Drivers of Global Transformations

Population, technology, and economic growth are the main drivers of global transformations. IIASA research cuts across disciplines to explore these factors from an integrated perspective. 

There are three key drivers of the profound changes taking place in the world today: population, technology, and economic growth.

People are the agents of change; technology is the toolbox that they use; and together they produce economic growth which, as seen in the recent rapid growth in the emerging economies, can radically change the global economic and strategic landscapes. 

Pathways toward sustainable development can be secured only if likely future trends in the drivers, their constraints, and their opportunities, are taken into account. The drivers therefore play a key role in systems analytical research at IIASA. Together with their interactions, they are integrated into the research into the three global problem areas:  energy and climate change, food and water, and poverty and equity.

World Population Program: Research Overview & Aims

Population research at IIASA helps to address the challenges of global change by providing global population projections based on cutting-edge research with extensive global networking and science-policy dialog into the quantitative aspects of human population. More

Transitions to New Technologies

The strategic goal of the Transition to New Technologies (TNT) Program is to further the understanding of the patterns, drivers, constraints and impacts of technological change, particularly in the areas that are key for framing global sustainability conditions (such as climate change) and to disseminate policy-relevant research findings through high-level global forums and participation in major international scientific assessments. More


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Advanced Systems Analysis

The Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program contributes the following projects to the Drivers of Global Transformations Research Area: Global Economic Growth and Optimization; Assessment of Resource Productivity; Drivers of Extreme Events; and Prospects of Socio-Economic Development of Russia and Ukraine in the European Context (ASA). More


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Last edited: 05 April 2016

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
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