Institute for Political and Economic Research

IPER's mission is the support of political, economic and social transformation in Romania and other Central Eastern European countries. IPER activities include political and economic research, advisory services and publishing.

Short History of IPER

Officially registered on 5th of February 1999, the Institute for Political and Economic Research (IPER) is a newly created Romanian think-tank set up to carry out and promote research in the fields of economics, politics and public policies. The members of the Institute, experts in their field of study, are determined to work together to further Romania's progress in its efforts towards reaching a high level of economic development, improving the workings of its democratic institutions and joining the main European and North-Atlantic organizations: EU and NATO.

The Institute for Political and Economic Research (IPER) is the offspring of the Civil Society Foundation (CSF), a reputable and well-established Romanian NGO founded in Bucharest, in September 1992. Since its inception, CSF has sought to play a major civic educational role in Romania in the broad areas of democracy building, economic development and social welfare. For over six years, CSF has been editing a monthly political science journal, Sfera Politicii (The Sphere of Politics, starting December 1992), which has become the major locus of up-to-date political and economic analyses. All the members of IPER have extensively published in Sfera Politicii and came thus to know each other and to realize that they shared a common outlook and a similar awareness of the need for deeper analyses and alternative policies. Gradually, an interim Group for Expertise, Analysis, and Political Prognosis took shape from the members of CSF and other experts associated with the Sfera Politicii journal with the main task of setting up an independent public policy "think tank".

The political and economic context of the last years have made even more imperative the existence of specialized institutions made up by experts able to critically evaluate the governmental performance and to propose alternative policies. IPER was specifically designed to continue and expand the work of CSF in public policy analysis, to pull together political scientists, economists, sociologists, lawyers and journalists of high reputation in order to provide reliable analyses of Romania's past, present and future evolutions.

The main objectives of IPER

• to introduce on the political agenda, at local and national level, policy proposals which are of the utmost social importance;
• to propose alternative programs and strategies in Romanian politics, economy and social life;
• to contribute with articulate proposals, studies and thematic researches to Romania's integration in EU and NATO;
• to encourage and sustain the active participation of the citizens in the public life;
• to stimulate the development of the entrepreneurial culture;
• to increase the level of competence of the political decision-makers;
• to improve the quality of political analyses and debates

The activities of IPER

In order to achieve these objectives, we will develop a complex array of activities:

• organizing and will contribute to the organization of seminars, conferences, discussion forums and debates on specific topics;
• elaborating research, analyses, studies and prognoses of different sectors of the Romanian political, economic and social life, in a broad comparative framework and in correlation with similar phenomena occurring in other countries;
• authorizing synthesis materials in order to substantiate political decisions, macro-economic and sectorial governmental strategies (including decisions to allocate financial, material and human resources);
• publishing periodic reports on specific social, economic and political problems in Romania and other countries of the Central and Eastern Romania, of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea areas;
• providing specialized expertise to Romanian institutions from all the fields of the political, economic and social life;
• supporting the work of established professionals in the field of policy research, and will organize workshops and training sessions for young and promising students and researchers with a proved interest in the area of public policies;
• providing moral, logistic and, if possible, financial support to institutions and other organizations with similar objectives as those of the IPER and will closely collaborate with those Romanian or international institutions willing and able to support financially or otherwise the programs and activities of the IPER;
• establishing contacts and will engage in joint programs with Romanian and international institutions, public or private, if this is deem necessary in the achievement of its objectives.

International support, partnerships and affiliations

The objectives of the Institute, the determination of its members, their research experiences and their high academic and public status have already gained support from major funding and research institutions: the United States Information Agency, the Center for Democracy and Development, McCormack Institute, University of Massachusetts, Boston, the German Marshall Fund of U.S.A., Mott Foundation, the Foundation for an Open Society, Romania, the European Union.

From the very beginning, IPER is working on an ongoing basis with the Center for Democracy and Development, McCormack Institute. Consequently, we have set up a close partnership with the Center whose first outcome will be a jointly organized seminar scheduled in April 2000: "Kosovo: One year after the bombing".

