| Home > Events > Disease, Disaster, and Democracy, 2006 Center for Biosecurity of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is an independent, nonprofit organization of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). The Center works to affect policy and practice in ways that lessen the illness, death, and civil disruption that would follow large-scale epidemics, whether they occur naturally or result from the use of a biological weapon. Drawing on the expertise of a multidisciplinary professional staff with experience in government, medicine, public health, bioscience, and the social sciences, the Center's projects aim to: Provide independent, critical research and analysis for decision-makers in government, national security, bioscience, medicine, public health, and private industry Build international networks of scientists, medical and public health practitioners, scholars, and decision-makers to improve communication about biosecurity, create common objectives, and facilitate development of new knowledge Propose, design, build, test, and promulgate essential operational systems needed to manage the response to bioattacks and mass casualty epidemics Develop scenarios for decision-makers that illustrate key challenges in epidemic preparedness and response and offer possible paths forward Promote the responsible use and governance of increasingly powerful bioscience and biotechnologies
Experts at the Center publish research findings regularly and are consulted by government agencies, businesses, academia, and the media for independent analyses of issues pertaining to national and global epidemic preparedness and response. Canadian Policy Research Network (CPRN) is one of Canada's leading creators of high-quality and relevant social policy research. It is a nonprofit charitable organization based in Ottawa with a staff of 30 and a volunteer Board of Directors. Its research products are available free at www.cprn.org. CPRN's mission is to create knowledge and lead public dialogue and debate on social and economic issues important to Canadians. Its goal is to help make Canada a more just, prosperous, and caring society for all Canadians. CPRN is distinguished by its unique approach to research: Independent and neutral, allowing perspectives to be shared Evidence-based, not designed to score ideological points or to place blame for past faults Founded on public values as articulated by representative groups of citizens Developed through engagement with decision-makers, stakeholders, and the public Responsive to the needs of decision-makers and stakeholders Cost-effective compared to our think-tank peers and to government policy shops Widely disseminated and promoted in the interest of fostering debate
Among the users of CPRN's research are "frontline workers," people who are rooted in the community and devote their lives to community-building and public service. This is a clientele without the resources to pay for advice and research. Given CPRN's ability to facilitate public participation, and our "place-based" focus, our research is particularly relevant to community-building efforts. [Return to top]
The Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy, American Association for the Advancement of Science is funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation under its International Peace and Security Program to act as a Washington center for the MacArthur-funded academic science and security community. The Center's mission is to provide objective, non-partisan scientific and technical information on security-related issues to the Washington policy community. Specifically, these issues include nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological, and space security and cyber-security. The Center's information is drawn largely from the work of scientists at the MacAurthur-funded Centers as well as the larger academic and nongovernmental science and security community. It monitors the current policy issues of federal agencies and Congress to enable timely input with relevant scientific information to the federal government and to inform the MacArthur Centers of current government concerns. In addition to its role with the government, the Center engages the general scientific community, the press, and the public on issues of national security and public health to enhance public understanding of present challenges to the nation. Dr. Norman P. Neureiter, the Center's Director, has a long history in science policy, including serving as the first Science Advisor to the Secretary of State. [Return to top] National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), a U.S. Department of Homeland Security University Center of Excellence is tasked by the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate with using state-of-the-art theories, methods, and data from the social and behavioral sciences to improve understanding of the origins, dynamics, and social and psychological impacts of terrorism. START, based at the University of Maryland, College Park, aims to provide timely guidance on how to disrupt terrorist networks, reduce the incidence of terrorism, and enhance the resilience of U.S. society in the face of the terrorist threat.
To achieve this goal, START has assembled a team of more than 30 researchers from institutions across the United States and around the world to conduct cutting-edge research related to the terrorist threat. These researchers represent the full range of disciplines within the social and behavioral sciences, including sociology, criminology, political science, psychology, communication, geography, economics, and anthropology. Adding to this truly interdisciplinary endeavor are the efforts of experts in public policy, history, public health, foreign languages, and engineering working as part of the START research team. Through individual research projects and in-depth collaborative efforts, this research team provides the homeland security community as well as the public at large with insights about how and why terrorist groups form, about the decisions and behaviors of individual terrorists and terrorist groups, and about how societies can best respond to and prepare for known and unknown terrorist threats. |
