ISSI sponsors scientific interactions and collaborative research through a range of tools directed at both groups of researchers and individual scientists:
International Teams carry out research projects that lead to publications in scientific journals. They consist of 8–15 members and receive ISSI support to organise two to three 1-week meetings over a 18–24 month period. About 30 new International Teams are approved by ISSI each year, in response to the annual call for Team proposals.
Workshops involve up to 45 scientists for an exchange of views and synthesis of the community’s understanding regarding key research topics of broader significance. ISSI hosts four to five multi- and interdisciplinary Workshops per year, each lasting one week. Workshop participants work together to produce an on-line collection of peer-reviewed articles on the topic of the Workshop, which is also released as a volume of the Space Science Series of ISSI (SSSI).
Breakthrough Workshops are designed to address key questions in science, by gathering the main experts on the topic, invite them to spend a week in a neutral and welcoming environment, discuss the issue, and produce one high visibility, high impact, open access peer-reviewed paper stating the current community consensus on the topic in question, including what there is agreement on, and where there is not, to be submitted within three months from the completion of the Workshop. Breakthrough Workshops have a format that is slightly different from traditional workshops, as there are no lengthy talks, but plenty of time for moderated discussions and collaborative paper writing, hackathon style. Participation at this Breakthrough Workshop is by invitation only. The number of participants to a Breakthrough Workshop is capped at ~45 scientists, including a number of Early Career Scientists. ISSI typically organises one Breakthrough Workshop per year.
Working Groups consist of 5–15 researchers and are set up to develop the means for doing science, typically addressing tasks of an applied or technical nature. Working Groups receive ISSI support to organise a couple of meetings over a roughly 2-year period, with results generally documented as a volume in the ISSI Scientific Report Series (SR). ISSI approves around 3–5 new Working Groups each year.
Forums are informal and free-ranging debates among some 15–20 participants on open questions of a scientific nature or on science policy matters. Forums need not produce formal recommendations or decisions, but outcomes are often captured as white papers, roadmaps or journal publications. ISSI hosts a handful of Forums per year, each lasting 2–3 days.
Visiting Scientists receive office space and financial support to spend between two weeks and two months at ISSI to pursue research or perform scientific tasks in collaboration with ISSI staff, visitors or researchers at nearby institutions. Applications can be submitted four times a year (March 1, June 1, September 1, December 1). They are evaluated by the ISSI directorate with a short turn-around.
The Johannes Geiss Fellowship was established to attract to ISSI international scientists of stature for extended stays of up to 6 months duration. The Fellows will make demonstrable contributions to the ISSI mission and increase ISSI’s recognition through their presence. In doing so they honour ISSI’s founding director Johannes Geiss for his wide-ranging contributions to space science in general, and to ISSI in particular.
Additionally, ISSI has dedicated funding to support the involvement of Early-Career Researchers in all its activities. This enables Early-Career Researchers to build international collaborative networks and contribute to multidisciplinary research.
