As set forth in its statutes, the primary objectives of IASPEI fall into three categories:
Promotion of the scientific study of problems related to earthquakes and other seismic sources, the propagation of seismic waves, and the Earth's internal structure, properties, and processes.
Initiation and coordination of the conduct of research and of scientific exchanges and discussions that are dependent on cooperation among a number of countries.
Facilitation of research and education in basic and applied seismology, especially in countries that are in the process of working towards full scientific development.
To achieve these objectives, IASPEI has developed an administrative and management structure based on a Bureau consisting of the President, First and Second Vice-Presidents, and the Secretary-General, and an Executive Committee made up of the Bureau and five additional Members. These officers are elected by the delegates of the Member Countries for four-year terms at IASPEI Assemblies held in conjunction with the General Assemblies of IUGG. The Executive Committee determines the policies of IASPEI; the Bureau implements these policies and manages the affairs of the organization.
The scientific work of IASPEI on specific topics is carried out through a number of commissions, subcommissions, committees and working groups. These operational groups are formed to meet the recognized needs of seismology and the physics of the Earth's interior, in particular as new and exciting scientific problems emerge, and are disbanded when their work is completed. Some topics require continuing attention, and the corresponding commissions have a long lifetime. Each commission or other research group is responsible for initiating, coordinating, and reporting on their research programs and progress. Much of the program at the scientific assemblies of IASPEI is formed from symposia and workshops planned and convened by these units.
In addition to its commissions devoted to specific scientific topics, IASPEI also supports commissions and committees to work on general needs of the discipline or to promote research and scientific discourse in specific geographic regions. IASPEI also participates in the work of a number of IUGG Inter-Association Commissions and, through IUGG, with the International Union of Geological Sciences, in the Inter-Union Commission on the Lithosphere (ICL).
Several international organizations and programs that are either independent entities or sponsored by other bodies have also been given commission status in IASPEI. This implies that, although these are not creations of IASPEI, they enjoy the Association's vigorous cooperation and support, similar to that given to its own commissions.
