The Public Policy Center (PPC) is an interdisciplinary research center in the Office of the Vice President for Research. They support a large intramural research program and a university-wide research development program, emphasizing, but not limited to, the social sciences. PPC researchers investigate some of the most important problems facing society at the local and national level. The PPC shares the resources and expertise of the University of Iowa with policymakers and the public through our engagement activities. Student involvement and training in research is emphasized, as is the development and support of interdisciplinary research across all Colleges.
The PPC's core mission is to provide policymakers and the public with information to make our lives and communities thrive in sustainable ways through academic research.
Four objectives support this mission:
Iowa Social Science Research Center
Started in August 2006, the Iowa Social Science Research Center (ISRC) is an interdisciplinary institution dedicated to furthering social science research and practice across the university, and developing ways to connect that research to the broader community. The Center brings together top faculty from departments as diverse as Political Science, Sociology, Economics, Journalism and Mass Communication, and Statistics and Actuarial Science in an interdisciplinary setting to provide a resource for addressing common theoretical and methodological problems. These disciplines share many of the same questions and methodologies. Scientific foundations, public agencies and private businesses increasingly use modern social science research methods, such as public opinion surveys, social experiments, and electronic data-gathering and archiving to gather information and pursue their goals. The ISRC enhances the ability of students and faculty affiliated with the Center to develop new social science methodologies and conduct new and exciting research on a variety of policy-relevant topics that affect Iowa and the world. More importantly, the ISRC is a vehicle for disseminating this knowledge to students and constituents in the larger community.
The Iowa Social Science Research Center is a collaborative effort on behalf of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) and Office of The Vice President for Research through the Public Policy Center. You may learn more about the ISRC here.
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