The International Science Council (ISC) is an
international non-governmental organization
An international non-governmental organization (INGO) is an organization which is independent of government involvement and extends the concept of a non-governmental organization (NGO) to an international scope. INGOs can admit members affiliated t ...
that unites scientific bodies at various levels across the social and natural sciences.
The ISC was formed with its inaugural general assembly on 4 July 2018 by the merger of the former
International Council for Science
The International Council for Science (ICSU, after its former name, International Council of Scientific Unions) was an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the advancement of science. Its members ...
(ICSU) and the
International Social Science Council
The International Social Science Council (ISSC) was an international non-governmental organization promoting the social sciences, including the economic and behavioural sciences. Founded in 1952, the organization was based out of UNESCO headquar ...
(ISSC), making it one of the largest organisations of this type.
Daya Reddy,
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
, served (2018–2021) as the ISC's inaugural President. Sir
Peter Gluckman,
pediatrician
Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...
, biomedical scientist, and science-policy expert, was elected President in October 2021. Other ISC's inaugural Officers elected for the term of 2018–2021 were Elisa Reis (Vice President), Jinghai Li (Vice President), Renée van Kessel (Treasurer), and
Alik Ismail-Zadeh (Secretary). Until February 2022,
Heide Hackmann served as the Council's
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
. In 2023, Salvatore Aricò was elected
Chief Executive Officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
.
Activities
The Council convenes and mobilizes the international
scientific community
The scientific community is a diverse network of interacting scientists. It includes many "working group, sub-communities" working on particular scientific fields, and within particular institutions; interdisciplinary and cross-institutional acti ...
on issues of major scientific and public importance. Activities focus on three areas of work:
* Stimulating and supporting international scientific research and scholarship, and communicating science that is relevant to international policy issues;
* Promoting the ability of science to contribute to major issues;
* Defending the free and responsible practice of science.
The Council is involved in co-sponsorship of a number of international research programmes, networks and committees.
The Council awards the
Stein Rokkan Prize for Comparative Social Science Research
Stein may refer to:
Places Austria
* Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Austria
* Stein, Styria, a municipality in the district of Fürstenfeld, Styria
* Stein (Lassing), a village in the district of Liezen, Styria
* Stein ...
.
The Council's present activities are guided by the Action Plan 2022-2024: Science and Society in Transition. At the heart of the Action Plan is a selection of projects and programmes that are relevant to all scientific fields and all parts of the world.
Structure
The Council is governed by its Governing Board and is advised by a number of advisory bodies in thematic areas such as space, polar, climatic, and data research. It is headquartered in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
with a regional office in
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
. The Officers of the Governing Board are currently
Peter Gluckman (President),
Motoko Kotani (President-elect),
Anne Husebekk (Vice-President for Freedom and Responsibility in Science),
Salim Abdool Karim (Vice-President for Outreach and Engagement), and
Sawako Shirahase (Vice-President for Finance of the Council).
The ISC's next assembly is scheduled to be held in
Muscat
Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...
in 2025.
Members
In 2020, the International Science Council has 135 member
organizations
An organization or organisation ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is an entity—such as a company, or corporation or an institution (formal organization), or an association—comprising one or more people and having a par ...
, 40 member unions and associations, and 30 affiliated members.
Member unions and associations
National members
Transnational members
*
Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS)
*
Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC)
*
Caribbean Academy of Sciences
*
Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales (CLACSO)
*
(CODESRIA)
*
Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO)
*
Union Académique Internationale
The Union Académique Internationale (UAI)—in English, International Union of Academies—is a federation of many national academies and international academies from more than 60 countries all over the world which works in the field of Humaniti ...
(UAI)
*
Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA)
*
University of the South Pacific
The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...
Affiliated members
*
Academy of Social Sciences
The Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS) is a representative body for social sciences in the United Kingdom. The academy promotes social science through its sponsorship of the Campaign for Social Science, its links with Government on a variety of m ...
(ACSS)
*
African Academy of Sciences (AAS)
*
Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA)
*
Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC)
*
European Association of Development and Training Institutes (EADI)
*
European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR)
* (FIG)
*
Global Young Academy
The Global Young Academy (GYA) is an international society of young scientists, aiming to give a voice to young scientists across the globe....
Membership strength is capped at 200, and the membership tenure is 5 years.
Organization and member ...
