ANNOUNCE 11th ANZSYS Conference/Managing the Complex V

[Bob Cavana Bob.Cavana vuw.ac.nz]

Posted by ""Bob Cavana"" <Bob.Cavana@vuw.ac.nz>
11th Annual ANZSYS Conference / Managing the Complex V
<http://isce.edu>

Systems Thinking and Complexity Science: Insights for Action
11th Annual ANZSYS Conference/Managing the Complex V
5-7 December, 2005, Christchurch, New Zealand

Key Note Speakers To be decided

Call for Participants

Following the success of previous ANZSYS conferences and ""Managing the Complex"" events, it is a pleasure to announce the 11th Annual ANZSYS / Managing the Complex V Conference. The conference will be held in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand from 5–7 December 2005, and will be co-hosted by the Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR), New Zealand , and the Institute for the Study of Coherence and Emergence (ISCE), USA .

A lively forum for discussion and debate will be provided for a wide range of academics and practitioners in the fields of systems thinking, complexity science and management. People from other disciplines who have an interest in the application of systems thinking and complexity approaches will also be invited to participate.

We are bringing together thinkers and practitioners in the fields of systems and complexity as it seems to us that there has been a significant international (re)surgence in these areas in recent years. It would appear that this has been driven by at least four simultaneous forces:

* people right across the public, private and voluntary sectors looking for new ways to manage or deal with increasingly complex and multi-faceted problems;

* the obviously systemic character of many high-profile issues that transcend national boundaries, from global warming to international violence;

* the popularization of a number of systems approaches in the mid-1990s, especially among managers and policy makers;

* and the simultaneous popularization of complexity science, sparking major interest in new approaches to managing uncertainty.

The fields of systems and complexity have many similarities, yet they are being developed by two overlapping research communities that have unique insights to bring to bear on the management of ‘wicked’ problems. We believe that, by providing forums at this conference in which people working at the frontiers of complexity and systems thinking can learn from one another, significant new insights for action can emerge.

At the end of the day, it is important to the vast majority of those working with complexity and systems ideas that they are able to make a positive difference in people’s lives. It is therefore vitally important that we share our insights and build a community of practitioners that can take the research agenda forward. Our aim is to bring together as many people as possible who are engaging with complex environmental, social and business issues, with the intention of promoting an intense and lively debate with real implications for systems and complexity practice.

We want to receive papers from people with a wide variety of backgrounds: academics and practitioners engaging with organisations right across the public, private, voluntary and community sectors. Your paper(s) can focus on theory, practice or a combination of the two. This conference will provide a great opportunity to meet others with similar interests and to communicate with a wider audience, so we really want to encourage you to participate.

We very much hope that you will be able to contribute to this conference, and look forward to an exciting and intellectually stimulating debate with real consequences for action.

Please register your early expression of interest now by email: anzsys2005@isce.edu, providing your contact details and any questions you may have regarding the conference.

Further details of the formal and social programmes will be provided in future announcements.

We look forward to welcoming you to Christchurch.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee:

Peter Allen, Cranfield University, UK

Roger Attwater, University of Western Sydney, Australia

Bob Cavana, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Vladimir Dimitrov, University of Western Sydney, Australia

Jeffrey Goldstein, Adelphi University, USA

Jan Gregor, Institute of Environmental Science and Research, New Zealand

Wendy Gregory, Institute of Environmental Science and Research, New Zealand

Bill Hutchinson, Edith Cowan University, Australia

Tim Haslett, Monash University, Australia

Gerald Midgley, Institute of Environmental Science and Research, New Zealand

Kurt Richardson, Institute for the Study of Coherence and Emergence, USA

Robert Woog, University of Western Sydney, Australia

Timetable

28 February 2005 , Registration available

1 May 2005 , Abstracts due (250 words)

1 June 2005, Draft programme drawn up

1 July 2005 Submission of papers due. Papers should be no more than 10 A4/letter pages, double-line spaced. Late submissions are not permitted as all papers will be double-blind reviewed.

1 September 2005, All paper reviewing completed. Notification to authors of accepted papers begins.

20 October 2005, Finalise programme.

15 November 2005, Electronic presentations due to allow time for pre-loading onto computers ready for the conference

5-7 December 2005, Conference (Welcome Function Sunday 4th December 2005, evening)

All papers will be double-blind refereed. Abstracts and papers should be submitted as Word files. We are using E:CO guidelines for paper format (but note that page length is limited to 10 pages double-line spaced). The guidelines can be found at:

http://emergence.org/ECO_site/web-content/sub_info.html <http://emergence.org/ECO_site/web-content/sub_info.html>

NB: Final acceptance into the conference programme will be conditional upon receipt of the final manuscript by the due date (31 July 2005), and registration of participant paid in full.

All accepted papers will be published in an ISBN-referenced CDROM-based proceedings.

Accommodation:

At the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Christchurch , where a discount for ANZSYS participants has been negotiated. The Hotel is centrally located for the city, and within walking distance of many local places of interest, restaurants, the Botanic Gardens, Christchurch ’s Tram service, Museum and Art Centre. An accommodation form is included here, or you can reserve accommodation on-line by e-mailing hayley.mckay@grandc.co.nz.

Room rates start at NZ$145-00 per night (includes breakfast). Currency converter as at 21 Feb 2005: AU$134; US$105; GBP55; EU80.

Christchurch has many different types of accommodation available, and a good place to start if you wish to locate more modest accommodation is:

http://www.jasons.co.nz/destinations/christchurch/ <http://www.jasons.co.nz/destinations/christchurch/>

If you plan on taking alternative accommodation, note that the conference venue (the Hotel Grand Chancellor) is located on Cashel Street between Colombo Street and Manchester Street .

Conference Fee:

The conference fee will be fixed as soon as an indication of numbers attending is available, but no later than 1st June 2005. We are working on a figure of around NZ$600 for each participant, although this may drop somewhat, depending on numbers. Currency converter as at 21 Feb 2005: AU$550; US$435; GBP230; EU330.

Lunch and snacks throughout the three days of the conference are included in the conference fee.

The hotel room, and dinner are the responsibility of the each participant.

Registration:

If you would like to attend please fill out and send/fax the attached registration form with your abstract to:

Caroline Richardson
Conference Secretary ANZSYS 2005
I.S.C.E.
395 Central Street
Mansfield
MA 02048
USA

Posted by ""Bob Cavana"" <Bob.Cavana@vuw.ac.nz>
posting date Fri, 4 Mar 2005 14:13:50 +1300