Bloomington, IN, USA

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IFRI-USA encompasses researchers affiliated with the Center for the Study of Institutions, Population, and Environmental Change (CIPEC) and the Workshop for Political Theory and Policy Analysis (the Workshop), both at Indiana University, and individual scholars at the University of Michigan and the University of California at San Diego. CIPEC is the institutional base for IFRI-USA.

IFRI-USA coordinates the IFRI network, manages and maintains the global IFRI database, offers an annual training course in IFRI methods, and conducts IFRI research. These activities have been supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. At this CRC , Elinor Ostrom acts as Coordinator of IFRI activities. Other key personnel include Julie England, database programmer; Robin Humphrey, database manager; Krister Andersson, IFRI research coordinator; Arun Agrawal, Coordinator for Asia; Clark Gibson, Coordinator for Africa; and Catherine Tucker, Coordinator for Latin America.

Research Questions

IFRI scholars based in the US seek a better understanding of the variable success that communities achieve in managing forest resources in a sustainable manner. Forest management depends upon collective action at the local level, the accessibility of forest resources, cognitive processes that influence decision-making (e.g., perceived values, understanding of complex processes, experience), demand for forest resources from demographic and market pressures, and policies and institutions at the regional and national levels. Particular projects address each of these dimensions.

Research Activities

IFRI-USA has eight core sites: five in southern Indiana, one in Honduras, and two in Mexico. Participants in the IFRI training course conduct studies of the five sites in southern Indiana on a five-year cycle. Students produce site reports that are delivered to community members. CIPEC research teams conduct studies of the sites in Honduras and Mexico on a five- to six-year interval.

Outreach Activities

CIPEC and the Workshop offer an annual course in IFRI methods for members of IFRI CRCs and graduate students. This intensive nine-week course introduces participants to IFRI's theoretical foundations and research instruments, principles of research design, methods of data collection and analysis, and report writing. Indiana University graduate students also have opportunities to participate in summer research at one of the CIPEC sites in Meso-America or in collaboration with CRCs in other countries. A grant from the Ford Foundation has supported summer internships for graduate students to work with CRCs in East Africa. In addition, graduate students who have taken the IFRI course in research methods may use IFRI methods in their dissertation research.

Collaboration

CIPEC and the Workshop maintain a listserv and website that provide information about funding opportunities, useful literature, and conferences and workshops related to forestry. Indiana University supports IFRI scholars from other CRCs by granting access to electronic databases and providing opportunities for research and writing visits. US-based scholars assist network members by reviewing working papers and research proposals, both via e-mail and in person. Further efforts to facilitate communication among Collaborating Research Centers (CRCs) involve putting people working on similar issues in contact with each other and assisting with the planning of biennial meetings of the network.

The IFRI CRCs enter data in a database at their home institutions and regularly deposit data in a common IFRI database. CIPEC manages that common database and develops and disseminates upgrades to the database and IFRI application. CIPEC also produces and distributes field and database manuals. These manuals provide instructions for use of IFRI research instruments, data entry, and database management.