The Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Alaska Anchorage has been at the forefront of public policy research in Alaska for half a century. ISER's multidisciplinary staff studies virtually all the major public policy issues Alaska faces. That work helps Alaskans better understand the state's changing economy and population—and the challenges and opportunities that come with change.
All ISER's research is available to the public, and ISER makes sure Alaskans benefit from that research by disseminating publications, presentations, and other products online and in hard copy to government agencies, private businesses, libraries, the press, and individual Alaskans. ISER faculty and staff routinely do presentations to public and private groups around the state, and sometimes in other states or countries. All recent and many older publications are available online. ISER researchers also routinely respond to inquiries from the press and the public.
Besides doing research, ISER faculty teach graduate and undergraduate classes at UAA. Classes taught vary by semester, but include economic research, history of the Alaska economy, environmental economics and policy, public land management, research methods, and communication policies and strategies.
Mission
ISER enhances the well-being of Alaskans and others, through non-partisan research that helps people understand social and economic systems and supports informed public and private decision-making.
ISER carries out its mission by:
Structure and Funding
ISER is an institute within the College of Business and Public Policy at UAA and has a staff of about 35—including faculty, research associates, and support staff. ISER also frequently hosts visiting researchers and employs student interns. It has an average annual budget of about $3 million, about one third of which comes out of the legislature's appropriation for the University of Alaska. ISER faculty and staff raise two-thirds of the budget through grants from and contracts with public and private organizations at the local, state, and national levels.
Logo
ISER adopted its logo from a woodcut Ronald Senungetuk created for ISER in 1975. Senungetuk is an internationally known Alaska Native artist originally from the community of Wales in northwest Alaska. For many years, he was on the faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he headed the art department and founded the Native Art Center. He retired from UAF in 1986 and since has worked as an artist full time. He and his wife Turid, also an artist, live in Homer.
History
The second Alaska Legislature established the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), as part of the University of Alaska, on April 13, 1961. It became the first—and for a number of years, the only—public policy research organization in Alaska. This year, ISER is celebrating 50 years of studying the population and economy of Alaska and helping government, the private sector, and the people of Alaska better understand and deal with change. The twenty-seventh Alaska Legislature recently recognized ISER's contributions to Alaska over the past half century.
ISER's faculty and staff have studied every major public policy issue in Alaska since statehood, from the economic effects of the devastating 1964 earthquake in southcentral Alaska to the huge role oil plays in Alaska's economy today. A critical part of ISER's mission is making sure Alaskans benefits from ISER research—which is all available to the public. ISER research findings are widely disseminated to government agencies, private businesses, libraries, the press, and individual Alaskans. ISER faculty and staff also routinely do presentations to public and private groups around the state—and sometimes in other states and other countries. They also respond to inquiries from the press and the public, as well as teach classes.
ISER was originally part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and in the first years it operated with a full-time staff of two. Now, ISER has a staff of about 35 and for more than 30 years has been at the University of Alaska Anchorage. It is an institute within UAA's College of Business and Public Policy.
The 1961 legislative appropriation for ISER was $5,415. Today ISER has an average annual budget of about $3 million, but only about a third of that comes out of the legislature's appropriation for the University of Alaska. ISER faculty and staff raise two-thirds of the budget through grants from and contracts with a wide range of public and private organizations— at the local, state, and national levels.
