Academic research is a hallmark of the School of Policy, Planning, and Development. The school provides an exceptionally rich research environment for SPPD faculty, who make important contributions to knowledge in their respective fields. Their research is communicated through scholarly publications, books, research reports, and academic and professional forums. Collectively, the SPPD faculty rank third at USC in terms of per capita research grants—a reflection of both their productivity and the quality of their research. SPPD faculty research is supported from a variety of sources, including the National Science Foundation, federal and state government agencies, and many foundations. For 2005-06, more than two dozen faculty members had some 90 grants or contracts with a total value of nearly $20 million.

Faculty conduct research on a wide variety of topics, from engaging citizens in the governing process to building healthy communities to developing methods for analyzing and managing terrorist risks. Research ranges from the highly theoretical to the practical and applied. It emphasizes both understanding of real world problems and developing effective solutions for those problems. Though the topics are diverse, SPPD research focuses on the central themes of the school: governance, place, and community.

Students have many opportunities to engage in SPPD research. They may work as graduate and undergraduate research assistants, participate in student research conferences, and attend the many research seminar series offered within the school. SPPD research is frequently collaborative and often interdisciplinary, involving not only SPPD faculty and students, but also faculty and students from engineering, the social sciences, education, health sciences, or business. Many of the school’s research activities take place under the auspices of its nationally and internationally known research centers and groups.