Prf Raymond Ison

• 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.

  • STEM Faculty: Recognising excellence award for teaching, STPA Apprenticeship team, School of Engineering & Innovation: recognition of the successful launch of STPA apprenticeship in May 2023, the result of an exceptional team working collaboratively in the design pedagogy and production of innovation teaching materials.       

  • 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.

• The second edition of my book 'Systems Practice' was published in September 2017. Listen to this podcast about the book on the New Books Network.

• In September 2020 I delivered invited Panel Keynotes to WOSC2020 ( Governance of pressing global policy issues in the age of the Anthropocene) and ASC2020 Global Conversation (Governing in the time of COVID and our climate emergency)
• A free course using our ASTiP resources called 'Mastering Systems Practice' is now available on OpenLearn.

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:

• 2017-18 £5000 for ‘Irwell Case Study Pilot. Natural Course Project’, (funded by DEFRA as part of the EU LIFE IP programme (LIFE14 IPE/UK/000027). www.naturalcourse.co.uk RL Ison (PI), Natalie Foster, Kevin Collins and Chris Blackmore
• 2012-16 Chief Investigator within the international CADWAGO project (Climate change adaptation and water governance - reconciling food security, renewable energy and the provision of multiple ecosystem services) with Euro 1 million total funding. With my OU colleagues Chris Blackmore, Kevin Collins and Natalie Foster we were responsible  for a work package (WP) on systemic governance and also contributed to a WP on governance learning.
  • CADWAGO was funded by the Europe and Global Challenges Program, an initiative of  three Foundations: Compagnia di San Paolo, Turin/Italy, the Riksbanken Jubileumsfond, Stockholm/Sweden and the VolkswagenStiftung, Hannover/Germany. There were 76 proposals from international consortia; 15 were short listed and invited to proceed with main proposal and hearing and four were selected for funding from the 15.  

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:  

• 2000-2004: SLIM (Social Learning for the Integrated Management and sustainable use of water at catchment scale) from 2000-04, a major interdisciplinary 5th Framework program (30 researchers, 6 countries) researching social learning for sustainable river catchment management;
• 2003-8 Environment Agency (EA) funded research projects to develop and embed social learning approaches within  river basin planning and managing processes as well as the doing of integrated catchment science
• 2000-2006: an EPSRC funded Systems Practice for Managing Complexity Network (see also SPMC)
• 2009-10: Strengthening research capacity of China and South Africa in sustainable water resources management with UK and Australian experiences. The Ecosystems Services for Poverty Alleviation program (NERC/ESRC/DfID)

In all I have edited or co-edited nine Special Editions of Journals which have each had significant impact:

• Smith, T., Plummer, R., Ison, RL, Powell, N.  eds (2016)  Special Issue "Water Governance in Times of Change: Perceptions, Institutions, Praxis and Learning"  Water
• Jiggins, J., Blackmore, C.P., Ison, R.L. & Röling, N. (2016) Editorial Outlook on Agriculture
• Ison, R.L & Shelley, M. (2016) Editorial. Governing in the Anthropocene: Contributions from Systems Thinking in Practice? ISSS Yearbook Special Issue, Systems Research & Behavioral Science 33 (5) 589-594.
• Jiggins, J., Ison, R.L. & Röling, N. (2014) Special issue: System innovation – towards sustainable agriculture. Introduction. Outlook on Agriculture, 43, (3), 145–146.
• Godden, L., Ison, R.L., & Wallis, P. (2011) Editorial. Water governance in a climate change world: Appraising systemic and adaptive effectiveness, Water Resources Management (Special Issue) 25 (15) 3971-3976.
• Collins, K.B. & Ison, R.L. (2009) Editorial. Living with environmental change: adaptation as social learning. Special Edition, Environmental Policy & Governance 19, 351-357.
• Blackmore, C.P., Ison, R.L. & Jiggins, J. (2007) Editorial. Social learning: an alternative policy instrument for managing in the context of Europe's water.  Special Edition, Environmental Science & Policy 10 (6) 493-498.
• Ison, R.L. (2005) Editorial. Geoffrey Vickers 2004: Contemporary applications and changing appreciative settings. Special Edition Systems Research & Behavioral Science 22, 1-8.
• Ison, R.L. (1999). Editorial: Applying systems thinking to higher education. Special Edition Systems Research & Behavioural Science 16, 107-112.

