A history of the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) in Vienna based on its key figures

The IHS was established in Austria with funds from an American foundation. With the intention to introduce modern empirical social and economic sciences to Austria (and Central Europe). After initial resistance, the institute was embraced by national political elites: in addition to providing postgraduate education for emerging scholars, it also functioned as a scientific think tank conducting applied, policy-relevant empirical research. This text provides a narrative account of the Institute's development and transformation, relying on specific metrics systematically evaluated from accessible sources, particularly annual budgets and staff composition. It portrays an organization consistently challenged by diverse expectations and grappling with the organizational and strategic limitations of deriving concrete objectives from this.