The Institute has also concluded an agreement for strategic partnerships with the Center for Liberal Strategies (CLS) in Sofia, Bulgaria, in the areas of EU integration, NATO enlargement and the Stability Pact for the South-Eastern Europe.

IPER is a member (along with its Bulgarian partner) in a Study Group on the Post-War System for South-East Europe, which is supported by the Council of Europe and the International Idea, Stockholm, Sweden. This Study Group has already met in Budapest, Sofia and Strasbourg and published a Capacity-Building Report entitled "Inventing South-East Europe. Dialogue on Democracy and Integration" on projects concerning the after-war system for this region. This Group presently carries on projects related to the assessment of the Stability Pact for the South-East Europe and has the intention to become a strong regional voice in these matters.

IPER is also affiliated to the European Thematic Network in Political Science and an IPER member participated at its Second Plenary Conference held in Leiden, Netherlands, on the 2nd and 3rd of July 1999. As an Institute for political research, IPER is set to work closely with the partners in the Thematic network to improve the quality of the research in political science and the visibility of this discipline.

Ongoing and future projects

1999:

• "USA - Romania Security Relationship: A Case for Transatlantic Partnership": This project proposal was successful in securing funds and is the first major program of IPER. On the 12th of May, IPER organized - in the framework of this program - the Seminar: "The Consequences of the Decisions taken at the NATO's Washington Summit on Romania's Security and Prospects for NATO Integration", with the participation of leading politicians, economists, journalists and analysts.
• IPER has under work a project on "Monitoring the Romanian Press during the Strike on Yugoslavia".
• IPER has recently submitted a project proposal, "The Reform of Court Administration" to the Mott Foundation and the Freedom House, and there are good prospects for financial support from them in the coming weeks.
• At the end of 1999 IPER will organize the seminar: "10 Years After the Fall of Communism". The seminar shall assemble some of the major political scientists working on this topic (supported by the Foundation for an Open Society, Romania).
• A project focusing on "A Study of the Romanian Parliamentary System" elaborated in collaboration with the IMAS (Institute of Marketing and Opinion Polls) has already been submitted for funding to the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), Stockholm, Sweden.
• In association with the Center for Liberal Strategies, Sofia, IPER shall organize two conferences focusing on the complex issues related to the intergovernmental cooperation in the River Danube region: "The Danube Conference on Ecological Challenges", to be held in November 1999, in Bucharest, and "The Second Bridge over Danube", to be held in Sofia in October 1999.

2000:

• The German Marshall Fund has confirmed its commitment to support the IPER's activities and institutional building in 2000.
• IPER intends to take part in a large and ambitious PHARE-sponsored project to help the Romanian Government elaborate a National Strategy for Rroma population.
• The Kosovo crisis sparked a new awareness in the Western world on the strategic importance of the Balkans. In this context, we are working on a research project that will try to answer the question whether Romania and other neighboring countries are prepared to take full advantage of this new Western interest in the region. IPER intends to organize an international conference on this topic where experts on this area and major political decision-makers could debate the new prospects for our countries and the need for cooperation among them.
• In partnership with the McCormack Institute, IPER plans to organize a seminar scheduled in April 2000: "Kosovo: One year after the bombing".
• The Institute is currently initiating, in collaboration with the Center for Liberal Strategies, Sofia, Bulgaria a research on "Security Risks and Common Policies in South-East Europe" that will contribute to a common assessment of the security agenda for this region in the future years.
• IPER also intends to develop a study project concerning the structure and functioning of the Romanian political elite during the last decade: "Romanian Political Elite: 1989-1999". This will provide us a better understanding of the particular evolution of Romania toward democracy and pluralism and will extend Istvan Szeleny's research on the political elites of the post-communist Central and Eastern Europe.
• IPER has already established fruitful contacts with a large number of major international funding institutions during the elaboration of these projects, and its members are looking forward to build a strong and long-term relation with the other prospective partners as well. The expertise and support of such prestigious organizations are assets that could improve significantly IPER's ability to contribute to the development of the Romanian society.

Last updated:    November 1999

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