or scientific fields, please contact the program chairs.
CONFERENCE THREADS
SPONSOR A THREAD- COVID-19 (NEW!)
- A.I. & Data Analytics
- Business
- Economics
- Environment
- Health
- Human Behavior
- Information and Knowledge
- Learning and Teaching
- Methodology
- Operations
- Public Policy
- Resources
- Security
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Strategy
The 2021 conference will include a special COVID-19 thread. This thread will cover all aspects of the pandemic and its consequences, including disease dynamics, economic impacts, human behavior, business impacts, resource and security implications, social disruptions, and other related topics.
Thread Chairs: Mohammad Jalali and Hazhir Rahmandad
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The Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics thread features issues or methodologies related to the application or integration of System Dynamics with: Automated Intelligence, Big Data, Data Science, Predictive Analytics or Machine Learning.
Thread Chairs: Billy Schoenberg and Chintan Vaishnav
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The Business thread features applications of System Dynamics in businesses and organizations including profitability, marketing, competitive dynamics, product launches, project dynamics, and accounting.
Thread Chairs: Scott Rockart and Warren Farr
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The Economics thread features papers improving understanding of economic dynamics including macroeconomics, microeconomics, trade, business regulation, economic development, economic policy, insurance, and risk management.
Thread Chairs: Oleg Pavlov and Dave Wheat
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The Environment thread emphasizes dynamics of and policy for the environment including climate change, pollution, environmental regulation, and ecology.
Thread Chairs: Allyson Beall King and Jake Jacobson
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The Health thread applies System Dynamics to issues related to health and health care including health policy, health services research, population health, and physiology.
Thread Chairs: John Ansah and David Lounsbury
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The Human Behavior thread explores the dynamics in the social environments of families, communities, organizations, culture, and society including individual and social psychology.
Thread Chairs: Shayne Gary and Erika Palmer
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The Information and Knowledge thread includes the dynamics of knowledge management, information systems, social network analysis, research & development, invention and innovation.
Thread Chairs: Len Malczynski and Sara Metcalf
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The Learning and Teaching thread explores the manner in which system skills are taught and learned including pedagogy, learning experiments, curriculum development, workshop.
Thread Chairs: Diana Fisher and Saras Chung
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The Methodology thread welcomes contributions of System Dynamics, modeling and simulation including model development, model analysis, validation, graphical presentation formats, and computational techniques.
Thread Chairs: Jeroen Struben and Yutaka Takahashi
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The Operations includes business and other process operations including capacity management, quality control, operations management, supply chains, workflow, queuing, and workforce planning.
Thread Chairs: Burcu Tan and Ed Anderson
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The Public Policy thread covers issues including governance, social welfare, equity, justice, political science, urban dynamics, infrastructure, and transportation.
Thread Chairs: Rod MacDonald and Karim Chichakly
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The Resources thread addresses the understanding and management of resources including energy, electricity, fuels, food, metals and other renewable and nonrenewable resources.
Thread Chairs: Todd BenDor and Bobby Jeffers
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The Security thread investigates issues related to security including defense, conflict, military, insurgency and counterinsurgency, social unrest, disaster management, crime, policing and incarceration.
Thread Chairs: Ignacio Martinez-Moyano and Saeed Langarudi
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The Stakeholder Engagement thread emphasizes engaging and influencing stakeholders through participatory activities such as group model building, facilitation, facilitated modeling, games and management flight simulators with emphasis on assessing the impact of the engagement.
Thread Chairs: Etiënne Rouwette and Susan Howick
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The Strategy thread focuses on the development, communication and implementation of strategy, including strategic thinking, goal definition, and outcome measures for public and private organizations.
Thread Chairs: Brad Morrison and Nici Zimmermann
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CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS
EMAIL PROGRAM CHAIRSSpecial events
THE VENUE
VIRTUAL
We will again be hosting the conference virtually via Zoom. Participants will also hopefully have the option to convene in Chicago. Save the date!
The Palmer House Hilton
17 East Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois, USA
The Palmer House Hilton is an historic hotel in Chicago’s ‘Loop’. It has recently undergone a $170 million renovation to ensure that it includes all of the conveniences and comforts 21st century guests expect while also preserving its significant history. “The Chicago hotel the world knows best” has positioned itself for the next era in downtown Chicago accommodations–and the next generation of Palmer House Hilton with a hip and historic outlook. Start planning now!
Past CONFERENCES
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2019
Resilience and sustainability in a changing world was the theme of our 37th International System Dynamics Conference. Sandia National Laboratories was our gracious host while in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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2018
The Icelandic System Dynamics Center and School of Engineering at University of Iceland warmly welcomed us in Reykjavík for the 36th International Conference of the System Dynamics Society.
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2017
We celebrated the 60th anniversary of System Dynamics at our ancestral home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The conference was sponsored and hosted by Edward B. Roberts, the MIT Sloan School of Management, and their System Dynamics Group.