Professor Dr Ray Ison PhD BScAgr (Hons)
Is Professor of Systems, The Open University UK (OU), a founding member of the ASTiP (Applied Systems Thinking in Practice Group and co- responsible for managing a post-graduate program in Systems Thinking in Practice (STiP). He is President of the IFSR (International Federation for Systems Research), a former president of the ISSS (International Society for the Systems Sciences) and a Trustee of the ASC (American Society of Cybernetics). Ray headed the OU Systems Department (1995-8; 25 academic staff) then from 2000-04 successfully coordinated a major interdisciplinary 5th Framework program (SLIM; 30 researchers, 6 countries) researching social learning for sustainable river catchment management as well as running an EPSRC funded Systems Practice for Managing Complexity Network. In the CADWAGO project (http://www.cadwago.net/ ) he led a work package on systemic governance. From 2008-15 he was also Professor, Systems for Sustainability at the Monash Sustainability Institute (MSI) where he created and led the Systemic Governance Research Program. His research field is systems praxeology, institutional innovation and systemic governance. He has authored or co-authored a wide range of publications – see https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=KPDz9O8AAAAJ&hl=en, has been an invited Keynote speaker at many international and national conferences and had a wide range of significant national and international appointments based on his academic standing.