The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) and the School of Law (SLW) have jointly established the Centre for Public Affairs and Law (CPAL) to promote world-class research on interdisciplinary studies in social sciences and law disciplines related to public affairs.

Co-directed by Professor TAN Cheng Han and Professor Richard M WALKER, Deans of SLW and CLASS respectively, CPAL endeavours to build knowledge using evidence-based approaches, big data and devise policy and law-based solutions to policy challenges. 

The Centre will feature labs focusing on contentious politics and public law, and policy innovation. The former will investigate the global wave of uncertainty and change associated with contentious politics, examine how the rule of law can be strengthened to provide guidance for the future governance, and produce research to inform institutional responses and law-based solutions to the challenges of contentious politics. The latter will study policy areas related to the University’s five strategic research themes (one health, digital society, smart city, matter and brain), examine the effectiveness of different policy tools and processes, and adopt a comparative focus and interdisciplinary methodology to produce research to inform the development of public policy. 

Big data, observational survey and interview data, and lab and survey experimental data that can be used by academics and policymakers are some of the Centre’s key deliverables. Apart from these datasets, it will also publish research articles and policy papers, and invite international experts to conduct academic conferences.

Stay tuned for news and events at the website of CPAL.