Systemic design integrates systems thinking and theory with advanced design methods in an evolving interdisciplinary field to effect anticipatory change in complex social, sociotechnical, and policy systems.

The Systemic Design Association (SDA) has grown through the Relating Systems Thinking and Design (RSD) symposia to become the home community for serious scholars and educators in design systemic. Today, SDA represents a worldwide community of advanced practitioners leading pragmatic approaches to systems-oriented design for complex organizational and systems-change initiatives.

SDA membership is a way to contribute to this fusion of futuring disciplines. SDA statutes set out membership rights and responsibilities. Dues are annually renewable and entitle members to one vote at the annual general assembly.

Aims

The SDA was founded on 23 October 2018 as a not-for-profit membership association registered with the Brønnøysund Register Centre in Norway.

Former RSD chairs and scientific committee members gathered to craft the statutes at the founding meeting, held at RSD7 and hosted by Politecnico Torino. As a result, the SDA formalized the creation of a membership society to facilitate the emerging systemic design practice and represent the research community associated with the RSD symposium.

Formerly known as the Systemic Design Research Network, SDA is a cooperative educational group founded in 2012 with the following aims.

• To advance the practice of systemic design as an integrated discipline of systems thinking and systems-oriented design
• To convene an annual international symposium, Relating Systems Thinking and Design (RSD)
• To advance the knowledge, theory, and publications in the domains of systemic/systems-oriented design and industrial and social systems design methods in systems practices.