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:

• Ison, R.L. (2018) PhD/Graduate Course, 28 Students, CAS 16-20^th July UCAS (University of the Chinese Academy of Science) Beijing
• Blackmore, C.P, Ison, R.L. & Sriskandarajah, N. (2017) ISSS2017 Systems Thinking in Research Practice, PhD Systemic Inquiry,  7 – 14 July 2017, BOKU, Vienna, Austria  (4 ECTS from BOKU)
• Ison, R.L., Blackmore, C.P. et al (2016) Graduate Course, ENVS 5100 ‘Systemic inquiry co-laboratory – systems thinking and practice in graduate research: realizing sustainable futures in socio-ecological systems’ Summer 2016, 3 graduate credits, 5th July – 5th August 2016 in conjunction with  ISSS Conference, Boulder Colorado.  
• Blackmore, C.P, Ison, R.L., Sriskandarajah, N. (2016)  Systems Thinking in Practice (STiP) in PhD Research: appreciating and effecting transformations with farming systems research (4 ECTS - Subject to Approval), IFSA Harper Adams University, UK (see http://www.harper-adams.ac.uk/events/ifsa-conference/phd-course.cfm
• Ison, R.L., Blackmore, C.P, Sriskandarajah, N. & Aenis, Thomas (2015) Systems Thinking and Practice in PhD Research: Cybersystemic Possibilities for Governing the Anthropocene 30 July – 7 August 2015, (5 ECTS), Humbolt University, Germany and ISSS (28 students).
• Ison, R.L., Blackmore, C.P, Sriskandarajah, N. & Noe, E. (2014) PhD Course, Systems Thinking and Practice in PhD Research:  Working strategically with Farming Systems Research (4 ECTS),  30 March – 5th April including 4 days of IFSA Symposium, Humbolt University Berlin, Germany (23 Students).
• Ison, R.L., Blackmore, C.P, Sriskandarajah, N. & Noe, E. (2012) PhD Course, Systems Thinking and Practice in PhD Research: Making connections to Farming Systems Research (3 ECTS),  29 June – 5 July 2012 including 4 days of IFSA Symposium, University of Aarhus, Denmark.

The following on-line published essays, commentaries and on-line interviews evidence engagement and impact:

• A conversation with Ray Ison about his new book (with Ed Straw) The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking: Governance in a Climate Emergency.  The Community of Practice at The Systems School (https://www.the-systems-school.org/post/interview-with-prof-ray-ison ) Tuesday 5th May 2020
• Interview with Ray Ison,  Sydney Northern Beaches Public Radio, Host Michael Lester. Thursday 22^nd October. See https://soundcloud.com/user-760330118/innovn-80-climate-governance-systems
• ‘New Agreements’ Podcast Interview with David Erasmus – see https://open.spotify.com/episode/2zGBhpNcBUhKWjsFHutWsD?si=oPnsYhxFS06InBgaPFVR_Q and https://youtu.be/_41nkaLa38M Wednesday, 29th April 2020
• Systems Innovation hosted ‘Systems Thinking and Sustainability Panel’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgx5RU-VIL8   Monday 6th April 2020

• 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 29^th 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 1^st. 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/ ).

• From 2014-21 I will serve as an External Scientific Advisory Committee member, The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre (TAPPC), a A$40+ million NHMRC-funded Partnership Centre focusing on research on systems perspectives on the prevention of lifestyle-related chronic diseases.
• 2017 (April) Invited Panel Member, Review of EPSRC Complexity Science Programme
• 2017 Invited participant in ‘Future Research Priorities in Systems Engineering’ Workshop, EPSRC, 16^th February
• 2016 (March) Invited Contributor to the 10th Anniversary version of INRA-SAD's internal PhD program (10th Journees des Doctorants du SAD "Parcours de these") held in St Martin de Londres, France.

