Research programs

Research at IIASA is based on advanced systems analysis which uses an integrated, interdisciplinary approach based on mathematical models and analytical techniques to investigate complex systems. Currently nine research programs carry out research at IIASA into the dynamics of global change.

Advanced Systems Analysis

The Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program’s aim is to tie together systems methods and applied research on global change in order to provide a sound basis for cutting-edge systems analysis. More

Ecosystems Services and Management

The Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Program facilitates the process of transition planning to sustainable ecosystems management through research into improved understanding and management of competing uses of land, water resources, and ecosystem services. More

Energy

The goal of the Energy (ENE) Program is to better understand the dynamics of future energy transitions, their main driving forces, enabling factors, and barriers, as well as the consequences of those transitions for the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of human well-being. More

Evolution and Ecology

The Evolution and Ecology (EEP) Program analyzes and forecasts how ecological and evolutionary dynamics shape populations, communities, and ecosystems, and how behavioral dynamics and adaptations determine the fate of groups of interacting agents. More

Mitigation of Air Pollution

The Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG) Program explores new options that could deliver cost-effective improvements to development, human health, agricultural production, and biodiversity at the local scale and in the near term, while at the same time yielding positive side-effects in terms of climate change. More

Risk, Policy and Vulnerability

The Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program contributes to transform the way societies manage risks to economic, ecological, and social systems in order to diminish the stresses imposed by global change. More

Transitions to New Technologies

The strategic goal of the Transitions to New Technologies (TNT) Program is to further the understanding of the patterns, dynamics, and constraints of technological change, and its drivers and impacts, particularly in areas key for framing global sustainability conditions. More

Water

Water research at IIASA was given new form and foundation in 2013 with the launch of the flagship program, the Water Futures and Solutions (WFaS) Initiative. This, together with special projects related to agricultural land use in which water provision plays a vital role, was the basis of the Water (WAT) Program's research roster in 2013. More

World Population

The World Population Program (POP) addresses the changing structures of human populations in the context of sustainable development: the changing number of human beings on this planet, with a specific focus on the changing composition by age, gender, level of education, place of residence, and other important human characteristics. More

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Last edited: 10 April 2014

Scientific update

Research programs