The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has thirteen (13) research institutes and the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI) is one of them. The institute was established through a UNDP project in 1988 aimed at addressing policy issues relating to transferring technology from developed to developing countries especially as in the case of Ghana. Its original name of Technology Transfer Centre (TTC) reflected the core mandate of the institute at that time. However, that name was changed to Policy Research and Strategic Planning Institute (PORSPI) in 1992 as the mandate got broadened to include other relevant research themes. Two years later in 1994, the current name was adopted to underscore the diversifying nature of its programme activities.
Over the years, CSIR-STEPRI has excelled in executing its mission and mandate by addressing the following five thematic programmes:

One major asset of STEPRI is a highly qualified and motivated multi-disciplinary staff with backgrounds from Social Sciences, Economics, Agriculture, Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Economics, Communication and Development Studies.