ProjectsISSS

The information on this page was compiled and arranged by Alexander Laszlo with input from Jennifer Wilby.

This Award commemorates the life and works of Sir Geoffrey Vickers. His view of the human condition as fundamentally embedded in a web of value relations, and of the dilemma of human action as both rational and valuative, lead him to the formulation of the Appreciative Systems approach. The spirit of his lifework is tremendously contemporary, even though he wrote his most significant works in the early second half of the 20th century: society as evolutionarily emergent; participative and interactive communication as a creative agent; humanization as the necessary normative component of socialization - all this as part of what he called “a science of human ecology.” It is through a truly integrative and systemic approach to our humanity that Sir Geoffrey believed we can learn to navigate multi-valued choice in the ways we structure and value our situation. Being critical (without criticizing), judging (without being judgmental), and engaging in normative decision taking (without ignoring or subjugating the interests of others) - these are the challenges of a science of human ecology as he saw it. The realization that “Science is human”¹ derives from his assertion that we are “incorrigible valuers.”² Indeed, it was Sir Geoffrey's fundamental affirmation that only by learning to be appreciative systems, ourselves, will we create social structures capable of supporting the essence of our humanity. The ISSS Vickers Award seeks to recognize promising work that advances the systems sciences toward this vision.

¹ Vickers, Geoffrey. Value Systems and Social Process. Middlesex, England: Pelican Books, 1968. P. 214.
² ibid. 214.

In memory of the humanistic vision of Sir Geoffrey Vickers and his deep commitment to, and belief in, the power of young people to contribute creatively to the betterment of the human condition, a plaque and check for $500 will be awarded for the best student paper. The Award recognizes outstanding work done in the domain of the systems sciences, and is considered the most prestigious prize in the field at the pre-doctoral level.

• The competition takes place only once a year.
• It is open to all students from any country.
• The student must actively request that their paper be considered for the Vickers Award.
• The student must submit the paper to the ISSS Office in addition to submitting the paper online to the Journals site. The email to the ISSS Office accompanying the paper should indicate that the student wishes this paper to be submitted for the Vickers Award.
• Only student authored papers are eligible for consideration, and preference will be given to individually authored work. If any part of the paper is the work of a student’s supervisor or other mentor, then the paper is not eligible.
• Only one paper per student should be submitted for consideration in any one year.
• A single outstanding paper will be selected each year (only on rare occasions will the Award be split between two winners).
• A full paper must be submitted by the May 31st deadline and will be included on the Conference CD ROM proceedings unless stated otherwise by the Vickers Award committee.
• Certification must be provided showing that this work was performed while the contestant was a student and, in the case of recent graduates, that it has been submitted for consideration no later than one year from the date of the award of their terminal degree (Bachelor's, Master's, or Doctorate).
• Previous winners of this award may not enter again.
• The student papers will be judged for the Vickers Award by a committee convened by the ISSS board of directors.

A student registration form and the student registration fee should accompany the paper submission. The registration fee includes membership in the ISSS for the following year and also a one-year subscription to Systems Research and Behavioral Science, the General Systems Bulletin and a copy of the proceedings of the conference.

The successful paper may be scheduled for presentation in a plenary session during the conference at the discretion of the President and the Program Committee.

If it is not possible for the student to travel to the conference, it may be possible to arrange for a video link (depending on the facilities available to the conference) or another person may make the presentation on the student's behalf. The preferred options are as follows and in order of preference:

• that the winning Vickers Award paper be presented in Plenary in person by the winner;or
• that it be presented “virtually”; or
• that it be presented in absentia by a designated proxy as long as the student has also submitted and paid for registration of that paper.

The following list was originally compiled by Jennifer Wilby. (David Ing transferred this to ProjectsISSS so that any gaps in the record could be filled in by the ISSS membership.)

El Sir Geoffrey Vickers Memorial Award se estableció en memoria de la visión humanística de Sir Geoffrey Vickers y su profundo compromiso y convicción en el poder de la gente joven para contribuir creativamente al mejoramiento de la condición humana. Consiste en una plaqueta y un cheque por U$S 500.- a ser otorgados al mejor trabajo de un estudiante universitario, y es el premio más prestigioso en esta área del conocimiento en el nivel pre-doctoral. El trabajo ganador es presentado en una sesión plenaria de la conferencia anual de la entidad.

(translation provided by Enrique Herrscher)