Centers Initiatives

Effective governance is essential to the quality of life of all Americans. The center is dedicated to understanding and improving the nature of democratic governance, policymaking, and management of the public enterprise in the 21st century. The center provides a highly visible focal point for imaginative research, policy analysis, and dialogue across the university. Through public discussion, the center focuses on pressing issues facing society and integrates conversations with civic education, which is at the heart of strong communities.

As the Department of Homeland Security’s first University Center of Excellence, Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Threats and Emergencies (CREATE) serves our nation through creation of advanced models and tools for the evaluation of the risks, costs and consequences of threats to human livelihood and through assessment of strategies to mitigate risks and respond to emergencies.

The Center for Health Financing, Policy and Management brings together leading researchers from USC, other universities, and the healthcare community to expand society’s knowledge of the strategy, structure, and effective operation of current and emerging delivery systems of health care, and to disseminate new knowledge to improve the performance of health care services at the community, organization and systemic levels.

A leading nonpartisan research center focused on elections, voting behaviors, and electoral and political participation.

Advancing real estate knowledge, informing business practice, and addressing timely issues that affect the real estate industry, the urban economy, and public policy.

METRANS Transportation Consortium is a joint partnership of USC and California State University, Long Beach. Its mission is to solve transportation problems in large metropolitan regions through interdisciplinary research, education, and outreach.

Established in 2000, the Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy promotes more effective philanthropy and strengthens the nonprofit sector to advance public problem solving. Its research focuses on trends and patterns in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, philanthropic strategies for social impact, and challenges in philanthropic stewardship and leadership.

The Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics aims to measurably improve value in health through evidence-based policy solutions, research, and educational excellence. The center is regarded as one of the world's top health policy research organizations, and its experts are regularly sought out by lawmakers, private-sector leaders, and the media for insights on pressing healthcare challenges.

Established in 2012, the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy is committed to advancing post-partisanship, where leaders put people over political parties and work together to find the best ideas and solutions to benefit the people they serve. The Institute seeks to influence public policy and public debate in finding solutions to the serious challenges we face.

The Sol Price Center for Social Innovation was established with the recent gift to name the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. This new center aims to advance ideas, strategies, and practices that enhance the quality of life for people in urban communities.

The Center for Sustainability Solutions develops policy, technological, and behavioral solutions to the most pressing sustainability problems of the Southern California region and the world.  It brings together scholars and stakeholders from sustainability organizations around the world to collaborate on basic and applied research aimed at making a real-world impact.