Support for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

Internationales Institut Fur Angewandte Systemanalyse, Laxenburg

Investigators

Abstract

Hordijk 0715160 This grant provides the American membership contribution toward core support for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) for the years 2006-2010. IIASA is an independent, non-governmental, multilateral research institution devoted to interdisciplinary, policy-oriented research. The Institute serves as a neutral forum for sustained investigation and discussion of global and international issues, with a research agenda covering a broad range of global change issues. It is located in Laxenburg, Austria, near Vienna. IIASA is supported by a network of nongovernmental National Member Organizations (NMOs) in 18 countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Each NMO sends one representative to the IIASA Governing Council, which appoints a Director to serve as Chief Executive Officer for the Institute. The Director is responsible for the formulation and execution of all Institute activities, including preparing budgets and research programs for submission to the Council, which must approve them annually. Prof. Leen Hordijk has served as Director of IIASA since July 2002, and the Council will appoint a new Director to succeed him in July 2008. The U.S. Council member, Professor Simon Levin, has served as Council Chair since November, 2003, and was appointed to a second three-year term beginning November 2006. IIASA's research is conducted within three core themes: Environment and Natural Resources; Population and Society; and Energy and Technology. IIASA investigators combine methods and models from both natural and social sciences in analyses that provide policy insight on global change issued for decision makers, the scientific community, and the public worldwide. The Institute's budget for 2005 was approximately twelve million EURO, of which 62% was provided by membership payments from the NMO nations. The project work at IIASA is highly leveraged through international scientific networks of researchers and research institutions that contribute their skills, resources, and specific local knowledge. The intellectual merit of IIASA's research activities is demonstrated through the institute's publication record in peer-reviewed journals; the worldwide interest in collaboration with IIASA's research programs; and the recruitment of IIASA scientists to contribute to international scientific partnerships such as the IPCC, World Food Summits, Millennium Development Goals, FAO Agro-Ecological Studies, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, and UN Population studies. The research quality is maintained through a system of Council oversight, external reviews, and strategic assessments by an external Science Advisory Committee. Broader impacts are inherent in IIASA's research agenda, which addresses many of the most difficult issues facing the world in the 21st Century: energy security, climate change, land use change and agriculture, population growth and human capital, and catastrophic risk. Every program is designed to cross disciplinary boundaries and be relevant to policy issues. All programs include components for dissemination and application of the results, in addition to publication in the peer-reviewed literature. IIASA works closely with the U.S. NMO to incorporate U.S. input and interests in the research program, and to ensure that its research results are known and utilized in appropriate research and policy fora in the U.S. Moreover, IIASA's Young Scientists Summer Program offers a unique opportunity for graduate students to explore the policy implications of their graduate work in an international setting, with 50 other students from around the world, and emerge with a network of colleagues on whom they can call throughout their careers.