Abstract for: Taking on the “Big Issues” and “Climbing the Mountains Ahead”: Challenges and Opportunities in Asia

In a forthright 2007 article, Professor Jay Forrester expressed concern about the current state of the system dynamics profession and charged colleagues with a challenging future agenda, encompassing the next 50 years. He called for work that would address “the big issues” He mourned the lack of path breaking works comparable to Urban Dynamics, World Dynamics and Limits to Growth that could challenge - and change - public opinion. He urged us to be purposeful and courageous in “climbing the mountains ahead.” Working in Singapore, has made me optimistic. The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, where I teach system dynamics modeling, is striving to balance the needs of faculty members for academic credibility with the need to produce work that is relevant to wider publics, though it has not fully resolved the issue. Students in my classes have produced high quality work that, in one instance, won high praise from Professor Forrester himself. Singapore’s leaders take big issues seriously. They have been receptive to systems thinking and system dynamics modeling. Singapore also appears to be a receptive environment for achieving the goal of a society of populated by “systems citizens,” through programs targeting secondary education. Both challenges and opportunities abound. There are a growing number of organizations that are concerned with the “big issues,” especially in the area of sustainability. This includes two, The Balaton Group and Japan for Sustainability that I will introduce as useful exemplars. Many have been strongly influenced by systems thinking, but greater dialogue with system dynamics modeling practitioners is needed. My recent experiences engender optimism about potential contributions of system dynamics to the challenging issues that Asians and the other inhabitants of our planet face.