Reflections on adapting group model building scripts into online workshops

Moving online: reflections from conducting system dynamics workshops in virtual settings

“…In particular, how does one familiarise participants quickly with used software, enhance sustained attention to the screen, balance presentations (to share results) and interactive sessions to sustain attention, or move to synchronous interaction of participants, e.g. in addition to the timedemanding one-by-one inputs used by us and the simultaneous process used by Wilkerson et al (2020)?…”

“…In addition, fuelled by the effects of COVID‐19, the idea of online system dynamics workshops is gaining prominence. Virtual delivery of workshops has been reported sparsely in the areas of problem‐structuring methods and group‐support systems (Yearworth and White, 2017, 2019), and there is a single recent contribution in the area of system dynamics (Wilkerson et al ., 2020). It is time to further discuss the practicalities of moving workshops online and make some recommendations for effective online workshop delivery.…”

A Cybernetic Participatory Approach for Whole-Systems Modelling and Analysis, with Application to Inclusive Economies

“…4) to enable participants see the population of the map in real time. Albeit engaging a diverse group with technology is a challenge per se [4], but our experience was quite positive and the majority of participants were appeared to be impressed by getting real-time resolution of IncEc system in progress of the workshoptypically this requires lots of efforts from modelers after the workshop [4] [36].…”

“…Such requirements appear to make a distinction between systems mapping practices where in some cases, stakeholders are simply participants of a workshop who interact virtually to draw a systems map but without further engagement with and ownership of the outcome model. For example, Wilkerson et al [4] recently shared their experience of delivering a fully virtual workshop in an environment context. Apart from limited capability of the tool in enabling participants to visually interact with each other and add information to the links, post-workshop analytical capabilities, validation, and future use of the constructed map seem very limited which requires significant time and ongoing efforts from modelers.…”

“…Traditional methods of PSM [2] bring together groups of people in a fixed place and at a fixed time, using analogue technologies such as flip charts, sticky notes, and marker pens. Despite undeniable capability in encouraging interactivity and exchanging information [4], constraints on both synchronous and face-to-face availability may make traditional PSM less inclusive and limit participation to those who are geographically close. Digital technologies can have positive implications for distributed systems where people are usually located remotely from one another, but also for modelling large complex systems with many stakeholders, many factors and numerous links amongst them.…”