RESEARCH CENTERS AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS

One of the strengths of the School of Public Policy and Social Research is its roster of multidisciplinary research centers, which blend high-quality research with a direct concern for practical policy problems. Recipients of millions of dollars in grants from government agencies and foundations, the centers produce significant volumes of vital and timely research, much of which has influenced actual policy making on all levels of government, as well as in the private sector. The centers also provide financial support and research experience to large numbers of graduate students.

Center for Child and Family Policy Studies

Walter Furman, Acting Director

The Center for Child and Family Policy Studies was established in 1984 to conduct and promote research, training, and community service programs; to inform policy; and to develop needed programs for children and families. The center has a distinguished history of policy analysis, applied research and program development in such areas as child abuse and neglect, income maintenance, and services for high-risk teenagers and disabled populations. Current research projects include the evaluation of two welfare reform programs in California—Work Pays and Cal-Learn; evaluation of models of personal assistance services; study of children with disabilities as users of personal assistance; evaluation of California’s family preservation and support program; and a Medi-Cal managed care expansion study. Ongoing major policy research projects include a study of methods of preparing foster youths for emancipation and studies of social support and healthcare use among Korean American and Mexican American elderly.

Center for Communication Policy

Jeffrey Cole, Director

Jointly sponsored by the Anderson Graduate School of Management, the School of Public Policy and Social Research, and the Social Science Division of the College of Letters and Science, the Center for Communication Policy was established in 1993 as a forum for the discussion and development of policy alternatives addressing the leading issues in media and communication. The center conducts and facilitates research, offers courses and seminars, and holds conferences designed to have impact at the local, national and international level. It recently launched the UCLA Internet Study, the first comprehensive examination of the sweeping changes produced by the Internet and of how computers, information technology, and their users are shaping and changing society. The Center has received national attention for its highly regarded qualitative analyses of violence in prime-time television and in children’s programming, which it conducted for three years based on an agreement between the four broadcast networks.

Center for Health Policy Research

E. Richard Brown, Director

Jointly sponsored by the School of Public Policy and Social Research and the School of Public Health, the Center for Health Policy Research conducts research on the national, state, and local levels and provides testimony and conducts seminars and forums for government leaders and policy makers both public and private. The center’s research activities emphasize a community- and population-based perspective to improve health outcomes. Current research areas and programs touch on such issues as access to health services, managed care, health care reform, women’s health, disease prevention policy, cost issues, and the health policy making process itself.

Institute of Industrial Relations

Paul Ong, Acting Director

Established in 1945, the Institute of Industrial Relations conducts research and community service programs that focus on all aspects of employment and labor. These issues run the gamut from technological change and workforce preparedness to employee and management relations, work-related health, and earnings and wage inequality. The Institute’s community service programs are directed at the Southern California region as well as at the state and nation. Because of the ongoing globalization of the economy, the Institute—both in research and community service—increasingly is focusing on international issues.

Center for International Science, Technology and Cultural Policy

Lynne G. Zucker, Director

The Center for International Science, Technology and Cultural Policy was established in 1997 to facilitate research on the influences of government policy on the development of the arts and sciences and their commercial and noncommercial expressions, including technology, media, and fashion/design. The center’s mission is to improve the basis for policy decisions by conducting and supporting solid empirical research designed to examine alternative policy models, including the comparison of systems across countries, as well as across substantive areas within the same country. The center promotes dissemination of policy research to governments that seek to make more empirically informed policy decisions.

Center for Labor Research and Education

Kent Wong, Director

The Center for Labor Research and Education plays a unique role as a bridge between the university and the labor community. In addition to carrying out important research on labor relations and workplace issues, the center offers an undergraduate specialization in labor studies and places students in union leadership programs. It also provides residential and off-campus educational programs for union leaders, and regularly hosts visiting trade unionists and scholars from around the world. A vital part of the center is the Labor Occupational Health and Safety program, which provides extensive resources and training in the field of workplace safety and health.

The Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

Paul Ong, Director

The Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies was established in 1990 with a $5 million endowment from Ralph and Goldy Lewis to promote the multidisciplinary study, understanding, and solution of regional policy issues, with special reference to Southern California. Research projects include studies on air pollution and regulation; transportation behavior and the needs of disadvantaged populations; work-residence relationships in restructuring metropolitan areas; comparative regional development in the Pacific Rim; and economic development strategies for local areas. With the support of several foundations and government agencies, the center also has begun a major research program on welfare and work in Los Angeles and California.

North American Integration and Development Center

Leobardo Estrada, Director

The North American Integration and Development Center was created to provide technical assistance to local communities affected by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The center conducts research and offers continuing education programs in cooperation with non-governmental organizations in selected communities to support local economic development efforts and to facilitate their relationship with the North American Development Bank (NADBank). The center has developed a comprehensive online database with essential information for economic development planning that is available to the public.

Center for Policy Research on Aging

Fernando Torres-Gil, Director

The Center for Policy Research on Aging was created in 1997 to examine the major policy issues affecting older persons and their families, including Social Security, long-term care, and the societal implications of the aging of the baby boom generation. Acting as a bridge between practice, research, and policy, the center brings together faculty from a myriad of disciplines to assist policy makers, service providers, community groups, and other members of the public and private sectors in meeting the challenges of an aging society.

Institute of Transportation Studies

Donald Shoup, Director

The Institute of Transportation Studies was created in 1993 to conduct research and provide professional education on the social, economic, environmental, and cultural aspects of transportation policy. The Institute’s research projects have included measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of transit performance, particularly regional rail and bus transit systems in the Los Angeles area; the development of statistically reliable methods for estimating average vehicle occupancy from sampling in the field; and conducting the first major study of the transportation-related impacts of the 1994 Northridge earthquake and comparing them to the damage inflicted by the 1989 Loma Prieta and 1995 Kobe earthquakes.

California Census Research Data Center

V. Joseph Hotz and Henry E. Brady, Principal Investigators

A partnership between the U.S. Census Bureau and the University of California, the Data Center makes available confidential business and household data to qualified scholars for research on a wide range of significant economic and public policy issues, including economic development and job growth, welfare participation, poverty, immigrant assimilation, and job location and transportation. The secure laboratories in the Public Policy Building at UCLA and at UC Berkeley, opened in 1999, provide scholars with data that previously could only be viewed at three laboratories on the East Coast.

UCLA Policy Forum

J. Eugene Grigsby, Director

As the chief outreach program of the School of Public Policy and Social Research, the UCLA Policy Forum is a leader in promoting dialogue on major issues and in providing training and other programs to enhance the performance of public, private, and nonprofit organizations. The Policy Forum’s Center for Public Dialogue hosts the Senior Fellows program and sponsors appearances by such figures as Polish Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek; former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher; Frank Fahrenkopf, former chair of the Republican National Committee; and Nelba Chavez, administrator of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency.

Through its Advanced Policy Institute, the Policy Forum also offers outstanding executive education, leadership training, and technical assistance programs. The Institute has brought together key public and private players to seek new solutions to the chronic problem of solid waste disposal; created a forum for regional water agencies to explore long-range policy options; conducted a historic evaluation of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency; and shown local officials how to use the Internet to better implement community revitalization and housing programs.