Table of Contents: About SSRI Data Resources Research Opportunities Programs Centers Affiliated with the SSRI Interactive Illinois Report Card

Our Mission... The Social Science Research Institute at Northern Illinois University is a public policy research and service organization emphasizing applied methods. Its mission is to develop policy and research services addressing important public priorities in the state and region. Current Institute initiatives focus on environmental policy and on educational research. The Institute oversees the university's undergraduate minor field in Environmental Management Systems. In addition to its core mission, the Institute is the organizational home for the University's applied policy centers, the American Farmland Trust, Center for Governmental Studies, Office for Social Policy Research, and Public Opinion Laboratory. In partnership with the centers, the Institute works to enhance public understanding of and access to research and information in areas such as health care and health behaviors, economic development, environmental policy, farmland preservation, state and local governmental policy, and public opinion. The Institute is administratively located within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Center directors and academic deans constitute the advisory board that oversees the programs of the Institute. . Organization... The Institute is made up of policy centers each of which provides expertise and technical support in an important area of public policy. The centers conduct external research and service projects for a variety of constituencies at the local, state, and federal levels. Operations of the centers are funded primarily by external awards and grants that their faculty and research associates earn. The Institute provides central services including computing, editing and publications, and program development. The Institute is affiliated with the college of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and is overseen by a policy board that includes the Deans of the Graduate School, Business, Education, Health and Human Sciences, and Liberal Arts and Sciences. Programs... The Institute supports education for faculty and students at Northern Illinois University by sponsoring discussion panels, lectures, internships, training, and policy programs.