There's a multitude of ways to conduct dialogues. Which approach will be most appropriate towards attaining desired outcomes among different groups? This DwD will dip into systems thinking for some foundations, with an overview of C. West Churchman's design of inquiring systems. With these foundations, participants (dialogue designers) will sharpen their appreciation of alternative modes and techniques. More open dialogic approaches might (or might not) be preferred over more bounded and structured approaches, under different conditions. Theory will be translated into reflective practice through group exercises.

The content for the DwD session will be at the intersection of dialogic design and systems thinking. This session will be co-led by Peter Jones and David Ing.

About the Convener

David Ing is president (2011-2012) of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, an organization with members with interests crossing disciplinary boundaries (e.g. social systems, technological systems, biological systems, ecological systems). In that role, he is designing the program for the ISSS annual meeting (in San Jose, CA in July 2012), and working with the Systems Science Working Group of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE). Over the past year, he developed new courses in systems thinking for the Master's in Creative Sustainability at Aalto University in Finland. He is a visiting fellow with University of Hull (UK), an itinerant scholar with the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and previously a cofounder of the Canadian Centre for Marketing Information Technologies (C2MIT) at the University of Toronto. David has had a continuous 27-year career with IBM, with home base in Toronto. He can be found on the Internet at http://coevolving.com .