International Society for the Systems Sciences

What International Society for the Systems Sciences does

The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional membership organization founded in 1954 by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Kenneth Boulding, Ralph Gerard, and Anatol Rapoport at the Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, re-incorporated in Cookeville, Tennessee in 1998 after prior locations in Louisville, KY. The society serves a global community of academic researchers, students, and practitioners engaged in transdisciplinary inquiry into complex systems, cybernetics, systems philosophy, and related fields, with members distributed across at least 16 countries. Its offerings include annual international conferences (the 70th Annual Meeting scheduled for June 2026 at UCLan Cyprus), the ISSS Journal/Proceedings (ISSN 1999-6918, online at journals.isss.org), over 30 Special Integration Groups (SIGs), weekly Saturday Zoom sessions, mini-symposia, a monthly book club, an open-access wiki platform, and a historical archive of General Systems Yearbooks dating from 1956. ISSS is an AAAS affiliate and maintains partnerships with INCOSE, IFSR, ASC, BCSSS, the System Dynamics Society, and MDPI's Systems journal. Revenue is generated through tiered annual membership dues (Regular $115, Student $60, Retired $105, Developing Country $95, Institutional $410), conference registration fees (with member discounts), and donations; financials are not publicly disclosed.

Name

International Society for the Systems Sciences

Legal name

International Society for the Systems Sciences

Website

https://isss.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ISSS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional society founded in 1954 that serves a global community of systems science researchers, practitioners, and students through annual conferences, journals, Special Integration Groups, online sessions, and an archival library.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Scientific Society

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

International Science, Technology & Space Cooperation Organizations (BPADAAAK)

Keywords

• Systems sciences research
• Professional society membership
• Academic conference services
• Interdisciplinary scholarly community
• Systems thinking research

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: The society generates revenue primarily through annual membership fees with tiered pricing based on membership category (Regular $115, Student $60, Retired $105, Developing Country $95, Institutional $410). Membership provides access to journals, proceedings, yearbooks, SIG activities, and conference discounts.
2. Annual Conference Revenue: The society holds annual conferences (70th meeting scheduled for 2026 in Cyprus) that generate revenue through registration fees. Members receive significant discounts on conference participation.
3. Publication Access: Members receive access to the Systems Research and Behavioral Sciences Journal from Wiley and the journal of the ISSS (ISSN 1999-6918). Non-members can access current conference proceedings online at no cost under Creative Commons licensing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) is an international professional and academic society that advances systems sciences and systems thinking through individual and institutional membership, an annual conference, peer-reviewed journals, Special Interest Groups (SIGs), mini-symposia, and book clubs. It serves as a global interdisciplinary forum connecting researchers, educators, students, and practitioners engaged in systems-based inquiry.

Product overview

The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) is a professional membership organization, not a commercial product company. Its offerings consist of membership-based services including annual conferences (the 70th Annual Meeting scheduled for 2026 in Cyprus), the ISSS Journal/Proceedings (ISSN 1999-6918) for publishing peer-reviewed research, Special Integration Groups (SIGs) as collaborative inquiry communities, weekly Mini-Symposia, an ISSS Book Club, an open-access Wiki platform for member contributions, and access to historical Yearbooks and Bulletins. Membership tiers include Regular ($115/year), Student ($60/year), Retired ($105/year), Developing Country ($95/year), and Institutional ($410/year).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Membership Annual membership for individual professionals, researchers, educators, and students interested in systems sciences, providing access to society activities, publications, and member benefits.
• Institutional Membership Annual membership for universities, libraries, and research institutions that provides access to ISSS publications and related scholarly benefits on behalf of faculty, students, and staff.
• Annual Conference of the ISSS Annual international conference of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, convening members and non-members to present and discuss research in systems sciences and systems thinking.
• Mini-Symposia Smaller, focused symposia organized under ISSS on targeted systems sciences topics, complementing the annual conference.
• Special Interest Groups (SIGs) Topic-specific Special Interest Groups within ISSS that enable members to collaborate on defined areas of systems sciences between annual events.
• ISSS Book Club Member book club run by ISSS that discusses key texts in systems sciences and systems thinking.
• Systems Research and Behavioral Science (Journal) Peer-reviewed academic journal associated with ISSS that publishes systems-oriented research and is available to members and institutional subscribers.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISSS founders met at AAAS meetings in 1954 and the society was formally established as an AAAS affiliate in 1956. Kenneth Ewart Boulding, ISSS's first president, served as President of AAAS in 1980. ISSS is currently an affiliate of AAAS, reflecting the historical and ongoing relationship between the organizations.
• American Society for Cybernetics (ASC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership between two leading cybernetics and systems organizations for collaboration in the systems science field.
• Bertalanffy Centre for the Study of Systems Science (BCSSS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNamed after Ludwig von Bertalanffy, one of ISSS's founding figures. BCSSS is based in Vienna, Austria and collaborates on systems science research and education.
• Business Systems LaboratoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with business systems research organization focused on systemic approaches to business and organizational challenges.
• College of ExplorationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focused on exploration and education in systems thinking and related disciplines.
• International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISSS collaborates with INCOSE through the Systems Science Working Group. ISSS members contribute to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK), with Gary Smith serving as editor of Part 2. Joint activities include conferences and standards development.
• International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFSR is an international umbrella organization for systems research that was founded in 1980 with ISSS (then SGSR) as one of three founding member societies. ISSS hosts IFSR newsletters on its website as part of the partnership.
• International Academy for Systems and Cybernetic Sciences (IASCYS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the international academy focused on systems and cybernetics sciences.
• Systems Dynamics Society (SDS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with SDS on systems dynamics and modeling approaches within the broader systems science community.
• Systems Journal (MDPI)coreTechnology or IntegrationAffiliated journal partnership with MDPI's Systems journal, one of ISSS's official publications.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/isssmeeting
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCDgQTaNTjAwNqAQFQ8jXB6Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/systems.sciences
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-society-for-the-systems-sciences

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Society for the Systems Sciences