Centre for the Study of Public Policy
One of the few self-styled think-tanks which had existed in Scotland prior to devolution is the Centre for the Study of Public Policy (CSPP).
Since 1 October 2005 part of the Department of Politics and International Relations of the University of Aberdeen, but originally based at Glasgow’s Strathclyde University and founded by Professor Richard Rose in 1976. According to Hartwig Pautz 'it is a hybrid between a consultancy, a university research institute and a contract research think-tank. It is mainly concerned with barometer surveys on democratic attitudes and behaviours in post-communist countries33. Labelling itself a ‘specialist independent research unit of the university’(http://www.strath.ac.uk/cspp/research.html Accessed 23 June 2004), it has consulted the World Bank, OECD and UN agencies on ‘problems of post-Communist countries' (http://www.cspp.strath.ac.uk Accessed 29 June 2004)'.
The Centre for the Study of Public Policy was 'the first public policy centre within a European university. Its purpose is to relate social science research to major problems of contemporary societies. ... In the 1980s it conducted major comparative studies of the growth of government, concerning taxation and expenditure, organizational change, and laws. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the CSPP has developed an innovative repertoire of Barometer surveys to advance empirical understanding of mass response to transformation in post-Communist societies.
The CSPP has now conducted more than 100 nationwide Barometer surveys across Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the former Soviet Union... CSPP websites have more than 1mn hits a year from more than 80 countries.
After 30 years at the University of Strathclyde, the CSPP has joined the School of Social Sciences at the University of Aberdeen, which is creating a major centre for the comparative analysis of survey research across Europe.' CSPP website
