International Union for the Scientific Study of Population

Mission

The IUSSP mission is to promote the scientific study of population, encourage exchange between researchers around the globe, and stimulate interest in population issues. To further its mission, the IUSSP: - organizes seminars and workshops to further scientific knowledge; - organizes training and distance-learning activities to improve the research capacity; - organizes the International Population Conference every four years to bring together the world specialists in the field; - publishes outcomes of its scientific activities in a variety of publications, aimed at a scientific audience, policy makers or for the general public; - maintains a website, to help its members collaborate in a variety of ways and to provide population information for a general audience.

The scientific programme of the Union is carried out mainly by its Scientific Panels, which are each responsible for a programme of work. These panels are established by the IUSSP Council to address an emerging or critical population issue or to develop and improve training and research in the population field. They consist of a small international group of high level experts. To allow for flexibility and innovation, Scientific Panels are set up for a limited period of time. Depending on the subject matter, context and organizational considerations, the working methods of IUSSP Scientific Panels may vary: these include organizing seminars, cyber-seminars, expert meetings or training workshops, developing training materials and other useful tools for population scientists, and authoring policy papers on critical population issues. Increasingly, activities and tools are internet-based as this allows a larger number of members to participate in and benefit from these activities.