Is there an actual difference between an "institute" and a "center" or are they both fuzzy terms that mean "a academic-ish place where research happens that can be more or less associated with a university?"
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What about the proliferation of "labs"? That one rankles me the most. Are they growing new policies in petri dishes?
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What's an example? In science at least, labs are just the unit of organization run by a professor.
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In my mind center has a friendlier, "ideology-free", functional (being more than doing) vibe.
University policies vary. UNC's provides the general sense:
"The terms center and institute are used interchangeably; however, the term institute sometimes reflects a broader scope and may indicate a unit containing smaller centers within it."
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Off-the-cuff, institute implies an organization founded on some opinionated, contestable objective, while a center is merely a grouping around some focus with no limitation on how far elements may wander from that focus
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For the Medical Research Council in the UK they're different
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Institutes aim to teach some part of society about a part of reality, and have worldviews based on the philosophies of their founder, which they advance through their activities.
Research centers are places for many different people to do research, regardless of worldview.
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An under-talked-about property of organizations (and people) is what I might call their "Responsiveness":
How much does engaging with them lead to action?
A 30-minute conversation could lead straight to <writing, a check, work-product> and in others, hours lead to nothing.
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