Global Consortium for Systems Research (GCSR)

We study, forecast, and guide systems change to solve grand challenges

2022 - 2023 10th Anniversary Strategic Plan

Letter from the Chair, Marvin Cheung

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Thank you for joining us at the UN General Assembly Science Summit (SSUNGA77). I am honored to succeed Sebastian Cody as the Chair of the Global Consortium for Systems Research (GCSR). GCSR was convened following the 2013 symposium at The Royal Society, Global Integrated Assessment: Making Sense of Complexity in an Interdependent World. Sebastian has served as an advisor to four successive Directors Generals at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). I am grateful for his contributions and support leading up to the announcement of the 2022-2023 10th Anniversary Strategic Plan.

As part of the 10th Anniversary Strategic Plan, I would like to reaffirm GCSR’s commitment to being a force for positive change through cutting-edge and pragmatic research. I am pleased to present a series of initiatives under our revised mandate: We study, forecast, and guide systems change to solve grand challenges. Grand challenges such as the 2030 SDGs are characterized by their high global priority and complex causality: attempts to intervene create irreversible changes as well as unintended second and third order consequences. A systems perspective is essential to solving grand challenges.

Researchers have a critical role to play in showing the way forward. GCSR will serve as a platform to convene experts such as yourself in times of great uncertainty.

Our work at GCSR will be guided by the Center for Global Agenda (CGA) at Unbuilt Labs’ High Level Recommendation and Global Strategy. We will also operate in line with the host organization Unbuilt Labs’ Ethics Statement.

It is a pleasure to lead GCSR. I look forward to learning from and with you. We will continue to iterate and develop our programs with your feedback. Please do not hesitate to reach out: Marvin@UnbuiltLabs.com.

GCSR at the UN General Assembly Science Summit

A heartfelt thank you to our keynote presenter — Jim Hall, Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks, Director of Research at the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford.

1. Become an Associate Member

We are an inclusive global community and anyone can now become an Associate Member for free by signing up for the GCSR List on JISCMail. This is an e-mail forum for non-moderated educational and research discussions. The site contains instructions on how to join, use, or leave the forum. We will use the GCSR list not only for discussions, but also to alert members about GCSR events, major changes to the contents of the website, and more.

2. Working Groups

I am pleased to build upon the 5 subject categories identified under Sebastian's leadership and, in accordance with the 2022-2023 Strategic Plan Concept Note, create working groups around topics including:

  • WG1: Systems Thinking

  • WG2: Systems Research Financing and Opportunities

  • WG3: Global Systems and Peace

  • WG4: Space Governance

  • WG5: Geoengineering and Socio-Ecological Systems

  • WG6: Health Policy and Systems Research

  • WG7: Action Research and Practice-Based Research

  • WG8: Systems Research and Futures Studies

  • WG9: Systems Change

  • WG10: Teaching Pedagogy and Curriculum Development

To build a robust community, our priority for 2022-2023 will include WG1: Systems Thinking, to provide an approachable starting point for people interested in engaging, and WG2: Systems Research Financing and Opportunities, to provide researchers with funding and opportunities to develop their work.

Click here for the Google Form to join a Working Group. At the end of the form, you can select whether you would like to share your information with others. We will include your information on a spreadsheet if you opt-in to sharing. This spreadsheet will be shared with others who sign up to join a working group.

3. Steering Committee

Each Working Group will have a 3-5 member volunteer Steering Committee as well as Steering Committee Lead or Co-Leads. To apply, please email GCSR Chair, Marvin Cheung, Marvin@UnbuiltLabs.com with a short biography as well as a few sentences on one or two initiatives the Working Group can take on to support the systems research ecosystem and our mandate: we study, forecast, and guide systems change to solve grand challenges.

WG2: Systems Research Financing and Opportunities, Venture Strategy Group (VSG) at Unbuilt Labs Innovator in Residence (IIR) Program

As the Chair of GCSR, I am also pleased to support the next generation of high-impact systems research organizations solving grand challenges. I currently direct the Venture Strategy Group (VSG) at Unbuilt Labs. Founders make critical decisions during the early stages, but the current research ecosystem offers little support during the discovery and exploration process. VSG offers a one of its kind pay-what-you-want Innovator in Residence (IIR) program, where founders looking to set up solutions-oriented research organizations solving grand challenges receive 1 year of support through monthly 1:1 Advising Sessions. We can help you clarify your Theory of Change or mandate, design a research agenda, and more generally, offer sound advice. This program is open to founders who have received less than 100k USD in financing.

