Welcome to the Institute for Research on Public Policy.

For the last forty years, the IRPP has helped shape Canada's most important conversations. Since our creation in April 1972, we have led national debates on free trade and Canada-US relations, tax reform, Canadian federalism, daycare and family policy, health care funding and Canadian Arctic sovereignty. Today, as we mark our 40th anniversary, we continue to provide thought leadership on pension reform, care for seniors, the economic and social integration of immigrants, and making our economy more competitive through productivity and innovation.

Our mission is to improve public policy decisions by generating research and sparking debate on current and emerging policy issues facing Canadians and their governments. We commission and publish independent, peer-reviewed policy research. We bring experts together for symposiums, conferences and other events. And we provide a forum for debate through our flagship monthly magazine, Policy Options.

As we look forward to the next 40 years, it is clear that independent research has never mattered more to the development of sound public policy. As governments grapple with ever more complex issues, the work of organizations like the IRPP will play a critical role in ensuring decisions are informed and evidence-based.

Our Web site brings together recent and archived studies on Canada's most pressing issues; interviews with and op-eds by leading authors about their research findings and policy recommendations; audio recordings of our events; and issues of Policy Options going back to 1997. www.irpp.org is one of Canada's premier resources for evidence-based, independent policy research, insights and perspectives, and we hope that this body of work will inform the decisions of policy-makers across Canada.

Graham Fox