Joint Center for Poverty Research

THE JOINT CENTER for Poverty Research (JCPR) is a project of Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. Officially the Joint Center is called the Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research. The JCPR began with a grant issued in July 1996 by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The grant ($7.5 million) was awarded to Northwestern University and the University of Chicago to pay for the establishment of a research center that could advise on issues of poverty.

The Poverty Center is jointly administered by the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University and the Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago. An Executive Committee composed of members from both institutions and a senior Policy Center staff member oversees operations. In addition an External Advisory Board composed of leading experts in poverty research and policies meets biannually with the Executive Committee to give advice. Faculty members from both institutions have been engaged to produce research into the questions of poverty. In addition, doctoral graduate students at both schools are provided opportunities for research as emerging scholars.

The JCPR supports academic studies of poverty in America. There are two sides to its research agenda. First, it seeks to identify the human and social causes of poverty. This means that it is especially concerned with research that seeks to show what it means to be poor and live in America. It does research to find the social, economic, and behavioral factors that cause poverty. The second side of the JCPR research agenda is to examine the policy process in American poverty law. The center seeks to identify the problems of poverty and to understand issues involved with the adoption, implementation, and evaluation of poverty research. The center also examines labor markets and how they change and the causes of inequalities in these labor markets. Moreover, it is concerned with the impact that urban poverty has on the function of families and upon the well-being of children. It seeks to identify the impact that the dynamics of the policy process and the development of new programs have upon people.

The mission statement of the JCPR says that its “mission is to advance our understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and the effect of policies designed to reduce poverty. By social science research, JCPR seeks to influence the discussion and formation of policy, and the behavior and beliefs on individuals and organizations. The research activities of this Center should be useful to those whose goal is a long-term reduction in poverty in the United States.”

In order to carry out its mission the JCPR encourages and aids research on poverty. It also promotes intellectual exchanges among scholars, researchers, and policymakers in all disciplines and policy areas. It provides training in the scope, methods, tools, and techniques used to address issues of poverty. Finally, the center promotes communications about and among policy analysts, policymakers, the media, and other interested parties about both research results and emerging research questions on poverty. The JCPR regularly issues the products of its research in the form of books, [Page 603]articles, policy briefs, reports, research summaries, and other pertinent documents. In addition it publishes a regular newsletter (Poverty Research News) on its work. The JCPR promotes academic conferences, research seminars, congressional briefings, and research briefings.

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