If you would like to share a resource with the community, click here to access our Google Form.

WG2: Systems Research Financing and Opportunities

  • Venture Strategy Group at Unbuilt Labs, Innovator in Residence (IIR)
    We are pleased to support the next generation of high-impact research organizations solving grand challenges. Founders make critical decisions during the early stages, but the current research ecosystem offers little support during the discovery and exploration process. We offer a one of its kind pay-what-you-want Innovator in Residence (IIR) Program, where founders looking to set up solutions-oriented research organizations receive 1 year of support through monthly 1:1 Advising Sessions. We can help you clarify your Theory of Change or mandate, design a research agenda, and more generally, offer sound advice. This program is open to founders who have received less than 100k USD in financing.

    Wellcome Trust, Discovery Research
    By funding ambitious, curiosity-driven research across a range of academic disciplines, we can give researchers from different backgrounds the resources they need to take on big questions and overcome barriers to progress. Discovery Research funding is available across three awards for researchers at various stages of their careers. Wellcome Early-Career Awards: this award supports researchers to establish their independence and trajectory in discovery research. Wellcome Career Development Awards: for mid-career researchers who are ready to lead a substantial, innovative research programme and achieve international standing. Wellcome Discovery Awards: this award supports established researchers and teams.

    Sante Fe Institute, Postdoctoral Research Fellows
    SFI postdoctoral fellows are selected from around the world and across science for their intellectual curiosity, quantitative rigor, and multidisciplinary creativity. The SFI Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowships are funded by gifts from Pam and Pierre Omidyar, the ASU-SFI Center for Biosocial Complex Systems, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Schmidt Foundation and from individual donors and other sources. Chosen during an annual selection process, these fellows pursue independent research agendas. Program Postdoctoral Fellows are grant funded. They are chosen by the grant PI and their research agenda is grant related.

    International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), YSSP and Postdoctoral Fellowships
    As an early career researcher at IIASA you are integrated into a research group of typically 10-20 researchers, from junior to senior, as well as into a bigger IIASA research program that typically covers several research groups. Within your research group you are likely addressing challenges with an interdisciplinary team of colleagues with different backgrounds, trained in different modes of thinking. IIASA offers the Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) for PhD students, and a range of Postdoc opportunities including fully funded research positions of up to two years to study topics related to the IIASA research agenda.

  • Cornell Engineering, Ph.D. Systems
    Active areas of research include: Multi-agent simulation framework for cooperative observing systems of systems; Patterns in architectural decisions and fast problem formulation in system architecture; Extreme weather forecasting using constellations of nanosatellites; Improved human-computer interaction for design of complex systems; Integrated materials and process design for carbon capture systems; Cyber-physical infrastructure and informatics for healthy living in smart cities; Enhancing the food security through sustainable regional food systems development; Forecasting evacuation behaviors of coastal communities in response to storm hazard information; Willingness to improve the resiliency of New York City’s transportation system; Pharmaceutical manufacturing modeling and control; and Systems design of chemical manufacturing from shale gas.

    MIT Sloan School of Management, Ph.D. System Dynamics
    System Dynamics was founded at MIT Sloan in 1956 by Professor Jay W. Forrester. This discipline combines the theory, methods, and philosophy needed to analyze the behavior of systems — not only in management, but also in such other fields as environmental change, politics, economic behavior, medicine, and engineering. A concentration in System Dynamics draws on organization studies, behavioral decision theory, and engineering to provide a common foundation for understanding and influencing how things change over time. Students study principles of systems, economic and industrial dynamics, and policy analysis, while doing additional work in economics, information systems, statistics, and political science.

    University of Warwick, Ph.D. MathSys (Mathematics for Real-World Systems) CDT
    Your project should be in the area of “Mathematics for Real-World Systems”. The CDT’s bid for funding to the EPSRC was based principally on four application areas, and your project should align closely with one of these: (1) Quantitative biomedical research; (2) Mathematical epidemiology; (3) Socio-technical systems; (4) Advanced modelling and optimisation of industrial processes. Additionally, your project must align with at least one of the EPSRC funding council’s key research areas. Your project must involve a named external partner, and two supervisors.

