The Centre for Empirical Cultural Studies of South-East Europe (CECS) was founded in 2010. During the past four years it has emerged as one of the rare independent research institutes which deal with research into culture and public policy in the fields of education, science, religion, and art in the region of South-East Europe.

In the mission statement CECS defined that the Centre for Empirical Cultural Studies of South-East Europe, as an independent social and policy research institute, aims to become a center of excellence in this part of Europe in the domain of empirical research of social and cultural phenomena, whose studies would be of fundamental theoretical significance for understanding the transformation of South-East European societies and crucial for forming evidence-based public policies in the sphere of culture (in education, science, religion and arts) in the SEE region.

CECS undertakes what are in essence three groups of activities: 1) empirical and theoretical studies of culture (art, education, science, religion) and the processes of transformation in the region of South-East Europe from a culturalist perspective; 2) the monitoring, analysis, and evaluation of implicit and explicit cultural, educaitonal, scientific, and religious policies in the countries of South-East Europe and participation in the formulation of related strategies and public policies; 3) provision of consulting services in the formulation of public policies, development strategies, monitoring and evaluation of development projects, public opinion research, and cultural management.

In the previous period CECS has realized three large-scale social research studies: "Social and Cultural Capital in Serbia" (2010-2011) "Fields of Symbolic Contestation in Serbia" (2011-2012) and the regional project "Resistance to Socio-Economic Changes in Westen Balkan Societies“ (2012-2013), while its members have participated in the development of a large number of policy documents (cultural development strategies for the cities of Niš, Vranje and Novi Pazar in Serbia, that is, Kotor, Tivat, and Herceg Novi in Montenegro; the development of a policy brief for the improvement of conditions in the field of social sciences in Serbia; the development of a policy paper for raising the sustainability level of the civil sector in culture in Serbia, etc).

The Center for Empirical Cultural Studies cooperates with a large number of researchers from the region of Southeast Europe, but its core consists of eight members among whom there are seven teachers and associates from the University of Niš, Belgrade and Kragujevac, and one cultural manager. Among the active members of CECS there are five PhD holders (two in the field of sociology, one of psychology, one of political sciences and one of linguistics), two PhD students (who work as teaching assistants at the Sociology Department of the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš)

The highest organ of CECS is an Assembly of Associations which consists of all active members. Operational works of managing current activities is conducted by an Executive Board (Mr Predrag Cvetičanin (Ph.D.), Ms Jasmina Nedeljković (Ph.D.) and Ms Danijela Gavrilović (Ph.D.)), while, the financial transactions of the Center for Empirical Cultural Studies are controlled by the Supervisory Board.

Source: CECS