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ISERP (Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy)
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We work to produce pioneering social science research and to shape public policy by integrating knowledge and methods across the social scientific disciplines. Our fellowship is drawn from faculty of the departments of Anthropology, Economics, History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Statistics, as well as of Barnard College, the Earth Institute, Teachers College, the Mailman School of Public Health, and the Schools of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Business, International and Public Affairs, Law, and Social Work.
Legacy of the Bureau for Applied Social Research
ISERP is descended from the Bureau for Applied Social Research (BASR), established in 1944 by sociologist Paul F. Lazarsfeld after the Rockefeller Princeton Radio Project moved to Columbia University. The bureau secured Columbia’s place as a pioneering institution in the social sciences, making landmark contributions to mass communications research, public opinion polling, organizational studies, and social science methodology. After Lazarsfeld's death in 1976, the legacy of the bureau was carried on by the Center for the Social Sciences, which was later renamed in Lazarsfeld's honor. Under directors Harold Watts, Jonathan Cole, and Harrison White, the Center continued the tradition of pushing the boundaries of social scientific methodology and interdisciplinary research, particularly in the areas of sociology of science and network analysis.
The Paul F. Lazarsfeld Center for the Social Sciences was incorporated into what was then called the Institute for Social and Economic Theory and Research (ISETR) at its founding in 1999. Joining the Center at ISETR were the Center for Urban Research and Policy, founded in 1992, and a number of new research centers. In 2001, ISETR merged with the Office of Sponsored Research at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, and changed its name to reflect the broadened scope of its activities.
Research
ISERP's raison d’être is to work with faculty, fellows, and scholars to generate, find external support for, and publicize innovative basic and applied social science research. ISERP’s general programming coupled with the services and resources of our Research Development Office, which administers the grants of our affiliates, provide an ideal environment for making high-risk, high-return collaborative research possible.
A number of research centers and projects are organized under the ISERP umbrella. They draw on the technical and administrative infrastructure provided by the Institute to develop their own research, initiatives, and programming. In addition, each semester ISERP hosts a wide range of workshops and seminars, which are attended by social scientists and scholars throughout the New York area’s many universities, as well as by those in government, nonprofit, and private research and policy organizations. They are free and open to the public.
Each quarter, ISERP publishes a newsletter of articles, critical essays, press coverage, awards, and featured publications related to the work of our faculty, fellows, and affiliates. Upcoming events, as well as the schedules of our workshops and seminars, are highlighted on our calendar.
Education
ISERP's stimulating intellectual environment and innovative social science and policy research are predicated on substantive and ongoing education and training. ISERP is distinguished by the breadth of its programming, which addresses the needs of doctoral students, as well as of faculty, postdoctoral fellows, masters students, local community leaders, and even high school students interested in the social sciences.
ISERP hosts the Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences master's program, a graduate fellows program for advanced doctoral students, the Revson Fellowship for local community leaders seeking a mid-career opportunity for academic growth and self-development, and the IGERT program in International Development and Globalization. The Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars program is a collaborative effort with the Mailman School of Public Health and sponsors ISERP's short courses. Several of ISERP’s centers host their own postdoctoral fellows and students.