    University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D. City and Regional Planning
    The Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, provides training in urban and planning theory, advanced research, and the practice of planning. We are focused on three challenges facing cities and regions around the globe. The first is widening inequalities and disparities with respect to income and wealth, race, quality of education and urban services, access to employment opportunities, and environmental health. The second is global climate change and resource scarcity, as increasingly complex threats challenge the ability of cities to function after major disruptions and displacements, whether sudden or gradual. And the third is growing demands for clean, healthy, reliable, and accessible public infrastructure and urban services. Creative analysis, planning, and design are needed to effectively manage these problems.

    University of Technology, Australia, Ph.D. Transdisciplinary Innovation
    In simple terms, transdisciplinary (TD) research is primarily a process, not a product. It typically involves: (1) Mixing academic knowledges from multiple disciplines; (2) Mixing applied knowledges through collaboration with industry; and (3) Co-design with stakeholders through a human-centred approach. The production of new (TD) knowledge usually requires close collaboration with one or more industry partners, who may even co-design the study, alongside other design contributions by other academics. Through this collaboration, the new knowledge is co-produced. Projects will go through phases or moments of being more or less TD. Themes include: (1) Futures; (2) Sustainable Societies; (3) Technology and Humanity; and (4) Transformative Learning.

    Deep Science Ventures, Venture Science Doctorate (VSD)
    Deep Science Ventures is launching a new PhD program, the Venture Science Doctorate, to put venture at the heart of research. VSD is an alternative. A 3-year, fully-funded, sector-agnostic PhD program, running our proven innovation model. It’s awarded by Deep Science Ventures College; an independently accredited, decentralised institution.  We have partnered with leading institutions, who are supporting across research and venture creation. Collaborating institutions include the Henry Royce Institute, the James Hutton Institute, Imperial College, the University of Edinburgh, University College London, Goldsmiths, University of London, Cornell University and the Mayo Clinic.

    Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), UK

    London Arts & Humanities Partnership (LAHP)
    Led by University College London, along with King's College London, Queen Mary University of London, the Royal College of Music, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, the Royal College

    London Arts & Humanities Partnership (LAHP)
    Led by University College London, along with King's College London, Queen Mary University of London, the Royal College of Music, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, the Royal College of Art, the London School of Economics & Political Science, and the University of London.

    Open-Oxford-Cambridge
    Led by the University of Oxford, along with the University of Cambridge and the Open University.

    South, West & Wales Doctoral Training Consortium 2 (SWW2)
    Led by the University of Bristol, along with Aberystwyth University, Bath Spa University, Cardiff University, Cranfield University, the University of Exeter, the University of Reading, the University of Southampton, the University of the West of England and the National Museum Wales.

    Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), UK

    East of Scotland Bioscience Doctoral Training Partnership (EASTBIO)
    Led by the University of Edinburgh, along with the University of Aberdeen, the University of Dundee, the University of St Andrews and the University of Stirling.

    London Interdisciplinary Doctoral Programme (LIDo)
    Led by University College London, along with Birkbeck University of London, King's College London, the Royal Veterinary College, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary University of London.

    Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership (MIBTP)
    Led by the University of Warwick, along with Aston University, the University of Birmingham, Harper Adams University and the University of Leicester.

    Oxford Interdisciplinary Bioscience DTP
    Led by the University of Oxford, along with Oxford Brookes University.

    FoodBioSystems DTP
    Led by the University of Reading, along with Cranfield University, the University of Surrey, Queen's University Belfast, Aberysrwyth University and Brunel University London.

    Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK

    Cambridge Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership
    Based at the University of Cambridge.

    Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership
    Led by the University of Oxford, along with the Open University and Brunel University London.

    Northern Ireland and North East (NINE) Doctoral Training Partnership
    Led by Durham University, along with Newcastle University, Northumbria University, Queen’s University of Belfast, Teesside University, Ulster University and the University of Sunderland.

    North West Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership
    Led by the University of Liverpool, along with Keele University, Lancaster University and the University of Manchester.

    Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership
    Led by the University of Edinburgh, along with the University of Aberdeen, the University of Dundee, Edinburgh Napier University, the University of Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian University, Heriot-Watt University, Queen Margaret University Edinburgh, the University of St Andrews, the University of Stirling, the University of Strathclyde and SRUC.

