[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# Systems Thinking Symposium Attracts 700 People

## Details

**Authors** Morrison N, Lennox LJ

**Year** 2016

**Publisher** Cornell CIPA

**Kind of work** press

**Discipline** Systems Science

**Secondary disciplines** Public Policy

**Kind of engagement** press

[Read it](http://www.cipa.cornell.edu/news/systemsthinkingsymposium.cfm)

## In authors' words

### What they set out to do (purpose)

This Cornell Institute for Public Affairs news item reported on the 2016 Cornell University Systems Thinking Symposium, a public event focused on applying DSRP-based systems thinking to complex problems in public policy and water. The event brought together graduate students, researchers, USDA ThinkWater fellows, and practitioners to demonstrate how systems thinking could be applied across different professional and research contexts. Cornell later highlighted the event as attracting more than 700 people.

### What they found (results)

The event presented DSRP as a simple, transferable framework that can be taught and applied across domains, from everyday reasoning to complex policy problems involving multiple actors and competing interests. The symposium’s speakers illustrated applications of systems thinking to water, public policy, research, education, government, and professional practice, emphasizing its usefulness for structuring complex problems and making relationships and perspectives more visible.

## Commentary

### In short

Coverage of the work in Cornell CIPA. he symposium demonstrates that DSRP was being taught and applied by graduate students, researchers, fellows, and practitioners across multiple sectors, and the reported attendance of more than 700 people shows substantial institutional and public engagement.

### In more detail

The December 6, 2016 symposium featured short TED-style presentations and multimedia content centered on the practical application of DSRP. Following a keynote by Derek Cabrera, Cornell Institute for Public Affairs graduate students and USDA ThinkWater fellows presented examples of how systems thinking had influenced work at the master’s, doctoral, postdoctoral, and faculty levels. Practitioners from organizations including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the Department of State, water research and policy organizations, Extension programs, and environmental education initiatives also discussed systems-thinking applications in their work.

**Patterns it shows** D, S, R, P

**How to cite this** Morrison N, Lennox LJ (2016). Systems Thinking Symposium Attracts 700 People. Cornell CIPA.