The organizers of the conference on the “Partnerships between Government and the Private Sector" are the Centre for Economic Policy Research and the Public-Private Sector Research Center (SP-SP Research Center).

The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) was established in 1999 to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives. In order for citizens to effectively exercise their voices in a democracy, they should be informed about the problems and choices that they face. CEPR is committed to presenting issues in an accurate and understandable manner, so that the public is better prepared to choose among the various policy options.

Toward this end, CEPR conducts both professional research and public education. The professional research is oriented towards filling important gaps in the understanding of particular economic and social problems, or the impact of specific policies. The public education portion of CEPR's mission is to present the findings of professional research, both by CEPR and others, in a manner that allows broad segments of the public to know exactly what is at stake in major policy debates. An informed public should be able to choose policies that lead to an improving quality of life, both for people within the United States and around the world. 

CEPR was co-founded by economists Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot. Our Advisory Board of Economists includes Nobel Laureate economists Robert Solow and Joseph Stiglitz; Richard Freeman, Professor of Economics at Harvard University; and Eileen Appelbaum, Professor and Director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University.



The SP-SP Research Center is part of  IESE Business School, the graduate business school of the University of Navarra. The Public-Private Sector Research Center was created in October of 2001. Its mission is to foster cooperation between the private sector and public administrations, as well as the exchange of ideas and initiatives, through dialogue, research and education.

The Center is sponsored by the following organizations: Accenture, Ajuntament de Barcelona, BBVA, Cambra de Comerç de Barcelona, Diputació de Barcelona, Garrigues, Generalitat de Catalunya, Sanofi- Aventis, Telefonica, T-Systems and VidaCaixa.