External Invitations/presentations 2016 +

• September 2020 - Invited Keynote ‘Towards systemic governing in a climate emergency’ WOSC2020, Systems approach and cybernetics; engaging in the future of mankind. Moscow, September 16-18. Sponsored by the Russian Academy of Science (on-line due to COVID).
• Straw, Ed and Ison, Ray (2020) The Hidden power of Systems Thinking - governance in a climate emergency. Invited talk, SCiO Meeting 14^th September 2020: https://systemspractice.org/resources/hidden-power-systems-thinking-governance-climate-emergency
• Invited Keynote, ‘Systemic governing – addressing the crisis of governance in our climate emergency’ Conference of the German Chapter of the System Dynamics Society, Karlsruhe, (now on-line in June 2021)
• Invited Keynote Speaker ‘Systems Innovation London’, London, September 7-8th, 2019 – see https://systemsinnovation.io/si-london/ with interview here: https://systemsinnovation.io/si-interview-ray-ison/
• “From recovery of cyber-systemic sensibilities to fostering cyber-systemic thinking in practice capabilities: fifty years of experience at the Open University (UK)”  Invited Keynote Speaker, International Academy for System and Cybernetic Sciences &Academy of Mathematics and Systems Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Symposium, Beijing, P.R. China. May 10-12, 2019.
• “Crafting governance fit for the Anthropocene”, Invited Keynote Speaker, ‘4th World Conference on Complex Systems’ & Invited Contributor, IASCYS Workshop, Ouarzazate, Morocco, April 2019.
• ‘Transforming: systems, situations, ourselves?’ Invited Keynote, Leverage Points 2019, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany, February 8-10, 2019 (see http://leveragepoints2019.leuphana.de/transforming-systems-situations-ourselves/ )
• "Systems Practice: How to Act in Situations of Uncertainty and Complexity in a Climate-Change World", Invited Speaker, The Cybernetics Society, UK 50th Anniversary Conference, The Council Room, King's College, 152-170 Strand, London, Saturday 22nd September 2018
• “Systems Science and Systems Practice: Effects and Challenges” Invited Lecture,  ESSRA (Eurasian Systems Science Research Association), Beijing, 24th July 2018.
• “Towards a systems science of co-evolutionary governance: the cases of rivers and food” Invited Lecture: Systems Science Lecture at Institute of Systems Science (ISS), Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science (AMSS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) 23rd July 2018.  
• Invited speaker, Australian Academy of Social Sciences, National Workshop: ‘Going beyond the crisis response: building trust and maintaining legitimacy in environmental flows’ University of Melbourne, November 27-28, 2017.
• Invited International Participant in workshop series “Redefining community engagement with urban biodiversity: new research and assessment methods” (Friday 11th August 2017; November 2017) Funded by RMIT University, Australia’s 'enabling capability development fund'.
• Invited Plenary Panel Speaker, Day 4: Eco-systems (see https://isss2017vienna.sched.com/speaker/prof.rayison )The 61st ISSS World Conference “From Science to Systemic Solutions. Systems Thinking for Everyone”, Vienna, Austria, 09 -14 July 2017.
• Invited speaker (“Towards systemic governance”), Joint Meeting of International Academy of Systems and Cybernetic Sciences (IASCYS) with IIASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis), Laxenburg, Austria. 10th July, 2017.
• Invited speaker Seminaire d’animation scientifique interdisciplinaire portee par l’antenne montpelleraine de NSS-Dialogues: ‘Interdisciplinarites entre Natures et Societes’, Montpellier 12th June, 2017.
• Invited Panelist, “Relational approaches to policy analysis – towards a second generation of interpretive policy analysis”, ECPR (European Consortium for Political Research), Prague, Friday 9th September 2016.
• Invited presenter, “Systems thinking and approach – developing river basin science”. Chinese Academy of Science, Workshop, Beijing 27th August 2016.
• Invited paper/speaker (“Modelling praxis, social learning and systemic governance”), Session K26 “Integrated Modeling of the human-nature system co-evolution and the interactions between different components of the human-nature system”, International Geographical Congress, Beijing, 21-25th August 2016.
• SCiO London Summer Meeting, Invited speaker: ‘Governing in the Anthropocene: towards systemic governance’. 11^th July 2016
• Public Seminar, ‘STEPS: to a systemic ecology of mind: with apologies to Gregory Bateson’, STEPS Programme, IDS/SPRU, University of Sussex, 27^th June 2016.
• Invited Seminar, 29^th February 2016 Parkes Victoria, Melbourne “Systemic Inquiry”