This two-day hybrid event is organized by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) to celebrate IIASA 50th Anniversary.

The conference was opened on 16 November 2022 by H.E. Dr. Martin Polaschek, Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research of the Republic of Austria, and continued on 17 November 2022. It brought together over 550 participants from the community of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. The conference demonstrated how systems analysis can contribute to solving many of today’s global challenges as well as explore the future of this transdisciplinary field.

16.11 & 17.11 IIASA-OeAW Conference in Vienna

Humanity continues to face a multitude of global challenges arising from economic expansion, scientific and technological development. Climate change, biodiversity loss, growing socioeconomic inequities, demographic change, and extreme events such as COVID-19, are already impacting all essential domains that sustain our society. The world is becoming increasingly complex and highly interlinked, which requires identification of more effective ways to govern our common goods, taking advantage of new advanced technologies, models and theories. Putting systems thinking into practice, systems analysis delivers integrated solutions and demonstrates the value of cooperation and multilateral action, thus providing an appropriate framework to address these global challenges.

IIASA builds on fifty years of international and interdisciplinary collaboration and experience in systems analysis and in acting as a trusted platform for science, policy and societal exchange. Its flexible multi-model approach informed by the most detailed available data and stakeholder engagement provides a solid and yet adaptive foundation to support transformation of our society to sustainability.

This conference is embedded in several activities to recognize IIASA contributions over the last 50 years and aims to bring together the community of researchers to showcase the power of systems analysis and to identify new, urgent ways to address pressing global challenges and discuss new frontiers in this context. It covered major advances and open questions in:

  • Understanding complex socio-environmental systems, in particular, arising from the increased computing capabilities and novel ways of analyzing data;
  • Gathering and delivering information in creative ways, e.g., by citizen science, and challenges of open science;
  • Transdisciplinary research to facilitate science-informed decision-making, including policy co-design.

The conference demonstrated how IIASA, today and in the future, builds bridges between science and society, to reduce footprints and enhance resilience of natural and socioeconomic systems.