The Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) is a private, not for profit research corporation registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956, founded in 2005. CSTEP's mandate and vision is to undertake world-class research and analysis in chosen areas of engineering, science and technology and their intersection with policy and decision-making. Expertise includes materials science, information and communications technologies, energy and strategic domains, as well as in the use of data and computational modeling. CSTEP is based in Bangalore and its founders include some of India's foremost scientists and scholars.
CSTEP performs leading-edge research in issues of science and technology in human development, economic growth and security.
Technology is recognized as a vital ingredient for economic and human development. However, technology alone is not the solution; its success and relevance to society depend on the economic and policy environments. Harnessing technology well requires an integrated assessment of science and technology along with issues of economics, policy and regulation. Such interdisciplinary research is the signature of CSTEP.
All policy requires detailed and objective analysis but technology policy analysis requires both domain expertise in conventional disciplines such as science, engineering, mathematics, statistics, economics and social sciences as well as inter-disciplinary skills, which can include simulation and modeling. Some of the quantitative tools available to help guide policy and decision-makers are optimization, operations research, dynamic programming, machine learning, stochastic analysis, cost-benefit analysis, probabilistic risk analysis and game theory. CSTEP researchers employ and develop such scientific tools and models applied to policy research and analysis.
Funding
CSTEP received generous early support from the SSN Education and Charitable Trust (with a focus on energy). In September 2008, CSTEP received a grant from the Jamshetji Tata Trust, providing funding for our next generation infrastructure laboratory. CSTEP has also been awarded funding from the Oak Foundation and the ClimateWorks Foundation.
In addition to the above support, CSTEP’s work has been supported at a project or event level from a number of institutions including the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, the Next Generation Infrastructure Foundation (Netherlands), Govt. of Karnataka, USAID, DRDO, Wipro, ONGC, GE, NTPC, and DAE. CSTEP maintains healthy working relationships with a number of corporate and industry bodies, in addition to academic, governmental, and non-profit entities. As always, our analysis, positions, or recommendations remain independent of the funding organization(s), being based on our rigorous analysis.
If you wish to support or work with CSTEP, please contact us. Donations to CSTEP are tax exempt under Indian Law (Section 80(G)), and CSTEP is also authorized to receive foreign donations and funding.
