Our Mission

CIRS is the only non-profit organization in California with a mission to conduct public interest research that strengthens social justice and increases the sustainability of California’s rural communities. Our research informs public policy and action for social change while providing a fact-based foundation for organizations and individuals working to ameliorate rural injustice. While our commitment to the scientific method is at the foundation of our credibility, we recognize the inescapable role that values play in shaping the fundamental questions that researchers pose. Our philosophy of science is therefore based on the principle that scientific inquiry should consciously serve the long-term public interest.