As the Local and Regional Policies Application and Research Center, we set out in 2011 to support our university's research-oriented vision. Having started operating immediately after the founding of our university, our center takes pride in being one of the first research centers of Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University. With this long-standing history, we have maintained our determination to look at local and regional issues through a scientific lens since the day we were founded.
Since our establishment, we have encouraged interdisciplinary research in a very wide range of areas, from local government to regional development, and from socio-economic problems to historical and cultural issues. We do not leave the production of academic knowledge on paper alone; we bring this knowledge together with society through the symposia, panels and workshops we organize. With our events ranging from the role of women in politics to current developments in the Middle East, and from historical processes to social issues, we keep the academic agenda alive.
Our main aim is to rigorously examine economic and social developments at the local and regional level using scientific methods and to develop policy proposals that touch people's lives based on our findings. To this end, we are strengthening our cooperation with public institutions, local governments, the private sector and civil society organizations every day, and building a strong bridge of knowledge between our university and society. We shape our vision around becoming a respected and effective research center that serves as a reference in this field at both national and international level.
In our institutional operations, we never compromise on the principles of continuity, transparent management and high academic quality. We carry out all our work in line with planned and measurable goals, and we care about the social impact of our research as much as its scientific quality. This approach enables our center to become a think platform that guides policy-making processes.
We are active in a very broad field, from scientific data analyses and research on local problems to strategic studies extending from the Marmara Region to the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Middle East. We produce joint projects with the public and private sectors and conduct research that supports entrepreneurship and employment. With the academic and social work we have carried out for more than a decade, we add value to our university's social impact mission, and we continue to work enthusiastically to make scientific knowledge the engine of local and regional development.