    Wales Doctoral Training Partnership
    Led by Cardiff University, along with Aberystwyth University, Bangor University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, the University of Gloucestershire and Swansea University.

    Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK

    EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Engineered Tissues for Discovery, Industry and Medicine (lifETIME)
    Led by the University of Glasgow, along with Aston University and the University of Birmingham.

    EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence (IGGI)
    Based at Queen Mary University of London and the University of York.

    Medical Research Council (MRC), UK

    Cambridge MRC Doctoral Training Partnership
    Led by the University of Cambridge, along with the Babraham Institute.

    Great West 4 (GW4)
    Led by Cardiff University, along with the University of Bath, the University of Bristol and the University of Exeter.

    London Intercollegiate DTP
    Led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, along with St George’s University of London.

    Oxford MRC Doctoral Training Partnership
    Based at the University of Oxford.

    Precision Medicine Doctoral Training Programme
    Led by the University of Edinburgh, along with the University of Glasgow.

    Trials Methodology Research Partnership (TMRP)
    Led by the Medical Research Council.

    UCL-Birkbeck MRC DTP
    Led by University College London, along with Birkbeck College.

    Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), UK

    Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet (SSCP) DTP
    Based at Imperial College London.

    One Planet DTP2
    Led by Newcastle University, along with Northumbria University.

    London DTP2
    Led by University College London, along with Birkbeck, University of London, Brunel University London, King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London and Royal Holloway, University of London.

    QUADRAT DTP
    Led by the University of Aberdeen, along with Queen’s University Belfast.

    Cambridge Climate, Life and Earth (C-CLEAR) DTP
    Based at the University of Cambridge.

    Adapting to the Challenges of a Changing Environment (ACCE) DTP
    Led by the University of Liverpool, along with the University of Sheffield and the University of York.

    Environmental Research DTP
    Based at the University of Oxford.

    Science of the Environment, Natural and Anthropogenic Processes, Impacts and Opportunities (SCENARIO) DTP
    Led by the University of Reading, along with the University of Surrey.

    Scottish Universities Partnership for Environmental Research (SUPER) DTP
    Led by the University of St Andrews, along with the University of Aberdeen, Edinburgh Napier University, Heriot-Watt University, the University of the Highlands & Islands, University of Stirling, University of Strathclyde and the University of the West of Scotland.

    Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), UK

    Cambridge Data Intensive Science CDT
    Based at the University of Cambridge.

    UCL's Centre for Doctoral Training in Data Intensive Science
    Based at University College London.

If you would like to share a resource with the community, click here to access our Google Form.

GCSR Leadership

  • Marvin Cheung is a global governance scholar and a business executive. He co-directs the Center for Global Agenda (CGA) and directs the Venture Strategy Group (VSG) at Unbuilt Labs. Bringing together his research interests, including the future of global governance, research organizations, and technology, he
    regularly advises on the ideas, methods, and movements that have the potential to change global dynamics. He chairs the Global
    Consortium for Systems Research (GCSR), and is a Global Diplomacy Fellow at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), as well as a UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab Expert on SDGs and Strategic Planning. As a Board Member at Unbuilt Labs, he is also a member of the Asian Leaders Alliance, the Institute of Director's Policy Voice, and Chairman's Network, where he regularly presents research to private and public Board of Directors. He studied at the University of Hong Kong, the Parsons School of Design, and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

    Marvin@UnbuiltLabs.com

  • Sebastian Cody is a Visiting Researcher at The Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI). As a senior media executive he has been responsible for many network television programmes including the celebrated discussion series ‘After Dark’. In 2010 his company launched an online social history of Britain alongside the BFI, BBC, The National Archive and others, ‘InView’. Recently he was Associate Producer of the HBO film ‘Top Ten Monks’ and the BBC film ‘The Ballet Master’. He has written for many newspapers including The Times and The Guardian and acts as a consultant for companies and NGO’s, such as Universal Music/Decca and IIASA, the international science research organisation where he advised four successive Directors General over the last fifteen years.


    For the last twenty years Sebastian Cody has been a Visitor at the University of Oxford, variously at the Environmental Change Institute at the Oxford University Centre for the Environment and the Rothermere American Institute. He was elected a Senior Associate Member of St Antony’s College Oxford in 2004.

