Knee Regulatory Research Center

The Knee Regulatory Research Center is a United States-based academic research center at West Virginia University. Founded in 2016, the Knee Center provides information to the public about various issues within the sphere of state government regulation. This includes occupational licensing, scope of practice, and certificate of need.

The Knee Center maintains a national database that documents and tracks the occupational licensing regulations of hundreds of professions across the U.S. It also organizes educational panels at academic conferences and prepares research reports for policymakers.

Organization
Formerly part of Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania, the Knee Center is now part of West Virginia University’s John Chambers College of Business and Economics. In addition to educating non-students, it also provides hand-on opportunities for students interested in economics, public policy, and research.

The Knee Center created a publicly available database that provides licensing information on 50 professions across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The organization introduced the database in a paper for The Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy.

Leadership
Edward Timmons is the Knee Center’s founding director. He is also a Service Associate Professor of Economics at West Virginia University's College of Business and Economics.

Conor Norris serves as the Knee Center's assistant director.