The International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC) brings together multi-disciplinary researchers, practitioners, and policymakers for the purpose of improving governance and management, advancing understanding, and creating sustainable solutions for commons, common-pool resources, or any other form of shared resource.
The IASC aims to:
- encourage exchange of knowledge among diverse disciplines, areas, and resource types
- foster mutual exchange of scholarship and practical experience
- promote appropriate institutional design
Founding of the IASC
The International Association for the Study of the Commons started off as the Common Property Network in 1984. The Common Property Network was formed to foster discussions on Common Property issues. In 1986, to provide a more productive exchange of information and to disseminate information between scientists in different countries and varied disciplines, the Common Property Network, sponsored by the National Research Council’s Board on Science and Technology for International Development and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, published the Common Property Digest.
In 1989, an ad-hoc group of scholars including political scientists, anthropologists, economists, historians, and natural resource managers founded the association under the name International Association for the Study of Common Property (IASCP). Among the founders was Elinor Ostrom, and she also served as the association’s first president.
Today the IASC and the Ostrom Workshop maintain a close relationship. You can find more about the IASC’s past global conferences below.