ASA advances systems analysis as a meta-level approach to understand and govern complex socio-environmental systems. The overall objective is to increase realism, relevance, and agility of systems analysis. How?
By harvesting new opportunities provided, in particular, by 
•	New sources of data and methods to convert data into knowledge
•	Novel modelling approaches and underlying theories enabled by increased computational capabilities  
•	Innovation through transfer of methods across disciplines and expansion of system boundaries 
•	Continuous horizon scanning to identify novel matches between methodologies and applications across all thematic areas of IIASA 
•	Enhanced transdisciplinary research