Meet the people who make up STEM Faculty.
Appointed Professor of Systems at the Open University in 1994, my research and scholarship spans the biophysical and social and is primarily interdisciplinary and collaborative. Upon retirement at the end of 2023 I was made Professor Emeritus by the University. At the Open University I have had periods as head of the former Systems Department (1995-8; 2005-6; 25 academic staff), Director of the Environmental Decision Making Program, and was heavily involved in: (i) managing and presenting the post-graduate program in Systems Thinking in Practice (STiP) and undertaking associated Systems scholarship; (ii) contributing to the activities of the Applied Systems Thinking in Practice (ASTiP) Group, including leading an initiative to create a LEVEL 7 (Masters) Apprenticeship for the Systems Thinking Practitioner based on the UK Apprenticeship Levy and (iii) undertaking international research.
Recent highlights:
My latest book 'The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking. Governance in a Climate Emergency' co-authored with Ed Straw was published in 2020. See the UK or Australian launches of the book or a podcast discussion of the book by the two authors in the links below:
New Books Network, interview podcast of Ison & Straw by Kevin Lindsay
Australian Book Launch by Prof. The Hon. Bob Carr, former Premier of NSW. Tuesday 20th October
UK Book Launch by Prof. Tim Blackman, VC of the Open University, Thursday 16th April 2020
In 2023 our work was the recipent of the following awards:
GN Alexander Medal for Hydrology & Water Resources, awarded by the National Committee of Water Engineering, Institution of Engineers Australia, for our paper Ison et al (2023) Australasian Journal of Water Resources 27, 346-359.
HSSS (Hellenic Society for Systemic Studies) Fellow Award, in recognition of ‘significant contributions and support for the HSSS scientific initiatives’
Recipient in 2022 of Lifetime Achievement Award, Systems Society of India ‘for contributions to the transformation of society with a systems approach’
In November 2020 I contributed as an invited Thought Leader in ‘Reimagining Government’, run by the OECD OPSI with CPI (Centre for Public Impact) as part of a series called ‘Government After Shock’.
I was elected President of the International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR), the peak body of the international cybersystemic community, in 2018 and relected in 2020, 2022 and 2024.
Earlier highlights:
My Keynote presentation to WOSC 2017 (World Organisation of Systems and Cybernetics) in January in Rome is available on-line.
In 2016 I was appointed an Academician of IASCYS (International Academy of Systems and Cybernetic Sciences) in ‘recognition of outstanding contributions to research and practice in systems and cybernetic sciences’. In the same year Wesley College (University of Sydney) awarded me its Foundation Medal for an “extraordinary contribution to Wesley College, to society in general or both”.
From 2014-15 I was President of the ISSS (International Society for the Systems Sciences); in 2016 I was elected as a Vice President of the International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR). I am also a Director of the World Organisation of Systems and Cybernetics (WOSC), and Chair of Trustees of the American Society of Cybernetics as well as a member of the UKSS.
In 2008 I moved from a full-time to a fractional appointment at the Open University. In the other fraction I was from 2008-15 Professor, Systems for Sustainability at the Monash Sustainability Institute (MSI), Monash University, Melbourne, where I founded and led the Systemic Governance Research Program.
In addition to my continuing OU responsibilities I have from 2016 managed an additional portfolio of research, scholarship and consulting activities mainly in Australia, South Africa and China. I also have appointments as a Director of the Director of the Systemic Change Lab of the European School of Governance, Berlin, an Adjunct Professor, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology, Sydney; as a Director, Systemic Development Institute (Australia) and as a Fellow, Centre for Policy Development (Australia).
The main focus of my research in the last 20 years has been systems praxeology (the science of practical action with STiP) and systemic governance (based on the design and enactment of designed feedback or learning processes).
