The Public Interest Research Center - PIRC
Welcome to the Public Interest Research Center, also known as the PIRC. The Center was formed in 2006 through a generous grant from the Murphy Foundation to provide opportunities for B-W students and faculty to conduct public interest research, primarily through use of a twenty station polling center. The polling center is equipped with a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) system that allows up to twenty individuals to conduct polling calls and enter data into computers that is then collected in a central server for analysis.
Since its inception, the PIRC has conducted several surveys, including:
* Public Interest survey of residents in seven southwest Cuyahoga County suburbs to measure opinions concerning merging fire and EMS services;
* A study to determine public interest in creation of an arts district and restoration of the Gordon Square Theater for the Detroit-Shoreway Development Corporation;
* A survey of Cuyahoga County residents to measure public opinion concerning potential alternative uses for the Burke Lakefront Airport;
* A statewide survey of Ohio residents to measure their opinions about public school funding reform;
The PIRC is available for public opinion survey design, implementation, and analysis; focus group planning and facilitation; a variety of planning and analytical consulting services. The PIRC directors train undergraduate students of Baldwin-Wallace College to work with nonprofit and government agencies and candidates for public office to provide these services, which are supported by project grants and contracts.
All B-W students are welcome to learn more about the PIRC and get involved in our projects.
To learn more about the PIRC, contact the co-directors:
Mark Mattern, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science
440-826-2470
Tom Sutton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science
440-826-2460
275 Eastland Rd.