In 2024, IIASA expanded its global partnerships to drive collaborative research and policy innovation in sustainability, climate action, and systems science through new agreements, joint initiatives, and high-level engagements.
Driving global sustainability: partnerships across Asia, Africa, and Europe
In a significant step toward deepening international cooperation, IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber and IIASA Sherpa for Asia, Wolfgang Lutz, visited China, South Korea, and Vietnam. Their tour began in Peking with high-level meetings at Peking University, Tsinghua University – where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed – and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, further cementing collaboration in global research and education.
IIASA’s expanding global reach continues in Africa through its newest member, the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Member Organization (SSARMO), comprising 17 countries engaged in the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI). A joint webinar explored a range of topics including research co-design, researcher development, and science-policy links to strengthen regional systems analysis capacities.
A major highlight last year was IIASA’s active participation in the SGCI and Global Research Councils Africa Regional Meeting in Botswana, featuring African-led research on AI, sustainability, and policy. Workshops led by IIASA researchers and meetings with national research heads underscored a renewed commitment to collaborative projects on global ecological and sustainability issues. The partnership yielded tangible outcomes, including capacity building through programs like the Young Scientists Summer Program, which has trained dozens of African researchers and is helping launch new initiatives in the region. It also expanded joint research on climate adaptation, water security, and food systems modeling, and supported knowledge-sharing platforms to deepen data insights and inform policy in sub-Saharan Africa.
Europe hosted the Sustainability Research and Innovation (SRI) Congress for the first time in 2024, with IIASA playing an active role in the landmark event held in Helsinki and Espoo, Finland. IIASA contributed through co-designed sessions with its Finnish Member Organization and global partners, and participated in the stakeholder and engagement committee to advance inclusive, transformative sustainability solutions.
Advancing economic forecasting in South Korea through agent-based modeling collaboration
IIASA collaborated with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in South Korea to host an international workshop aimed at promoting Agent-based Modeling (ABM) as a tool for economic projections. The event, which brought together experts from various organizations including several Korean universities, focused on using ABM, AI-driven approaches, and complex systems science to develop data-informed national policy solutions. IIASA researcher Sebastian Poledna delivered a keynote speech on the Institute’s innovative macro-ABM, which simulates interactions between households, businesses, and governments. The workshop showcased ABM’s potential to forecast economic trends, guide fiscal policy, and generate valuable insights for data-informed decision-making.
New initiative boosts nature-based climate solutions in Southeast Asia
A strategic partnership is underway to overcome key data challenges in implementing nature-based climate solutions (NCS) across Southeast Asia. The IIASA Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program launched the EPISTEM initiative in collaboration with the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry and the World Resources Institute Indonesia. EPISTEM, short for, Evolving Participatory Information System for Nature-based Climate Solutions, provides an open, scalable repository of high-quality land use and land cover datasets, alongside adaptive, open-source classification tools tailored to diverse thematic needs. This will empower planners, funders, and implementers to better protect, manage, and restore ecosystems for carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and ecosystem service recovery. The initiative is backed by the SCeNe Coalition, a network of leading NGOs committed to advancing nature-positive outcomes in the region.
IIASA and OECD strengthen strategic partnership for systemic climate action
IIASA has deepened its collaboration with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) through their newly constituted strategic partnership on systems approaches. At its inaugural meeting last year, IIASA Economic Frontiers Program Director Michael Kuhn represented the Institute and also spoke at the New Approaches to Economic Challenges (NAEC) Seminar on climate change and economic resilience. The partnership brings together leading institutions, including the London School of Economics’ Grantham Research Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature, to co-develop integrated, systems-based solutions for climate risks. The goal is to drive coordinated, international action that enhances economic and environmental resilience through innovative, science-informed policy.
IIASA and German Environment Agency scale up integrated assessment modeling
The German Environment Agency (UBA) is adopting the IIASA MESSAGEix framework to enhance its integrated assessment modeling capabilities. In 2024, a new partnership was formalized with a Memorandum of Understanding signed by representatives from UBA and IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber. MESSAGEix supports analysis of energy systems and their interactions with society, economy, and the environment. Through this collaboration, UBA will build independent modeling capacity, with IIASA providing technical and research support. The partnership aims to make sustainability modeling more transparent, accessible, and policy-relevant.
Strengthening policy links between climate, demography, and security
Last year, IIASA deepened its engagement with European institutions through two strategic agreements. A new collaboration with the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission aims to advance demographic research, focusing on labor market gaps and climate vulnerability, while ensuring that findings directly inform EU policy. Additionally, IIASA signed an Implementing Partner Agreement with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). This partnership will enhance understanding of the links between climate change, human mobility, and security in South-Eastern Europe. Both agreements reinforce IIASA’s commitment to providing science-based insights for policymaking at the regional and continental levels.