Oct 2007, the first MECS conference, resulted in a number of papers that reflected a pervasive notion that the current paradigm for dealing with wicked problems is not sufficient to effect solutions within the problem space. From this notion a focus group of doctoral students at ODU was formed to analyze the MECS paper for content and potential insights of an emerging paradigm. The results of the analysis indicate that a paradigm shift may be occurring but little more than that. The objective of the summit is to conduct a series of facilitated workshops to describe the emerging paradigm highlighted in MECS 2007. The Workshop aims at exploring the three branches of philosophy, 1) epistemological, 2) ontological, and 3) methodological crucial for a shift to occur that addresses:

• what is to be observed and scrutinized
• the kind of questions that are supposed to be asked and probed for answers in relation to this subject
• how these questions are to be structured
• how the results of scientific investigations should be interpreted
• how is an experiment to be conducted, and what methods are available to conduct the experiment [Wikipedia, and Oxford Dictionary: what is a paradigm shift].

and, will be captured in a paper for submission to the International Journal of System of Systems Engineering (IJSSE).

A panel will be chartered to provide oversight and arbitration of the forum and the results. Additionally, the council will confirm and approve the workshop topics and their chairperson and provide strategic direction to the Forum.

The forum will be conducted in a quasi-open space venue. The venue is considered quasi because the topics for each workshop and the chairs for each workshop will be assigned prior to the forum. The forum is by invitation only and based on interests in the topics and potential contribution

A MECS Forum committee will be responsible for the daily operations, have a seat on the executive committee, collaborate and communicate with workshop chairs, and participate in the forum.

The workshop chairs will be responsible for the direction of their particular workshops, documenting the results of the workshop, coordination amongst the team-member, and the review process.

The workshop team members will be invited based on their potential contribution their responsibility is to bring to the forum the professional and scholarly diligence and intellect to propagate the emerging paradigm.

The terrain for academic review rests not in the peer review of the journal but the diversity of the authors around a common topic. This heterogeneous group, based on their scholarly and empirical careers and reputations, will either validate the hypothesis that a paradigm shift is occurring or validate the null hypothesis that the dominant discourse truly is dominant. Use of the scientific method for validating the hypothesis will culminate in a journal article.

The articles and findings from the workshop as a seminal paper will be eligible for publication in the International Journal System of Systems Engineering (IJSSE)

Articles presented at the conference, as well as a narrative summary of exhibits, symposia, and tutorials will be published in the Workshop Proceedings on CD-ROM and available to all participants. The General Council and workshop chairs will be responsible for compiling the information and adherence to an approved method for the paper, the workshop team-members will be responsible for providing the analysis and data.