A recent example of research impact comes from the formal establishment of a new organisation based in Melbourne called Garden's for Wildlife Victoria of which I am now a Board member. This organisation is a product of the institutionalisation of research outcomes conducted as a set of nested systemic co-inquiries (see publications by Allan et al and Murmow et al). The research began as "Enhancing the governance of natural resources in Victoria through collaboration" with funding to stakeholder consortia funded by DELWP and philanthropic sources.
I am currently co-supervising two PhD students: Houda Khayame How to institutionalise systemic models of governance of the Anthropocene in a context of global warming emergency? A systemic inquiry (2020 + PT PhD) (with Dr Kevin Collins) & Barbara Schmidt-Abbey Systemic policy analysis and evaluation at the science / policy interface – reconciling ‘systemic’ and ‘systematic’ inquiry modes (with Dr Martin Reynolds).
Other recent collaborative research projects include a NSFC (National Science Foundation of China) project on "medium - to long-term decision support methods on water resources management in the Heihe River Basin, China - Application of systems thinking and approaches to developing river basin science" in collaboration with A/Prof Yongping Wei, University of Queensland and Professor Xin Li and colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS). Another part of this collaboration includes a project “Co-production processes of knowledge of global water governance”. This research developed an understanding of co-evolutionary production processes of knowledge of global water governance based on the datasets of research articles on hydrology/water resources published on the web of science from 1900 to 2012.
Recent OU-based projects include:
During 2014-15 I initiated and led a systemic inquiry into "Governing the Anthropocene: Cybersystemic Possibilities", at Herrenhausen Palace, Hanover with VWStiftung funding via WINS (Berlin Workshop in Institutional Analysis of Social-Ecological Systems), Humbolt University, Berlin. The design and outcomes are accessible on this site.
From 2013-20 I was committed to the "RESILIM-Olifants Governance" action research initiative. RESILIM-O is an US$8.5 million project called “Building improved transboundary governance and management of the Olifants Catchment of the Limpopo Basin for enhanced resiliency of its people and ecosystems to environmental change through systemic and participatory approaches”. My roles included: (i) guiding and participating in systemic action research on governing the RESILIM project together with AWARD; (ii) contributing to joint publications on systemic governance research; (iii) providing conceptual and methodological guidance to RESILIM-O and (iv) acting as a member of the International Reference group for the program:
I have led and/or contributed to a number of other major research programs and projects including:
In all I have edited or co-edited nine Special Editions of Journals which have each had significant impact:
I have been involved in undergraduate and postgraduate, including PhD, teaching at three Universities - what is now The Western Sydney University (Hawkesbury), The University of Sydney and The Open University (UK). In all three situations I have sought to conceptualise 'teaching' as a scholalry and systemic action research process. A number of publications and grants testify to success in this regard.
At the OU I have contributed to undergraduate systems courses (e.g. T306 Managing Complexity. A Systems Approach) as well as PG courses (e.g. T860 and T863 Environmental Decision Making. A systems approach; T861 Environmental Ethics). From 2008-10 Chris Blackmore and I developed the module TU812, ‘Managing systemic change: inquiry, action and interaction, a core module in the OU's Systems Thinking in Practice (STiP) Program. This very successful module was presented from 2010-2020 with 1100 students successfully completing. Much of 2019-2021 has been devoted to preparing the replacemtn module, TB872. 'Managing Change with Systems Thinking in Practice'.
In 2012 the STIPII (Systems Thinking in Practice Innovation Initiative) was launched by Chris Blackmore, Martin Reynolds and myself as an action-research and scholarship framing for the ongoing presentation and development of the STiP program. The first funded project, "Building a community of practice and employer engagement to enhance Systems Thinking in Practice" was supported by the OU's eSTeEM program. Subsequent projects include:
2019-20 Martin Reynolds and Ray Ison, £6928 “Changing the way the game is played: transforming postgraduate curriculum praxis and workplace capabilities” Funded by eSTEeM - The OU Centre for STEM Pedagogy, STEM Faculty, The Open University (18E-MRRI-EI-01)
2017-18 £2551 ‘Transforming curriculum praxis and workplace capabilities’. M Reynolds & R. Ison (Co-PIs). Funded by eSTEeM, The OU Centre for STEM Pedagogy, STEM Faculty, The Open University (17C-MR-EI-02).
