What are IUSSP Scientific Groups?

The scientific programme of the Union is carried out mainly by its Scientific Panels, which are each responsible for a programme of work in a specific field. These panels are established by the IUSSP Council to address a scientific issue and to organize two or three meetings to consider research knowledge, data and trends, and policy implications on the topic. They consist of a small group of high level experts with an adequate regional distribution and gender balance.

Seminars, cyberseminars and workshops

Most IUSSP Scientific Panels carry out their programme by organizing seminars and workshops on specific topics, with the aim of providing scientific, state-of-the-art answers to critical population questions. Researchers from different disciplines and from all regions are invited to present papers that address the topic from multiple perspectives. Participants may be invited on the basis of their expertise on a specific topic, but most participants are selected competitively through a call for papers disseminated to IUSSP members and others working in the topic area. Twenty to thirty participants are invited to attend the meeting, present their findings, and participate in the discussion of the papers, both from a scientific perspective and in terms of policy implications.

Most seminars also provide an opportunity for junior researchers and local policy-makers to attend as observers and occasionally participate in a training component. The three-four day duration of these seminars and the limited number of participants encourage intensive discussion on the research topic. These contacts continue long after the seminars have ended and often lead to long-term research collaboration between researchers from different countries and regions, reinforcing international research networks.

Some panels, such as the Population-Environment Research Network operate almost exclusively through the Internet, by organizing cyberseminars in which an average of 450 members participate, from all over the world.

Outputs

For each seminar and workshop, a report is written and made available to the general public on the webpage of the panel. Papers discussed at the seminar are available shortly after the meeting on the same webpage, but access is restricted to IUSSP members. The best papers are usually published in a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal or in a volume of the IUSSP collection International Studies in Population published by Springer. In addition, the IUSSP strongly encourages the preparation of an IUSSP Policy & Research Paper for each of its seminars or workshops, with a view to highlight policy relevant outcomes and disseminate these to a broader, non-technical audience.

Seminar reports, working papers and Policy & Research Papers can be accessed on the webpages of each Scientific Panel or at the following links:

• Working Papers

• Seminar Reports

• Policy & Research Papers

Past and future activities organized by the IUSSP are listed on the calendar of scientific activities, which is regularly updated.