Social Science Institute for Research, Education, and Policy

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.

Recent News 

Recent SSIREP Workshop

During an impactful recent SSIREP workshop, Dr. Rebekka Lee (Harvard Catalyst) shared her experiences from her public health program of research and her role supporting community-engaged research across Harvard University. She discussed strategies for centering community voice and priorities, as well as approaches for overcoming barriers to successful partnerships. 

SSIREP Field to Table Faculty Talk

SSIREP hosted a great event on September 18th with Dr. Ashlea Rundlett from URI’s Department of Political Science. Dr. Rundlett discussed her research paper “Affective Polarization, Local Trust, and Perceptions of Electoral Fairness: Insights from Rhode Island.”

New Ocean State Politics 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 housing in Naragansett to free lunch in RI Public schools. Click the link and have a listen! 

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.

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.