Welcome to the website of the Institute for Regional Studies of the CERS. The IRS/RKI is a leader among national think tanks in regional science, not only because of its size but also because its four scientific departments are located in different regions of the country, providing valuable local knowledge and embeddedness. The knowledge of the spatial patterns of natural, social, and economic resources and the reduction of spatial disparities, which requires a complex social science approach, is crucial for the country’s competitiveness and balanced development; this can only be provided in Hungary by the CERS Institute for Regional Studies, the base institute of Hungarian regional science, which has the critical mass for interdisciplinary research in cooperation with representatives of economics, geography, sociology, political science, and law.