The European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) is a scholarly association that supports and encourages the training, research and cross-national cooperation of many thousands of academics and graduate students specialising in political science and all its sub-disciplines. ECPR membership is institutional rather than individual and, at its inception in 1970, comprised eight members (Bergen, Gothenburg, Essex, Leiden, Mannheim, Nuffield College (Oxford), Strathclyde and Paris (FNSP)). Membership has now grown to encompass more than 350 institutions throughout Europe, with associate members spread around the world.

ECPR activities include

• Organising workshops, roundtables, conferences and a biannual Methods School
• Publishing journals, books, articles and newsletters
• Providing a comprehensive European information source for political scientists through its website, electronic bulletin and online searchable databases
• Promoting teaching and training and the discipline in general through the professional journal European Political Science (EPS) and its Methods School.
• Offering a range of funding schemes to help progress individual careers and to support the wider development of the discipline.

The ECPR has close links with similar organisations, such as the American Political Science Association (APSA), European national associations and the International Political Science Association (IPSA).