Institute for Regional Studies

The Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies is the research arm of Joint Venture Silicon Valley and housed within the organization. Research topics focus on economic and community health issues in Silicon Valley and the greater Bay Area, and on broader regional issues.

The Institute conducts research that supports Joint Venture’s programmatic areas, manages a variety of regional resources for the public benefit, and provides a stream of research products to the community on a regular basis. The Institute also conducts work on a contract basis, ranging from custom data requests to full research studies.

Publications

The Silicon Valley Poll is an extensive public opinion survey placed in the field annually by Joint Venture and its research arm, the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies. Carried out in partnership with The Mercury News and Bay Area News Group, the Poll tracks recurring questions probing how residents feel about the general direction of the region and their stance on a range of policy and planning questions. Each year the poll also poses timely and topical questions about current events.

The Silicon Valley Index is the annual centerpiece publication of Joint Venture. It is prepared by the Institute with participation from additional organizations, leaders, and academic partners. The Silicon Valley Index is available in two formats: as a static PDF document and as an interactive data dashboard on the Silicon Valley Indicators website.

The Institute also distributes new data via news releases on a regular basis, and publishes a steady stream of research briefs and reports on a variety of topics. Institute publications are available on the Publications page of the Joint Venture website and the Special Reports section of the Indicators website.

Leadership

Russell Hancock, PhD, serves as both the President and CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley and the President of the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies. He also serves on the faculty of the public policy program at Stanford University. Rachel Massaro is the Institute’s Director of Research, and is assisted by a network of affiliates with a broad array of expertise, including workforce, regional economics, transportation, public policy, clean energy, business dynamics, and more.

For more information on the Institute’s team of researchers, please visit Joint Venture’s Staff page.

Contact Us

For more information and pricing, please contact us at or by filling out our online request form.