A number of books were co-published by the OU and Springer to support the STiP program in 2010 and three have been reissued as second editions in 2017 or 2020.
Wherever possible I provide support to a very vibrant STiP alumni community on LinkedIn.
With my OU colleague Chris Blackmore and Prof. Sri Sriskandarajah (formerly of the Swedish Agricultural University) I have developed and co-facilitated/delivered a number of international programes for PhD students in Systems Thinking in Practice. All have been organised and run as systemic inquiries, viz:
The following on-line published essays, commentaries and on-line interviews evidence engagement and impact:
Straw, Ed & Ison RL (2021) Preferential lobbying: a scourge on our democracy (Part 4 of 4) Pearls & Irritations 18 February 2021
Straw, Ed & Ison RL (2021) Preferential lobbying: no explicit deals, all unstated understandings. How it works behind the scenes (Part 3 of 4) Pearls & Irritations 17 February 2021 https://johnmenadue.com/preferential-lobbying-no-explicit-deals-all-unstated-understandings-how-it-works-behind-the-scenes-part-3-of-4/
Straw, Ed & Ison RL (2021) Money talks … loudly. (Part 2 of 4). Pearls & Irritations 16 February 2021 https://johnmenadue.com/preferential-lobbying-money-talks-loudly-part-2-of-4/
Straw, Ed & Ison RL (2021) Preferential lobbying: the rich get richer, the poor get poorer (Part 1 of 4) Pearls & Irritations 15 February 2021, https://johnmenadue.com/preferential-lobbying-the-rich-get-richer-the-poor-get-poorer-part-1-of-4/
Ison, Ray (2020) Cock-ups, conspiracies or system failures? Pearls & Irritations. Public Policy Journal 29th September https://johnmenadue.com/cock-ups-conspiracies-or-system-failures/
Ison, Ray and Straw, Ed (2019). Systemic 'biodiversity' governing. In: ‘Seeds of change: provocations for a new research agenda’, Biodiversity Revisited Symposium Conference Proceedings (Wyborn, C.; Kalas, N. and Rust, N. eds.), 11-13 Sep 2019, Vienna, Austria, pp. 80–83.
Boukardt et al (2018) Submission to the Productivity Commission on Information Request 1 in response to term (3). The Commission’s assessment approach.
Ison, R.L. & Straw, E. (2018) Duality, dualism, duelling and Brexit. Open Democracy, March 1st. https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/ed-straw-ray-ison/duality-dualism-duelling-and-brexit
Ison, R.L & Biggs, D. (2017) Regards. “Frame” capture – why the war on poaching can never be won: about the John Hanks’ book Operation Lock and the war on rhino poaching, Natures Sciences Sociétés 25, 1, 63-69
Significant international inter-organisational research and scholarship initiatives have developed in recent years e.g. my role as an external examiner as well as PhD & STiP Training Workshop developer/deliverer in the Faculty of Organic Agricultural Science, Witzenhausen, University of Kassel, Germany in 2018/19 or as invited presenter and participant in ‘Symposium – Transformative Designs for Sustainability. Facilitating Mindshifts and Collective Action for Anthropocene-Prosperity’ hosted by the VolkswagenStiftung, Schloss Herrenhausen, Hannover in June 2018.
These are extensive; recent examples include:
2020 (February) Scientific Committee Panel judging the Ludwig von Bertalanffy Young Scientist Award and Günther Ossimitz Memorial Award 2019 (see https://www.bcsss.org/2019/call-for-applications-ludwig-von-bertalanffy-young-scientist-award-and-gunther-ossimitz-memorial-award-2019/ ).
External Invitations/presentations 2016 +
