The Institute for Public Affairs or Institut pre verejne otazky, (IVO), is an independent public policy research institute founded in February 1997. The Institute's mission is:

• to analyse social, political, economic, foreign policy, legal, cultural, and other issues of public interest
• to conduct research on public policies and their consequences, to publish and to disseminate widely its findings, and to make practical recommendations for improved government policy
• to study, document, and help to promote Slovakia’s transition to a free, democratic, and open society
• to stimulate public debate on important issues through lectures, seminars, workshops, and roundtables
• to promote the active involvement of informed citizens in public life

Research areas include:

• domestic politics
• European and Transatlantic relations
• ethnic minorities (particularly Slovakia's Roma minority)
• civil society development in Slovakia