Become an Associate Member

Join our Email Discussion and Alerting List

We are an inclusive global community and anyone can now become an Associate Member for free by signing up for the GCSR List on JISCMail. The GCSR List is an e-mail forum for non-moderated educational and research discussions on JISCMail. The site contains instructions on how to join, use, or leave the forum. We will use the GCSR list not only for discussions, but also to alert members about GCSR events, major changes to the contents of the website, and more.

Recent News

  • Letter from the Chair, Marvin Cheung

    First published on 5 August 2022, JISCMail

    Dear Friends and Colleagues,

    I am delighted to meet all of you. As you may already know, the UK Systems Thinking group dates back to April 2013 when Sebastian Cody founded the organization while he was a researcher at Oxford University. Since then, he has found success in the media industry, academia, and consulting. I am particularly in awe of his work within the field of systems thinking and systems research - as a Visitor at Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute, and later as an advisor to four successive Directors Generals at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) over the last fifteen years.As the organization heads towards its 10th anniversary next year since its founding in 2013, Sebastian decided to pass the baton to me to continue the organization's excellent work. By way of introduction, I have a diverse background much like Sebastian - I am a business executive and a global governance scholar. I began my career as an architecture researcher at a EU-funded program on Hong Kong's public housing crisis, later, drawn by the idea of design thinking, the question of how individuals and organizations can systematically innovate, I worked in design and made my career in user experience and product management. The Cambridge Analytica incident led me to my current work on sustainable development and my current Board role at the think tank Unbuilt Labs. In late 2021, I became one of the most senior private sector individuals to have undergone Core Diplomatic Training together with delegates and ambassadors to the UN General Assembly as a fellow at UNITAR. I currently direct the Venture Strategy Group (VSG) and co-direct the Center for Global Agenda (CGA) at Unbuilt Labs, where I am in the process of recommending methods non-state actors can use to foster political will, close the compliance gap, and accelerate sustainable development as part of a publication at UNITAR.

    We are at a particularly interesting time in history - we recognize the need for systems change, we have methods to manage complexity that is widely adopted within the tech industry, and we have troves of data. There are so many interesting questions to explore. Some of which I have highlighted in a position statement on systems we recently published at CGA (See Appendix A) ahead of the UN General Assembly Science Summit, where I will be speaking at one session and am the co-organizer of another session: How will global strategies affect local communities? How might local communities affect global strategies? How do we create lasting systems change? I have also elaborated on the challenges we face in conducting systems research, with funding being one of the core issues we have identified. Thorough exploratory research is required to gain a better understanding of the wide range of issues and likely outcomes in a complex situation, but current financing models prioritize narrow or siloed investigations which are not conducive to understanding systems, conducting systems research, or learning about systems change.

    As I think about the future of systems research, the future of systems thinking, and the future of this organization, I believe a repositioning is helpful to not only better represent the scope and bold inquiries we would like to see, but also to reflect the changes the emerging field has seen, as well as my hope to build an inclusive global community. To be announced at the upcoming UN General Assembly Science Summit in September, UK Systems Thinking group will be renamed to the Global Consortium for Systems Research (GCSR) and hosted at the Sustainable Innovation Think Tank (SITT) at Unbuilt Labs; the announcement will be made alongside other updates from Unbuilt Labs. I am pleased to build upon the 5 subject categories identified under Sebastian's leadership and recommend creating working groups and bringing together volunteer executive committees and/or working group leads around topics such as (WG1) systems thinking, (WG2) systems research financing, (WG3) global systems and peace, (WG4) space governance, (WG5) geoengineering and socio-ecological systems, (WG6) health policy and systems research, (WG7) action research and practice-based research, (WG8) systems change, and (WG9) teaching pedagogy and curriculum development, as part of this concept note.

    I moved from New York to London a few weeks ago, which presents a unique opportunity to meet up with members of the group in-person. Please feel free to write and schedule a time to chat whether in-person or virtually. I look forward to working with all of you and my door is always open.

    Thank you,

    Marvin Cheung,

    Global Consortium for Systems Research (GCSR), Chair

    Marvin@UnbuiltLabs.com

To see past communications, please visit our archive on JISCMail.