Objectives
- Establishing research and documentation that give access to basic data on economic, social, political, educational, ethical, and spiritual topics in the Lebanese and neighboring societies and allow those concerned to follow up on their development throughout time. The lines of research deal on the one hand with the factors affecting the aforementioned fields and on the other hand with how members of the general public perceive them. There is a focus on choosing subjects of research and the appropriate means of treating them with a view to reinforcing the mechanisms of dialogue and participation in the fields of citizenship, democracy, human rights, and human relations built on the acceptance of “the other” and to strengthening dialogue between cultures, civilizations and religions.
- Establishing a data bank to store all the data, indicators, and evidence, classifying them according to the needs of research and distributing them.
- Proposing projects in the social, economic and educational fields and evaluating them. The conditions of benefiting from the services of this bank and the required procedures for this are to be defined.
- Establishing a research network that includes academic researchers responsible for advancing scientific research, and civil and spiritual development.
- Developing methodologies of research and documentation in order to promote dialogue and the acceptance of “the other”.
- Drafting a yearly plan for the dissemination of information and the organization of dialogues and discussions based on this information.
Services of the Center
- Studies that rely on statistics and facts in different national and spiritual fields and that establish strategic approaches for treatment and practical suggestions for implementation.
- Studies requested by the different institutions’ of the Church on specific subjects, taking into consideration the factors of time and potentials. Through them the center seeks to provide these bodies with concrete information and some insight into the future.
- Studies on subjects and projects of laws imposed by the political situation either through the legislative, executive and judicial authorities or through researches and presentations or institutions.
- Various studies on different subjects related to infrastructure form basic research subjects.
- Studies on subjects that will make headlines in the near future: peace, technology, globalization, democracy, state and decentralization, human rights, and the dialogue of civilizations.
Work Methodology of the Center
The Center adopts a compound work methodology to perform the tasks that it undertakes. These methodological frameworks can be classified as follows:
- Methodology of documentation and interconnection of information inside different sections and chapters. This methodology adopts a developed technological framework in order to provide the required consultations mechanically and to cater to the greatest number of requests.
- Methodology of field researches through the adoption of quantitative and qualitative techniques that help complete the required data and evaluate them continuously every time an urgent social or economical issue arises.
- Methodology of teamwork based on the variety of competencies, which helps the development of scientific dialogue and critical thinking.
- Methodology of communication between the various parties concerned in all subjects and between them and researchers, in order to develop fields of knowledge and to establish programs for publication and dissemination.
- Methodology of listening and communicating with the general public and with officials in the various fields of interest of the Center.
Cooperation with Research Centers
- With universities having common interests,
- With media establishments,
- With peer centers,
- With government agencies,
- With economic institutions, especially banks (among them the Bank of Lebanon).
- This cooperation can go outside Lebanon to extend to its Arab and international environment.
- This cooperation can take up several forms (exchange, coordination, marketing, etc…), depending on the size of the Center.
- This cooperation can highlight the necessity of using advanced technological equipment in the studies and the means of cooperation.