Our research has global influence, shaping scholarship that addresses timely and complex issues across our subject areas. Our faculty author leading textbooks and prominent articles, forging new interdisciplinary connections around the world. We also bring leading experts to campus to join our acclaimed faculty.
Research with a global perspective
Advance knowledge, serve the greater good
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We’re grateful for the multiple sources that fund our work, including the World Bank, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts—and individual donors, like you.
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The Ostrom legacy
Nobel Laureate, 1933–2012
Elinor Ostrom received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences—the first woman to be so honored. Her groundbreaking research demonstrated that ordinary people are capable of creating rules and institutions that allow for the sustainable and equitable management of shared resources.
At Indiana University, Ostrom served as a professor in the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, senior research director of the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, and Distinguished Professor and Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Today, her ideas continue to shape research, teaching, and policy making around the world, influencing how communities and governments address complex challenges involving shared resources and collective action.