Economic and Social Research Council (1998)

Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation vol. 1, no. 4, <https://www.jasss.org/1/4/4.html>

Forum Editor's note: In the previous issue of JASSS, we published an item about the German research programme on Socionics. Below, we reproduce the UK's Economic and Social Research Council's Call for proposals for a "Priority Network" on the topic of "Complex and Dynamic Processes". Further details are available. Although the Call is only open to UK applicants, its focus (and, indeed, its existence) may be of wider interest. The deadline for the Call is January 11, 1999 and projects can be expected to start late in 1999.

Objective

There is a major opportunity to address a number of the Council's priority themes using radical approaches based on theories of complex processes, which are grounded in the development of rigorous models - whether mathematical or computational. The Research Priorities Board has decided that in view of the capacity of the UK research community for work in this area an investment may be most appropriate as a Priority Network.

Rationale

There is no single theory of complex processes, but several theories arising from the different approaches of physics, chemistry, biology, computer simulation and mathematics. A Network in this area should draw in researchers from a range of social science disciplines which might include (but is not limited to) sociology, psychology, linguistics, social statistics and economics - and mathematicians and natural scientists so far supported by other Research Councils such as EPSRC and NERC, where such participation in projects will add value to social scientific understanding. There is very little research actually using these theories within UK social science but there is a rapidly expanding international literature. A Priority Network in this area would be expected to have clear potential for contributing to the international leading edge of research in this area, e.g. there are teams within the USA and in Germany where collaboration might be especially beneficial, and a new initiative is planned in Switzerland. The costs of UK participation in such international collaboration can be included in proposals.

Complex processes arise from the inter-relationship, inter-action and inter-connectivity of elements within a system and between a system and its environment, over time. A decision or action by any one element will affect all other related elements. That effect will not have equal or uniform impact but will vary with the status of each individual related element at that time. The status of an element will include its history, organisation and processes. Moreover, these impacts will take place dynamically within a "complex evolving system" ie where systems are able to adapt, learn and change within, or as part of, a changing environment. Change needs to be seen in terms of co-evolution with all other related systems, not as an adaptation to a separate and distinct environment.

Application and further development of theories of complex processes may challenge a number of conventional social scientific approaches, including – for example – those set out below:

• Individuals are often conceptualised in terms of their assumed competence, not in terms of what they actually do, which would be the focus of theories of complex processes. This has the potential for novel understanding of the individual in areas such as cognition, language acquisition and mental illness.
• Organisations are frequently studied in relation to a single, predictable outcome, often styled "best practice". An approach based on theories of complex processes would emphasise that organisations are capable of many possible outcomes without a single clear "winner". This approach provides opportunities for new insights into organisational change. Some businesses have begun to incorporate principles of these approaches and it appears significant changes may take place ("emerge") in: the way the organisation is structured; the levels of hierarchy and the nature of the relations between those levels; relationships between 'core' activities, customers and suppliers; and the very way work is done within an organisation. Theories of complex processes appear to be particularly important to understanding sequencing of change and management of feedback loops.
• Economic Systems are often studied as providing for allocative efficiency when markets are in equilibrium. Theories of complex processes would draw attention to the creative potential of far from equilibrium conditions and the importance of modelling actual market processes. They may also offer different explanations, probably using simulation techniques, to observed cycles of economic activity, both at macro-economic business cycle level and at the level of individual markets, services and goods.
• Social Systems are sometimes described in terms of aggregate behaviour based on assumptions of individual behaviour which are not well supported empirically. The result is a problematic gap between the ‘micro’ and ‘macro’. Theories of complex processes imply models based on observable behaviours with the higher level phenomena allowed to emerge, rather than be specified a priori. These approaches exploit the enormous computing power which is now more readily available, to provide explicit models of the relationships between individuals and groups.
• Knowledge Acquisition and Learning provides an opportunity for theories of complex processes to provide new insights which tackle knowledge acquisition, development and use, where intra-personal and inter-personal processes and structures co-evolve to develop new behaviours and outcomes.
• Generic Issues which would benefit from being addressed within a Network include: which human systems are better characterised by theories of complex processes and what is lost by inappropriate linear, static or comparative static models? Is there potential for radically new combinations of disciplines linked by the use of theories of complex processes? More generally, are their familiar social scientific puzzles which can receive new solutions from these developing theories? What new questions are likely to emerge? It is at least possible that theories of complex processes may lead to a radical re-conception of the role of the social sciences: no longer the traditional task of discovering how to predict outcomes; but also rejecting more recent concepts which deny the importance of pathways of change through historical time.

Note: There is no requirement for discrete projects in the Network to address separately specific applications drawn from the examples or generic issues set out above. The Network will be assessed for its contributions to the topic as a whole – although individual projects must also be of high scientific quality.

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