About the Centre

The Centre for Regional Public Finance was launched in September 2000, using strategic reserve funds set aside by the University of Aberdeen to promote research on the public finances of the newly devolved Scotland. The official opening of the devolved Scottish Parliament on 1 July 1999 was undoubtedly an historic occasion. Its predecessor (the Parliament of an independent Scotland) had last met on 25 March 1707, following the ratification of the Treaty of Union which declared that England (then understood to include Wales) and Scotland would become one Kingdom, with the same monarchy and succession, and equal trade and economic rights.

Although conscious of historical context and geographical location, the Centre’s mission is to conduct dispassionate research on devolved public finance across the whole of the United Kingdom. Moreover, the Centre seeks to establish links with researchers and policymakers across the world, especially those who either study or manage public money in decentralised political settings.

The ambitious programme of the Centre would not have been possible without a project grant, covering the period December 2000 to September 2003, from the Devolution and Constitutional Change Research Programme of the Economic and Social Research Council. The Director of the Centre is Professor David Heald, who is on secondment from his post in the Department of Accountancy & Finance. His colleagues are Chris Crighton, Alasdair McLeod and John Short.