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Research Institutes & Centers

BRICLab

Four of the world’s fastest growing economies — Brazil, Russia, India and China, the
so-called BRIC nations — have a special forum at SIPA: the BRICLab.

Representing 40 percent of the world’s population, these four nations are a driving force in emerging markets. The BRICLab examines their increasing influence on global affairs and the implications of their growing power through a combination of classes, executive programs, and conferences.

Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER)
The Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) is a collaborative initiative of Columbia Business School and the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). Since its establishment in 1990, the Center for International Business Education and Research has become a multifaceted organization that is committed to promoting links between its educational and research programs on campus and the broader academic community.

Programs such as collaborative faculty research workshops, international career services conferences, student study trips abroad, and research and outreach conferences bring together the faculty and students of Columbia Business School and the School of International and Public Affairs as well as executives of the nation's business community.

Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR)
The Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR) contributes to the resolution of international deadly conflict through research, education and practice. CICR strives to increase understanding of international conflicts through innovative, collaborative research and is committed to offering courses that disseminate knowledge about conflicts and their causes. CICR responds directly to the expressed needs of parties involved in ongoing conflicts, empowering individuals and organizations to address conflict constructively. CICR also coordinates efforts of academics and practitioners from governmental, nongovernmental and international organizations in joint research and action. Located within the Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, CICR routinely participates in partnerships inside and outside the University.

Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and Public Policy (CEMTPP)
The Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and Public Policy was established at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs to provide a new focal point for the study of economic, environmental, political, technological and other factors that affect the global production, transportation, and consumption of energy. It builds upon SIPA's strengths in area studies (especially the Middle East, Russia, and the Caspian region), international economics, public policy, and quantitative techniques for analyzing policy and management. In addition, the center draws on resources elsewhere at Columbia, including the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the schools of business and law. The center also benefits from Columbia's location in New York, the center of global finance and media.

Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration and Religion (CDTR)
The Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration, and Religion (CDTR) conducts research and training on the interfaces of and tensions between religion, toleration, and democracy in the world. It opened in July 2006, with initial funding from the Henry Luce Foundation.

The Center for Urban Research and Policy (CURP)
The Center for Urban Research and Policy is a national resource for education, research, and public discussion on issues confronting America's cities. The mission of the center is to create a more informed national dialogue about the challenges and successes of our nation's urban policies and programs; advance research and curriculum on pressing urban issues; train students to play a greater role in improving cities; and promote the participation of urban residents, particularly women and minorities, in policy determination at the local, state, and national levels.

The Center on Global Economic Governance (CGEG)
Founded by Jan Svejnar in 2012, the Center on Global Economic Governance is a premier Center for producing a new wave of policy-oriented research on global economic governance, stressing excellence and recognition. In doing so, CGEG brings into sharp focus key issues, sets the highest academic standards in research, and brings together key players from the academic, policy and business world. This approach combines internal and external talent. In particular, CGEG involves and provides a stimulating environment for SIPA and Columbia faculty and students, and brings in top external academics, policy makers, and business leaders to address issues facing the global economy today.

Council for European Studies (CES)
Founded in 1970, the Council for European Studies (CES) is the leading academic organization for the study of Europe. The Council aims to produce and recognize outstanding, multidisciplinary research in European studies through a range of programs, including conferences, publications, special events, and awards.

Gulf/2000 Project
The Gulf/2000 Project was created in 1993 as a service to scholars, government officials, business people, journalists and other specialists who have a professional association with the Persian Gulf and Gulf studies. Sponsored at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, Gulf/2000's objectives are to establish a network of specialists from every Gulf country to maintain contact on important issues even when their governments are at odds; to organize workshops where participants can exchange views; to establish and maintain an electronic library, research facility, and bulletin board on the Internet; to commission research papers from experts in the field to examine long-term trends affecting the future stability of the Gulf region; and to consider policy alternatives that would promote regional security, stability and nonproliferation.

The Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD)
Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz founded the Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) in July 2000 to help developing countries explore policy alternatives and enable wider civic participation in economic policymaking. IPD is now a global network of more than 200 leading economists, political scientists, and practitioners from the North and South with diverse backgrounds and views. IPD efforts are intended not only to help countries find solutions to pressing problems but also to strengthen their institutions and civil societies. IPD pursues its objectives through four activities: task forces, country dialogues, the Journalism Workshops program and Journalism Primer, and research.

Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy (ISERP)
The Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy (ISERP) is the research arm of the social sciences at Columbia University. ISERP organizes a vibrant intellectual community at Columbia through its Faculty Fellows program as well as its workshops, conferences, research centers, and projects. Participation in ISERP spans Columbia's social science departments as well as Barnard College, the Columbia Earth Institute, Columbia Teachers College, and the schools of architecture, business, international and public affairs, law, public health, and social work. The institute promotes both disciplinary and interdisciplinary social science research at Columbia through its seed grants program, research infrastructure, and administrative support for externally sponsored research. ISERP staff also coordinate the development of collaborative research projects, many of which respond to the pressing social, economic, political, and environmental problems of the day.

Institute for the Study of Human Rights
The Institute for the Study of Human Rights promotes interdisciplinary human rights research, education, and training at Columbia and overseas. The Institute convenes faculty, students, grassroots activists, policymakers, private sector actors, and other stakeholders from diverse fields and perspectives to interact and address pressing human rights issues. The Institute is particularly committed to the education and training of emerging human rights leaders worldwide.

The Picker Center for Executive Education
The Picker Center for Executive Education was founded in 1999 and is dedicated to meeting the educational needs of mid-career learners who cannot attend graduate school full-time. The Center offers the Executive Master in Public Administration and numerous non-degree executive education programs for employers from New York City to the Government of Guangdong Province in China.

Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies (SIWPS)
Founded in 1951 under the sponsorship of Dwight D. Eisenhower, during his tenure as president of Columbia University, the Institute of War and Peace Studies (SIWPS) was renamed the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies (SIWPS) in March 2003. Created to promote understanding of the "disastrous consequences of war upon man's spiritual, intellectual, and material progress," the institute has become one of the leading research centers on international relations in the United States. Its researchers have probed the political, military, historical, legal, economic, moral, psychological, and philosophical dimensions of international relations; and contributed to the general discourse by authoring articles in major journals, discussing current issues with officials and journalists, serving as consultants to government departments and agencies, and testifying before congressional committees. The institute itself has no formal teaching program; rather, its members conduct a wide variety of instructional activities through the Political Science Department and the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia.

Security Council Report
Security Council Report is an independent not-for-profit organization in affiliation with Columbia University's Center on International Organization. It was founded on the belief that consistent, balanced, high-quality information about the activities of the United Nations Security Council and its subordinate bodies is essential to the effective performance of the Council and that this information should also be available to a wider group of stakeholders and the general public. SCR publishes a monthly report on the Council's current and prospective programme of work. This is supplemented by longer published reports on key thematic and structural issues confronting the Council and a regular “What’s in Blue” series with insights on developments in the Council and breaking news. The Executive Director is Ambassador Bruno Stagno of Costa Rica.