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Business

The Business Special Interest Group (BSIG) promotes and supports the wider adoption of System Dynamics methodology and best practices in businesses and provides communication channels for recognizing the achievements of System Dynamics practitioners across all business sectors.

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News

  • 7 Aug 2017 – The BSIG annual meeting will be held Wednesday 9 Aug 2017 from 7:00-8:00 AM EDT (GMT-4) via YouTube Live – We’ll be reviewing progress on active initiatives and discussing plans for the coming months (including the election of SIG Leaders).  We’ll have a live Q&A as well, so please join us if you can!

  • 13 July 2017 – Uncommon Catalyst and the BSIG are sponsoring the video production at ISDC 2017 next week.  We can’t capture everything so to help prioritize our efforts we’ve put a survey together. Please let us know which sessions you’d be interested in watching. Abstracts and bios can be found here.

  • 13 Feb 2017 – Election results are in. Corinthias P.M. Sianipar and Seth Cordes will serve as Co-Leaders through July 2017

  • 9 July 2016 – BSIG Webinars Episode 3: Financing a growing business with Kim Warren – Where’s the link you ask? Well, even simplified, obfuscated and presented to the company ahead of time the model was ultimately deemed too sensitive to share publicly. Don’t miss out, join our next call LIVE

  • 22 Apr 2016 – BSIG Webinars Episode 2: Dynamic Healthcare Models with Jim Rogers is available now on YouTube! 

Current initiatives

Webinar Series – BSIG YouTube channel
Live, interactive, presentations from industry experts on topics of interest to the business community. Covering applications, tools, techniques, and the intersection between SD/ST and other analytical methods

Success Stories – stories.systemdynamics.org
A series of short articles written for prospective clients and problem owners, demonstrating how System Dynamics is being used to address problems within business and other non-academic sectors.  The benefits are straightforward…

  • Practitioners receive leads

  • Champions gain marketing materials needed to sell SD internally

  • Volunteer authors and editors (especially students) grow their professional networks

Case repository – systemdynamics.org/case-repository
A practitioner supported resource demonstrating the breadth and scale of SD use, helping practitioners and problem owners connect around common issues and opportunities.

SDX – The System Dynamics eXchange
The forthcoming community building, market intelligence tool with features including:

  • File exchange (models/molecules/functions, etc.)

  • User groups for software tools (iThink, Vensim, Powersim, Sysdea, Forio, etc.)

  • List of active training programs worldwide (institutions, independent study, private training, mentorships, internships/co-ops)

  • Talent directory

  • Job, RFP and project board

  • Directory of corporations using SD, offering SD services, or employing SD trained staff

Strategic planning model
Leveraging and extending prior research, this tool helps us prioritize our efforts to expand SD use worldwide.

Wintersim consortium and conference
Efforts are underway to participate in the upcoming 2017 Wintersim conference.  This conference is well attended by problem owners and members of similar fields.  Our participation in the consortium and conference will help extend the visibility of SD within these communities.

In the pipeline…

Book of SD Applications:
A compendium of success stories by application area.

Case competition
A recurring series of events where a sponsoring organization presents a problem and teams compete to solve it.  The winners could receive one or more of the following (exact details are still in the works):

  • Cash prize

  • Continuing contract with the sponsoring organization

  • Support for their thesis study

  • …

How to join the Business SIG

Membership in the Business SIG is open to all, not just members of the System Dynamics Society (SDS).  To join…

SDS members can…

  1. Visit https://systemdynamics.org/

  2. Sign in with your Username and password

  3. Click Update Contact Information

  4. Check your name, addresses, and other details then click Next

  5. On the Chapter and SIG page, check the Business SIG box

  6. Click Submit

Non-members can…

  1. Visit https://systemdynamics.org/

  2. Click New Users – create profile in the Quick Links menu on the right of the page

  3. Enter requested information 

  4. Click Next

  5. Check Business SIG on the Chapter and SIG Signup form

  6. Click Next and then Submit

You will be added to the Business SIG mailing list and eligible to join our regular meetings.

How to contact/contribute

We meet every month via Google Hangout to review progress on active initiatives and coordinate next steps.  We are actively seeking contributors and volunteers for a variety of tasks. If you’re interested please complete our volunteer form.

