• IISD Home
• Our Knowledge
• About IISD
• Media Room
• Publications Centre
• Contact Us
• Site Index

• Measurement and Assessment Home
• Publications
• Our Work

INFASA Partners

The multi-year forum (INFASA) and symposium in Bern are co-chaired by Fritz Haeni (PDF - 58 kb), Swiss College of Agriculture (SHL) and IISD's László Pintér. The organizational partnership blends together several years of international expertise in the development and application of indicator and assessment systems at farm and institutional levels.

• The Swiss College of Agriculture (SHL) is the Swiss centre for agriculture, forestry and dairy technology within the Universities of Applied Sciences. Besides education, it is active in applied research and development as well as providing services in Switzerland and abroad. The research focuses on holistic approaches to optimize agricultural production and to minimize negative ecological impacts. SHL is specialized in “on-farm research” and carries out interdisciplinary projects in which solutions of high practical relevance are developed in collaboration with the stakeholders. Project results and experiences are converted into practical recommendations and decision support tools that can be directly used by the stakeholders in agriculture, forestry and dairy technology.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• The project group RISE (Response-Inducing Sustainability Evaluation), has developed a model to assess the sustainability of farms and, at the same time, identify possibilities for improvement. The holistic sustainability assessment follows a systems approach and identifies strengths (potentials) and weaknesses with regard to sustainability. As a monitoring tool RISE can visualize trends and developments over time on individual farms as well as within regions and samples. RISE was tested and used for the public and private sector by evaluating different farm types in Brazil, Canada, China, India, Lebanon, Switzerland and Ukraine. RISE is adapted and improved on a continuous basis and a complementary methodology to assess the sustainability of entire supply chains is being developed.

• The International Institute for Sustainable Development contributes to sustainable development by advancing policy recommendations on international trade and investment, economic policy, climate change, measurement and assessment, and natural resources management. Through the Internet, we report on international negotiations and share knowledge gained through collaborative projects with global partners, resulting in more rigorous research, capacity building in developing countries and better dialogue between North and South. IISD's vision is better living for all—sustainably; its mission is to champion innovation, enabling societies to live sustainably. IISD is registered as a charitable organization in Canada and has 501(c)(3) status in the United States. IISD receives core operating support from the Government of Canada, provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Environment Canada; and from the Province of Manitoba.

• IISD's Measurement and Assessment program was established in 1994 and has built a reputation as one of the leading centres of excellence in the field. The program carries out substantive theoretical work related to the principles, methods and processes related to sustainability measurement. It also develops and tests innovative measurement tools, including indicators and indices, and also works in the area of material flow analysis. Emerging areas of research are related to the comparative assessment of sustainable development strategies and the role of information in adaptive management. Through the program IISD hosts the secretariat of the Canadian Sustainability Indicators Network and provides additional tools to strengthen the sustainability measurement and assessment community internationally.

Web Master - Copyright © 2008 International Institute for Sustainable Development