(GYA)
*
International Arctic Science Committee
The International Arctic Science Committee (IASC)is a non-governmental, international scientific organization. IASC was founded in 1990 by representatives of national scientific organizations of the eight Arctic countries - Canada, Denmark, Finla ...
(IASC)
*
(IAHR)
*
International Association of Applied Psychology
The International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) was created in 1919 by Édouard Claparède under the name of International Association of Psychotechnics (Association Internationale de Psychotechnique) and the secretary general was Jean ...
(IAAP)
*
International Commission for Acoustics The purpose of the International Commission for Acoustics (ICA) is to promote international development and collaboration in all fields of acoustics including research, development, education, and standardisation.
The ICA is a Scientific Associate ...
(ICA)
*
International Commission for Optics
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
(ICO)
*
International Commission on Illumination
The International Commission on Illumination (usually abbreviated CIE for its French name Commission internationale de l'éclairage) is the international authority on light, illumination, colour, and colour spaces. It was established in 1913 a ...
(CIE)
*
International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS)
*
International Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI)
*
International Federation for Information Processing
The International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) is a global organisation for researchers and professionals working in the field of computing to conduct research, develop standards and promote information sharing.
Established in 19 ...
(IFIP)
*
International Federation of Data Organizations for Social Science (IFDO)
*
(IFLA)
*
International Foundation for Science (IFS)
*
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an independent International research institute located in Laxenburg, near Vienna in Austria, founded as an East-West scientific cooperation initiative during the Cold War. Th ...
(IIASA)
*
International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE)
*
International Society for Porous Media (InterPore)
*
International Studies Association
The International Studies Association (ISA) is a US-based professional association for scholars and practitioners in the field of International relations, international studies. Founded in 1959, ISA has been headquartered at the University of Con ...
(ISA)
*
International Union for Vacuum Science, Technique and Applications (IUVSTA)
*
International Water Association
The International Water Association (IWA) is a self-governing nonprofit organization and knowledge hub for the water sector, connecting water professionals and company, companies to find solutions to the world's water challenges. It has Employme ...
(IWA)
*
Pacific Science Association
The Pacific Science Association (PSA) is a regional, non-governmental, scholarly organization that seeks to advance science and technology in support of sustainable development in the Pacific Rim. It was founded in 1920 and its secretariat is bas ...
(PSA)
*
Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE)
*
Social Science Research Council
The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is a US-based, independent, international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines. Established in Manhattan in 1923, it maintains a headqua ...
(SSRC)
*
The World Academy of Sciences
The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS) is a North–south research partnerships, merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting more than 1,400 scientists in some 1 ...
(TWAS)
*
Transnational Institute
The Transnational Institute (TNI), is an international non-profit research and advocacy think tank that was founded in 1974 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. According to their website, the organization promotes a "... just, democratic and sustainable w ...
(TNI)
GeoUnions
A subset of ISC dealing with Earth and space sciences forms the ''GeoUnions'' network:
*
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
*
International Cartographic Association
The International Cartographic Association (ICA) (, ''ACI'') is an organization formed of national member organizations, to provide a forum for issues and techniques in cartography and geographic information science (GIScience). ICA was founde ...
*
International Geographical Union
The International Geographical Union (IGU; , UGI) is an international geographical society. The first International Geographical Congress was held in Antwerp in 1871. Subsequent meetings led to the establishment of the permanent organization i ...
*
International Union of Quaternary Research
*
International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
The International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) is an international non-governmental organization that enhances international cooperation between the worldwide organizations with interests in the photogrammetry, remote sen ...
*
International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics
The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG; , UGGI) is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the scientific study of Earth and its space environment using geophysical and geodetic techniques.
The IUGG is a me ...
*
International Union of Geological Sciences
The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) is an international non-governmental organization devoted to global cooperation in the field of geology. As of 2023, it represents more than 1 million geoscientists around the world.
About
Fo ...
*
International Union of Speleology
International Union of Speleology (, UIS) is a scientific non-governmental organization dedicated to the international promotion and coordination of cave and karst research. Founded in 1965, UIS is a member of the International Science Council in ...
*
International Union of Soil Sciences
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
*
International Union of Radio Sciences
The ISC GeoUnions partially overlap with the
UN-GGIM Geospatial Societies.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
International Science Council
International organizations based in France
Organizations based in Paris
Scientific organizations based in France
Scientific organizations established in 2018