For general inquiries please email business@sigs.systemdynamics.org

LinkedIn

We encourage you to join our LinkedIn group and participate in the interchange with SIG members and other practitioners in the business community.

Supporting goals

The Business SIG has several goals that support its overall purpose and mission statement.  These include:

People and businesses

  • Better understand the market for System Dynamics and expand its use

  • Facilitate networking of System Dynamics practitioners in businesses.  This effort will leverage the resources of the System Dynamics Society but also those of other professional societies, software vendors, meeting/conference sponsors and organizers, and business leaders

  • Raise the awareness of System Dynamics, its methodology and achievements, and areas of application among prospective practitioners, business unit leaders, and senior executives across all business sectors

  • Increase membership in the System Dynamics Society

  • Collaborate with the Society to create a corporate member category with its own dues structure but with the added feature of discounts to dues and other services for employees, executives and partners/directors of the firm who join the Society under the corporate member affiliation

  • Increase participation by businesses in events where System Dynamics applications are featured (e.g., specialty conferences, round tables, webinars, sessions at meetings of the Society as well as other professional societies)

Methodology, resources, and practices

  • Facilitate improved awareness and access to System Dynamics modelling resources for a broader base of business practitioners

  • Facilitate greater awareness of best practices in System Dynamics through wider practitioner networking within businesses and collaboration with the Society on contributors and documentation of best practices for the System Dynamics field

Applications and achievements

  • Aid in the promotion and identification of candidates for the Society awards, including the Application Award, that recognize business applications of System Dynamics. Help publicize winners and their achievements and aid in the development of new awards that will improve broadly the recognition of good work done in business using System Dynamics

Professional development and organization

  • Provide a channel for access to contacts and resources that will assist business practitioners in the improvement of their System Dynamics modeling skills and understanding of best practices

  • Facilitate increased awareness of educational resources and short-term training opportunities available to business practitioners

  • Facilitate the expansion of web-enabled/web-based resources for supporting business practitioners of System Dynamics (e.g., specialty webinars, speakers bureau, persistent web resources, etc). Coordinate these efforts with the Society’s VP Electronic Presence and VP Professional Practice

  • Collaborate and coordinate with the leaders of other Society SIGs on networking, activities, events, communications, etc where there are obvious overlaps in SIG coverage

Membership

Membership in the Business SIG is open to all members of the System Dynamics Society as well as non-members who are System Dynamics practitioners and SIG supporters in the business, academic, and government sectors.  System Dynamics Society members and other individuals wishing to join the Business SIG may do so by following the directions under “How to Join the Business SIG” above.  Business SIG members who are also System Dynamics Society members will be identifiable/searchable in the Society’s membership directory.

Annual meeting and selection of representatives

Consistent with the guidelines for all Special Interest Groups of the System Dynamics Society, the Business SIG will meet at least once in a calendar year at the annual meeting of the System Dynamics Society.  At this meeting, or at another date approved in coordination with the Society, two leaders will be selected.  The process by which this selection is made will be posted to the website of the Business SIG and the selections will be confirmed by a simple majority vote of the SIG members present at the meeting, which may be a physical or electronic forum as established jointly with the System Dynamics Society and communicated to the SIG members through its website or other approved Society channels.

Dues

The Business SIG will not (and can not) charge any dues.  The work of the SIG will be carried out through the voluntary efforts of its members and supporters, whether individual, corporate, or other organization.  The SIG reserves the right to engage in activities that require monetary support or payment in kind, but any such payment must be made to a designated individual or other organization and not the SIG as it has no standing to conduct business directly or on behalf of the Society.  Representatives of the SIG will determine on a case-by-case basis the payment amount and eligibility conditions for participation for any such activities or events.

Communications

The activities and current list of Business SIG members will be reported annually to the System Dynamics Society.  To maintain its recognition by the Society as an established SIG, a minimum of six System Dynamics Society members must be registered as SIG members on an ongoing basis.

The Business SIG will communicate with the System Dynamics Society Policy Council through written reports submitted to the VP Membership.

Reporting of Business SIG activities and events as well as other matters of interest to the SIG members will be provided through the website for the SIG.  The Society provides the space for this site and provides technical support on an as-needed basis, but the maintenance of its content will be the responsibility of the SIG members.

Leadership team