START, in partnership with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), is sponsoring the Advanced Institute on Vulnerability to Global Environmental Change through a grant from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation. The Advanced Institute is to have three components: a three-week long Seminar to be held 3-21 May 2004 at IIASA in Laxenburg, Austria; one-year research grants for successful Institute Fellows; and a culminating workshop that will follow completion of the research.

In December 2003, twenty Institute Fellows from developing countries were selected for participation in the Institute from a pool of 160 competitive applications. Applications for the Institute are no longer being accepted. During the Seminar, Institute Fellows will examine the theoretical foundations and methods of vulnerability analysis, evaluate and derive lessons from case studies, and learn selected analytic tools with the objective of building a base of knowledge and skills from which to conduct research on vulnerability. Home institution mentors and Institute mentors will assist the Fellows to elaborate and refine a research pre-proposal submitted as part of his/her application to the Advanced Institute. Institute Fellows who successfully complete the Seminar and who prepare a high quality research proposal will be eligible to receive a 1-year research grant to carry out their proposed research. During the year of research, mentors will provide guidance to the Institute Fellows and a list-serve will be established to facilitate communication among Institute Fellows about their research. A culminating workshop will be held approximately 18 months following the Seminar at which Institute Fellows will present their results and discuss their research experiences. Click here for more detailed information.

A brief announcement of the Institute can also be found at the IIASA Risk, Modeling and Society website: http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/RMS/start/?sb=12/