URI’s Social Science Institute for Research, Education, and Policy (SSIREP) is a campus-wide consortium that brings together faculty and students from diverse fields of study to foster programs in scholarly research, teaching and learning, and outreach to business, government, and community. The Institute draws from traditional disciplines such as sociology, political science, and economics, as well as from business, communications, health studies, engineering, biology, and more. SSIREP’s faculty experts focus on interdisciplinary investigations of human behavior, social institutions, and political processes to improve society and public policy, educating our students and the public on potential policy solutions.
Find out more about what we do by clicking the tabs above, and scroll down for news and upcoming events!
To donate to the Social Science Institute for Research, Education, and Policy (SSIREP), please click HERE.
Funding
2024 Seed Grant RFP
Although the current 2024 cycle has ended, stay tuned for further updates on our website regarding new funding opportunities. The next application period will begin around late fall 2024!
Public Policy Lab 2024 Grant
SSIREP is currently looking for students to work on an interdisciplinary research study of alternative urban food networks in Rhode Island, led by Dr. John Taylor, Associate Professor of Agroecology in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences. Students will gain valuable research experience, as well as resourceful skillsets such as conducting semi-structured interviews with diverse population and analyzing qualitative data. Students will be paid $14/hour for 10 hours a week for Summer 2024, and must be available to work some weekends and evenings. The deadline for submitting this application is May 17, 2024. You may access the application by scanning the QR code below. You may also access the application HERE.
Events
No upcoming events for now! ☺
You may view our previous events HERE.
Recent News
New Applied History Lab White Papers
The Applied History Lab exists to improve public policy through the application of historical methods and enhanced contextual understanding of the challenges impacting the state of Rhode Island and Southern New England. The Applied History Lab White Papers research key issues within the United States. We just recently updated our website to include two new papers– topics include an analysis of “U.S. and Rhode Island Pandemic Preparedness” (Dennis Haggerty) and “Parochial Schools and School Choice in Rhode Island” (Madison Palmieri). Please click on the button below to access these papers, as well as some other insightful works from past students.
Applied History Lab White Papers
New “Washburn Up” Student Podcasts
New podcasts from Professor Lynch’s Rhode Island Politics course (PSC 305) have just been posted. Professor Emily Lynch, of URI’s Department of Political Science, asked her students in this to make podcasts on local political issues in Rhode Island. Topics range from affordable housing policy to proposed educational reforms. Click the link and have a listen!
SSIREP Director and Fellow URI Faculty Participate in Rhode Island Survey
SSIREP Director, Julie Keller, and other faculty members at URI develop an ongoing opinion poll to gauge the perceptions of those in Rhode Island. This poll is the first from the Rhode Island Survey Initiative.
2022 SSIREP Seed Grant Awardees Publish Article on Sustainability and Fashion Post-Pandemic
With funding from a 2022 SSIREP Faculty Seed Grant, Dr. Strübel and her team published an article in Sustainability about societal attitudes towards sustainable fashion post-pandemic.
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