The International Institute Of Systems Analysis

Founded in 1972, IIASA is an international scientific institute that conducts policy-oriented research into problems too large or complex to be solved by a single country or academic discipline, or of common concern to many countries that require national and international cooperative action – such as climate change, energy security, population growth, and sustainable development. Funded by scientific institutions in the Americas, Europe, Asia Oceania and Africa, IIASA is independent and unconstrained by political or national self-interest; it is a not-for-profit, registered association in Austria.

​

IIASA’s Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) programme aims to improve our understanding of ecosystems in today’s changing world. The strategic goal of ESM is supporting policy makers in developing rational, realistic and science-based regional, national and global strategies to produce food, feed, fiber, and bioenergy that sustain ecosystem services, biodiversity and safeguard food security. By using advanced theories of applied systems analysis, new information technologies, integrated biophysical, social and economic modelling techniques, as well as crowdsourcing and citizen science approaches, ESM is charting possible pathways to the future by linking ecosystems, society, policy and governance.

​

ESM consists of four research centres, one of them being the Center for Earth Observations and Citizen Science (EOCS). EOCS’ research on Earth Observations, in collaboration with GEO and national space agencies, devises new approaches and technologies to collect, harmonize, and verify spatial information. At the core of these efforts is the Geo-Wiki platform, which provides citizens with the means to engage in environmental monitoring of the earth by providing feedback on existing information overlaid on satellite imagery or by contributing entirely new data. Data can be input via the traditional desktop platform or mobile devices, with campaigns and games used to incentivize input. We are currently leading one of the H2020 funded Citizen Observatories, LandSense, along with the H2020 coordinating action WeObserve.

​

​

IN FRAMEWORK

​

​

IIASA will lead on overseeing overall WP coordination as well as taking responsibilities for specific tasks. IIASA’s main tasks for IIASA in FRAMEwork include:

• development of the FRAMEwork Information Hub - Online knowledge and action platform;

• leading the activity on farmer-based monitoring, with a focus on;

• leading the task on citizen monitoring campaigns

• leading on networking and exchange with existing CO networks and citizen-based biodiversity monitoring

projects in farmland landscape and

• contributing to the citizen science data interoperability and standards task.