Webinar: Participatory System Dynamics in the digital age of COVID-19

Participatory System Dynamics in the digital age of COVID-19: Adapting group model building processes to digital delivery.

Abstract: Group model building (GMB) is an important part of many of the system dynamics projects currently underway in Oceania region. When the global COVID-19 pandemic, and all its associated restriction, hit in early 2020 it forced many System Dynamics practitioners to rapidly adapt the way they approach and deliver GMB processes. In this seminar, Andrew Brown from the Global Obesity Centre at Deakin University and Danielle Currie and Cindy Peng from the Sax Institute will share their early experiences rapidly adapting in-person GMB workshops to an online environment. They will share tips and tricks, and lessons learned, as well as reflect on the role online tools could play in the way System Dynamics projects are delivered in a post-COVID era.

Bio: Dr Danielle Currie is the Senior System Dynamics Modeller at the SAX Institute and a Research Fellow in Menzies Centre for Health Policy at the University of Sydney. Her research interests have included exploring population-level approaches to preventing communicable and non-communicable disease, building systems capacity through participatory model building, and improving the integration of evidence into public health decision-making processes. She has a proven track record of developing system dynamics simulation models for public and private sector clients, on topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic, waterborne and zoonotic disease outbreaks, minimal trauma fracture prevention, preventable cardiac deaths and the burden of preventable non-communicable disease in Australia. Dr Currie was the 2019 recipient of the System Dynamics Society’s Lupina Young Researchers Award and also received an honourable mention for the Dana Meadows Award.

Andrew Brown has worked as a research fellow at the Global Obesity Centre at Deakin University for over three years and is currently a PhD student studying community engagement in public health. Andrew’s work applies community-based system dynamics to health and social problems. Andrew has worked on several projects across Victoria, Australia, and internationally on a diverse range of topics, including obesity prevention, family violence prevention, and mental health promotion. Andrew has a Master of Social Work with a certificate in system dynamics from Washington University in St. Louis.

Cindy Peng is the manager of the Decision Analytics group at the Sax Institute in Sydney Australia. She leads the group in building dynamic simulation models that inform strategic and operational decisions, particularly in complex environments in which there may be multiple and competing influencing factors. She provides oversight in project delivery and builds partnerships to drive the innovative use of evidence and simulation as decision-support tools. She has strong skills and experience in translating evidence into policies and practices in the not-for-profit sector, research institutes, and government organisations.