Institute of Social and Economic Research

Researchers	Project Name	Funding Agency
Diane Hirshberg	Looking for recent graduates of Mt. Edgecumbe. Click here for more information on this study.

Jack Kruse	SEARCH: Study of Environmental Arctic Change	National Science Foundation
Description:	Researchers will study how socioeconomic systems respond to rapid environmental change and how local response interacts with broad forces of development and government policies to affect the well-being of Arctic residents.

Scott Goldsmith	Rural Development Performance Measures	First Alaskans Institute
Description:	Designed a set of measures, linking economic growth to poverty reduction, intended to provide a tool that may be used to evaluate the effectiveness of economic development programs in reducing poverty in rural Alaskan communities.

Matt Berman, Lee Husky	Migration in the Arctic	National Science Foundation
Description:	The central research objective of this proposal is to develop a better understanding of the migration of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic. Check out the project web site.

Matt Berman, Lee Husky	Understanding Migration in the Circumpolar North	National Science Foundation
Description:	Researchers goal is to develop a better understanding of migration in the Circumpolar North taking a comparative approach, describing similarities and differences across countries and regions. Check out the project web site.

Lee Huskey, Lance Howe, Matthew Berman	Migration in the Arctic	National Science Foundation
Description:	Researchers will study the migration of Arctic indigenous people between rural communities, larger regional centers, and urban areas to enhance understanding of rural-urban migration patterns thus helping governments, Native organizationans, and others to predict effects of economic development, education, and infrastructure policies and to address community needs.

Sharman Haley	*Viable Business Enterprises for Rural Alaska (ViBEs)*	National Science FoundatioU.S. Dept Agriculture Rural Development Alaska
Description:	Researchers will try to determine what types of small business enterprises might be viable in different sizes and types of rural Alaska communities. Researchers also seek to provide planning materials for would-be entrepreneurs and economic development assistance organizations.

Sharman Haley	Changes in Childbirth Practices	National Science Foundation
Description:	Researchers will study childbirth practices as an element in the Inupiat Eskimo societies of Kotzebue's surrounding villages, which have changed from traditional community-based practices to participation in a more westernized medical model of childbirth over time.

Steve Colt	Understanding Alaska: Finances of Native Corporations	UA Foundation
Description:	An assessment of how Alaska Native corporations formed under ANCSA are doing financially and how they contribute to the economy.

Lance Howe	Understanding Alaska: Alaska Rural Settlement Patterns	UA Foundation
Description:	Assessing changes in rural settlement patterns, which are important indicators of economic change.

Steve Colt	Telemaintenance for Rural Utilities	ATT Foundation
Description:	This study is assessing whether it’s feasible to use telecommunications to reduce high rural utility costs, by helping local operators diagnose problems and avoid the costs of flying in people and equipment.

Steve Colt	Integrated Village Energy Systems	University of Alaska Fairbanks/Institute for Northern Engineering/Arctic Energy Office (U.S. Dept. of Energy)
Description:	Collaborated with the Institute of the North to analyze past development project proposals and to develop plans for integrated village energy systems through review and documentation of historical data on energy demand in rural Alaska.

Sharman Haley	*Evaluation of ViP Initiative*	*Alaska Native Health Consortium*
Description:	Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium is implementing health aide programs in rural AK to improve access to primary health services, lower health costs, and improve health outcomes in rural communities in behavioral and dental health and elder care. ISER will develop a template to assess clinical/economic impacts of these programs.