The ISN is a leader in the international relations and security community as a provider of comprehensive, balanced, and timely information. The ISN’s internet-based services allow users to access, retrieve, and use information – tailored to their individual needs and interests – from anywhere, at any time.

The ISN’s mission is to promote global security and cooperation by collecting, managing, and sharing specialized information and e-learning products and services for the international relations and security community. The ISN achieves this through the use of information and communication technology.

The ISN’s goals are:

- To create a global network based on the expertise of academic institutes, research centers, think tanks, media organizations, the private sector, and government and non-governmental agencies.
- To provide a series of high-quality online services through which resources for the international relations and security community are collected, managed, and shared.
- To position itself as a platform through which the international relations and security community can cooperate.
- To satisfy broad public and private demand for information in the fields of international relations and security.

SIAW is a research institute at the University of St. Gallen that conducts research and consulting on relevant issues of economic policy. Economic policy advice must be based on thorough empirical research and a deep understanding of the process of policy making. Work at the institute is directed toward developing the methodological basis for policy advice, leading to policy recommendations in selected areas.

CETIM pursues research and offers publications devoted to North-South relations, steadfastly focusing on human rights and participating actively in related UN work. Through its books, interventions, and other activities, CETIM aims to highlight international, national, and regional mechanisms that promote or hinder economic, social, civil, political, and cultural development in the North as well as in the South; shed new light on the responsibility of countries in the North for the problems faced by many Southern countries; transmit the voices of groups, both in the South and the North, that are struggling for their independence and dignity, for a definition or improvement in their living and working standards; and propose alternatives to this North-dominated system. CETIM has a general category consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

CASIN aims at (1) training government, business, and civil leaders in governance, diplomacy, etc.; (2) problem solving and facilitation through dialogue in such areas as national and international governance, sustainable development, and international trade and globalization; and (3) research and coaching to assist policymakers, negotiators, and senior managers in their search for policy options to improve both the government and governance of national societies and international systems. CASIN strives to develop new approaches to governance, such as identifying long-term implications and grasping increasingly complex issues, perceiving and understanding the points of view of other parties, and developing innovative policies and strategies. CASIN seeks to sharpen negotiators interactive and problem-solving skills as well as broaden their comprehension of the global environment and the increasingly complex and interrelated issues within the international agenda. CASIN organizes professional programs, issue and policy dialogues, informal negotiation sessions, and conflict management-related activities and undertakes studies and applied research under four thematic programs: governance (negotiation, conflict management, and diplomacy), management of interdependence, management of global commons, and NGOs and civil society.