ASA Program aims to discover, develop, and deploy new, more effective, and efficient ways of infusing systems science into policy and decision making for sustainable development.
Despite numerous success stories, many policies and decisions that currently aim to deal with global change are not sufficiently informed by cutting-edge science. Among the major barriers that prevent the effective input of science into policy are perceived shortfalls in agility, realism, and relevance of the current generation of methods and models from the standpoint of end users. To address these barriers, ASA strives to advance agile, realistic, and relevant systems analytical tools and methods, and facilitate a shared understanding of the capabilities and limits of these tools and methods with end users. Consequently, ASA’s efforts span the full range, from advancing research methods and tools of systems analysis to innovating at the interface between policy- and decision making, as well as with society at large.
ASA Program’s major objectives are:
- To innovate approaches and tools to analyze increasingly systemic, social-ecological risks and support decisions aimed at enhancing resilience and facilitating sustainability transitions and transformations.
- To further the capacity of agile, on-demand systems analysis underpinned by a suite of modeling frameworks of appropriate complexity.
- To mobilize multiple sources of data and the power of data science to diagnose and identify solutions to reduce vulnerabilities and risks.
- To advance feasible and effective ways of engagement with policymakers, the private sector, and citizens.
- To enhance trust and shared understanding of systems analysis methods and tools, in particular, through open science.
Projects
Open-Earth-Monitor Cyberinfrastructure (OEMC)
Transformations within Reach (TwR-II)
Staff
Vanessa Boas-Moser
Project Officer (NODES)
Thomas Gasser
Senior Research Scholar (EM, IACC)
Darina Zlatanova
Program and Project Officer (ASA, CAT)
Rotem Zelingher
IIASA-Israel Program Postdoctoral Research Fellow (ASA, EM, CDAT)
News
02 April 2024
CROPS: a new EU-funded project to grow citizen science in Europe
In February 2024, a new EU-funded project kicked off. CROPS – short for curating, replicating, orchestrating, and propagating citizen science across Europe – is a three-year project that brings together six partners from six different countries to develop and demonstrate a modern, inclusive mechanism to support the upscaling of citizen science activities in Europe and beyond.
27 March 2024
Rising waters and sinking communities: exploring the scope for transformation and resilience in riverine Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, annual flooding affects millions of people, particularly those in rural riverine communities. These communities have developed resilience strategies over generations to cope with flooding and erosion, but with increasing hazards and land pressures, the effectiveness of these strategies is uncertain. A recent study evaluated the resilience of 35 such communities in the country.
28 February 2024
A reliable food supply in West Africa requires smarter planning for low-yield events
Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) aims to create a world free of hunger. Africa is not making enough progress towards achieving this target with about 20% of the population experiencing ongoing hunger. In a new study, IIASA researchers developed a model to demonstrate how the reliability of food supply in West Africa can be enhanced in a cost-effective way by accounting for low-yield events.
Events
Vienna, Austria and online
NODES presenting at EGU 2024
Vienna, Austria
European Citizen Science Association ECSA 2024 Conference
Focus
11 April 2024
Breaking boundaries through citizen science
The way we do science has come a long way—from having only experts work on scientific projects, to where many projects now also include members of the public as participants. This change is thanks to citizen science, which creates opportunities for science to be taken to the next level.
20 March 2024
From Earth Observation data to policy impact
Despite advancements in data collection and analysis, bridging the gap between Earth Observation products and policy implementation remains a critical challenge. The upcoming Open-Earth-Monitor Global Workshop 2024 provides an ideal platform to explore the pivotal role of Earth Observation in shaping policies and contribute insights to achieving a sustainable future.
Publications
Feichtinger, G. & Wrzaczek, S. (2024). The optimal momentum of population growth and decline. Theoretical Population Biology 155 51-66. 10.1016/j.tpb.2023.12.002. Zelingher, R. & Makowski, D. (2024). Investigating and forecasting the impact of crop production shocks on global commodity prices. Environmental Research Letters 19 (1) e014026. 10.1088/1748-9326/ad0dda. Belfiori, E. & Rezai, A. (2024). Implicit carbon prices: Making do with the taxes we have. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 125 e102950. 10.1016/j.jeem.2024.102950. Hochrainer-Stigler, S., Bachner, G., Knittel, N., Poledna, S., Reiter, K., & Bosello, F. (2024). Risk management against indirect risks from disasters: A multi-model and participatory governance framework applied to flood risk in Austria. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 106 e104425. 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104425.