The Regional Research Institute was established on September 1, 1965 to serve as a center for regionally-oriented basic research in the social sciences at West Virginia University. Financial support is provided by the University and the Benendum Foundation. As the Institute expands its activities it is expected that the basic budget will be supplemented by grants from government agencies, and possibly from other foundations. If a specific project fits into the Institute's framework, contracts will also be negotiated with government agencies.

A substantial part of the Institute's research effort will be concerned with economic and social problems in West Virginia and Appalachia. Research activities will not be limited to this state or region, however. The criteria which will be used to determine whether or not a program should come under the aegis of the Institute will be the basic character of the planned research and its regional orientation. Some studies will be interregional in character; others might be of a comparative nature dealing with several regions simultaneously.

The distinction between basic and applied research is not easy to make. Broadly speaking, however, basic research is concerned with adding to knowledge while applied research has a problem-solving orientation. Insofar as this distinction can be made, the Institute will be concerned with basic research. This is not to say that Institute studies will be highly abstract or esoteric. Indeed, it is anticipated that most studies will be empirical. Hopefully, the results will be useful to state and regional policy makers. Some of the projects will be frankly experimental, however, and others will be more concerned with methodology than with the testing of specific hypotheses or the empirical implementation of existing models.

The Institute will not be a service center, nor will it be an outlet for publication. The results of research conducted in the Institute will be published as journal articles, books, or monographs. Some Institute studies will no doubt be released through existing University publishing outlets.

The activities of the Institute will not be conducted in an academic vacuum. One of the major justifications for the establishment of organized research centers on university campuses is that they contribute to strong graduate programs. It is hoped that this will be true of the Regional Research Institute. Without impinging upon the activities of other campus research organizations, we hope that the Institute can play an important part in the development of a strong graduate program in economics, and in the expansion of graduate programs in the other social sciences.

William H. Miernyk
1918-2008