Centre for Institutional Studies (CIS)

CIS Approach

The Centre for Institutional Studies (CIS) is a well-established research centre dedicated to improving policy, management and practice through research.

Using a Popperian approach we treat institutions, policies and practices as trial solutions to social problems; analysing and testing their formulation and their effectiveness (Burgess 2002).

We see theories as concrete propositions to be practically tested, first in the real world of critical discussion – does a proposition to solve a problem stand up as an idea? – and then in the real world of practice: what’s the evidence about how well the problem has been solved? Theories are not to be proved right, but to be proved wrong, and revised, and problems re-formulated. This approach, we believe, can help in research across a range of contexts, and situations involving widely differing characteristics.

We specialise in research on, and with, organisations which exist to solve social problems or improve conditions. We work with organisations from all sectors who wish to improve their performance or to experiment with new ways of working, through action research and evaluation research. At present our main interest is with Third Sector organisations, including social enterprises.

We draw on collaborative and participatory methods for working in and with - often marginalised - communities and the ‘subjects’ of research, and we engage in action learning and organisational development for helping improve policy, management and practice. Through these methods, we can involve plural modes of evidence and be inclusive of the knowledge and experience of participants.

We are committed to working across institutional and disciplinary boundaries, both within the University of East London and beyond, so as to apply research-based knowledge to tackling injustices, inequalities and the harmful consequences of institutional policies and actions.

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© 2010