1. The role of regional science in Hungary The case of the Institute of Regional Studies, CERS, HAS Ilona Pálné Kovács director
Novosibirsk, 10-13, October,

2. The story and the history interconnected
The establishment, and activites of any research institute dealing with regional issues depend on external context also, on the state of the art of:
the surrounding region/country
regional policy
politics
science policy

3. History of the institute
1943 Transdanubian Institute (Pécs, independent with local and governmental support)
1955 it becomes a part of the institute network of HAS
1972 new interdisciplinary profile
1984 establishing the network with more departments CRS, HAS
1990 systemic change ( to survive)
strong governmental demand for professional support the new regional policy: legislation, macro and regional, local planning, preparation for EU accession, teaching
2004declining governmental demand and financial crisis
but stabilised the international embeddeddness (2010. Annual conference of RSA in Pécs)
2012 HAS reform: merger with two institutes CERS HAS- shock
2012shrinking, fighting for survive again, but consolidation in a smaller scale,

4. Main activites
Basic research
Policy advise
Higher education

5. Basic research activities, disciplines
Regional, urban and rural development
Spatial structure of the society and economy, infrastructure
Regional policy and regional administration
Regional policy in the European Union,
International and interregional co-operations, border studies
Environmental researches
Economics, geography, history, sociology, political science, law
Geographically CEE in the focus but some shifts towards Balkan countries and Russia

6. Periodicals Sapce and Society Discussion papers Series Volumes
Monographs

7. Departments of IRS
departments in 2007
Departments in 2016

8. Heigher education in regional science
Doctoral schools (Győr, Pécs, Debrecen, Gödöllő)
Master trainings (Győr, Pécs, Budapest, Szeged, Kaposvár, Debrecen, Székesfehérvár, Gödöllő)
New regional science workshops in Carpathian Basin (Kolozsvár, Csíkszereda, Szabadka, Komárom)
also declining, students clever enough moving to more „competitive” professions

9. Massive regional polarisation is going on
Did we succeed?
Hungary is still (or again) a centralised country without regions or any strong autonomous local and regional governments (We could ask are any governments interested in regional knowledge and decentralisation?)
Massive regional polarisation is going on
Development policy is territorally blind.
Massive social polarisation together with territorial desintegration and segregation

10. Why failure? Policy Empty map, lack of culture of regionalism
Hectic political fashions of geographical scales instead of adapting to the spatial processes
Ethnic regions (at the beginning)
Economic rayons (1950–)
City districts, planning regions (1970–)
NUTS regions, Leader area, CBC (1990–)
City networks, macro regions (2014–)
Space is only a device of politics (empty map or mapdrawing) not a stable frame of reference in public policy

11. Dilemmas of the mission of policy advise
Regionalism and decentralisation under threat (only in Hungary?), there is no demand for our knowledge
No need for on-the-ground interdisciplinary research that reflects territorialities
IRS has to focus on „pure” science

12. Science policy challenge
Regional science has weakened in its position both in higher education and applied research in Hungary
Dilemma of basic vs. applied research
What is (can be) our priority: to assist the regional policy or to conduct mainstream basic research
The last one of course but without money?

13. Both institutes located at the periphery
Similarities between IRS and Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering
Both institutes located at the periphery
Same profile: interdisciplinary research and modelling of regional processes
Ambition to assist regional development policy
Outstanding leaders (Enyedi, Horváth, professor Granberg) who died but their impact survived
Firm target to co-operate in the future

14. Our mission is to continue
Optimist conclusion
Politics is changing
Regional policy is changing
Science policy is changing
Regional science must exist
Our mission is to continue