The Institute of Social and Economic Research: this research facility, located at the University of Alaska Anchorage, has its he

How important is good information to your business? Whether you are in the public or the private sector, information is a crucial ingredient in good decision-making, and ultimately, in whether you succeed in reaching your goals. Providing Alaskans with timely, insightful information about our state is what the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) has been doing since 1961, when it was established by the Alaska Legislature.

ISER, which is part of the University of Alaska Anchorage, collects and analyzes data on a broad range of issues that affect Alaska's people and economy. What are some recent examples of ISER research Alaskans can use?

* An analysis of soaring health-care spending in Alaska and who's paying for it

* An overview of what Alaskans need to know about the proposed natural gas pipeline

* A description of how aquaculture and globalization are forcing change in Alaska's seafood industry

* Projections of how Alaska's population and employment are likely to grow over the next 20 years

* A statewide forecast of construction activity for 2006

* An analysis of what the Alaska Railroad contributes to the state economy

* A report on changes in health, safety, and education among Alaska's children

* A look at how more reliable electricity saves Anchorage households and businesses money

* An assessment of how much Alaska's economy relies on federal spending

The graphics accompanying this article show examples of findings from some recent ISER research. More than 1,000 ISER reports are all available to the public, either from ISER's offices or on its main Web site, www.iser.uaa. alaska.edu. How can you find out what ISER has studied? A comprehensive, searchable list of all ISER's work, dating back to the 1960s, is on our Web site. We have an online newsletter and a large mailing list. We hold monthly seminars and invite the public. Anyone who'd like to be added to our lists or notified about our seminars can go to our Web site or call us (907-786-7710).

ISER's faculty and staff also try to make sure Alaskans know about and can benefit from their research. They make dozens of presentations a year to public and private groups around the state and sometimes outside the state. They are regularly interviewed by the press and take part in television and radio shows examining Alaska issues. ISER also organizes workshops or forums on topics of importance to Alaskans. Recent examples include the forum ISER held on issues surrounding the proposed Alaska natural gas pipeline and workshops ISER helped organize to examine issues facing the state's salmon fisheries. ISER's faculty and staff also teach both undergraduate and graduate-level courses at UAA.

Where does ISER get the money to do this research? ISER has been very successful in winning grants and contracts, which fund roughly 75 percent of ISER's annual budget. Because so much of our funding is from external sources, ISER is a business center for the university, raising $3 million of its $4 million annual budget. Also, a big share of the money ISER generates is from outside Alaska--which means that ISER brings money into the Alaska economy. In the past decade, for instance, ISER brought nearly $15 million into Alaska in contracts and grants from federal agencies and national foundations.

How does ISER decide what to study? There are always more questions and potential assignments than there are time or staff, and we struggle with decisions about which research projects are the most important to undertake with the resources available. Examples of important topics that are on everyone's lists--including ours--are the natural gas pipeline and health care costs. As mentioned, we produced papers on both topics within the last few months--and held a forum on gas pipeline issues-and we plan to do more.

ISER also has an advisory board to help us identify public policy issues most important to Alaskans and to strengthen our ties to the Alaska community. The board has 15 members, including people from all areas of the state, with very broad experience in private industry, public service and academia. In addition, a number of University of Alaska faculty members from outside ISER have agreed to be ISER affiliates, working with us on various projects. The broad expertise of the affiliates--who range from historians to wildlife biologists--greatly expands ISER's research capacity.

We also believe that working in partnership with community organizations makes our research more useful and accessible to Alaskans. For instance, we are currently working in partnership with Commonwealth North on health care and education issues. Another example is the student researcher who works through ISER, with support from Alaska Business Monthly, doing monthly updates of economic trends among industry sectors. We are always looking for more partnership opportunities so we can continue our record of external funding support and effective community engagement.

Alaska businesses also have come to trust ISER to provide reliable, nonpartisan analysis. For example, the Associated General Contractors of Alaska contracts with ISER to prepare annual construction forecasts. The Alaska Railroad asked ISER to assess the railroad's economic contributions, and Anchorage's municipal electric utility asked us to estimate the economic value of low-cost, reliable electricity.

How can you use ISER's work? First, as mentioned above, by visiting our Web site or getting on our mailing list, to see ISER reports that might be useful to you. Second, by offering suggestions to us about research topics and opportunities that seem to fit our areas of expertise. Third, by participating in community discussions of important public policy questions that will affect our state's future--from the gas pipeline to health-care delivery to fisheries management. We hope the analysis ISER provides will enrich public discussions and improve decisions we Alaskans make.

HOW TO CONTACT ISER:

Web Site: www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu

Phone: 907-786-7710

Fax: 907-786-7739

Office location: 4500 Diplomacy Drive, Diplomacy Building, Fifth Floor

Fran Ulmer became ISER's director in February 2005, bringing with her 30 years of experience in public service at the local, state and national levels. She held elected office for 18 years, first as the mayor of Juneau, then as a state representative, and most recently as lieutenant governor. At the national level, she was a commissioner of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission and also served on advisory committees for the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Elections Commission.

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