Systemic Design Futuring: Complexity as Normality
This call for collaboration seeks expressions of interest from institutional representatives and individuals who are interested in being part of the organising group for the RSD12-Toronto symposium.
The RSD-Toronto symposium is an eight-hour gathering—an evening event on Friday, October 13, and mid-day Saturday, October 14, 2023. It’s a positive, affirmative time to be part of an interdisciplinary group and consider uncertainty and complexity in the context of possible, preferable, or avoidable futures. The event is also intended to gauge interest in forming SDA-Toronto as an informal group of the Systemic Design Association (SDA).
RSD12-Toronto Organising Committee
The commitment runs from April 30 to October 30.
Logistically, you might front-end load your contribution by advising or communications—or concentrate your timeframe to the week around the symposium as a host and facilitator.
There’s also a call for a person or group to attend the culminating event at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, to present on the focus of RSD12-Toronto (futuring and network evaluation). This is not funded; however, we can explore a model that would generate a stipend budget for those not supported through their institutional affiliation.
Volunteer roles
Your energy can be directed toward one or more of these roles. You will be acknowledged as a contact person if you share your information.
- Project management: Coordinating activities and tracking what needs to be done.
- Communication & community: Setting the plan and getting the word out.
- Event management: Event day front-of-house and technical support.
- Advisors: Liaison with the RSD12 Organising Committee
- Academic leads: College and university faculty
RSD12-Toronto activities
While we will plan collaboratively, activities need to be led asynchronously by one person or a small group.
- Clarifying and confirming the focus and objective(s)
- Promote the event
- Design the agenda
- Prepare resources and other necessary materials
- Manage attendees
- Set up and host the meeting space
- Facilitate the meeting
- Co-present at the RSD12-Symposium at Georgetown University in Washington, DC (October 18–20, 2023)
- Co-author an article or a paper on RSD12-Toronto’s futuring focus
About SDA-Groups and SDA-Toronto
The purpose of SDA-Toronto is to support the development, diffusion and celebration of systemic design practice, methodology and theory. In line with the Systemic Design Association statutes, SDA-Toronto supports a pluralistic approach and view in developing systemic design and encourages different approaches to flourish. SDA-Toronto supports the development of normative ethical standards related to agency, actions, and the consequences of systemic design practice. SDA-Toronto pursues a spirit of openness and follows a principle of low-overhead operations and distributed responsibility.
The concept of geographically situated networks has been piloted by SDA Norway (SDA-NO), which has acted as an informal national pilot chapter of the Systemic Design Association (SDA) to support systemic design practice, methodology and theory in the Nordic region since 2020. First coordinated by Benedicte Wildhagen and Jonathan Romm, SDA-NO gathers practitioners, academic design researchers and teachers in systemic design, particularly interested in systems oriented design (SOD) in Norway. The organising team acts as the body that develops and hosts the SDA-NO gatherings.
An offshoot of SOD is the Relating Systems Thinking and Design (RSD) symposia, which began at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design in 2012. As a result, the Systemic Design Research Network was developed and formalised as the Systemic Design Association in 2018.
Contacts*
Dr Peter Jones, OCAD University–Systemic Design Association (Board), pjones@ocadu.ca
Cheryl May, London South Bank University–Systemic Design Association (Board), cheryl@systemic-design.org
*We are instigators and need others to join us on this journey. Contact us if you are interested in co-organising RSD12-Toronto or co-coordinating SDA-Toronto.
Interested in getting involved?
