This does not imply, however, that they do not co-operate on issues of mutual interest. The poverty studies carried out by Universiti Sains Malaysia in the 1980s were not only useful at the regional level, they were also useful for developing anti-poverty strategies at the national level. These studies were carried out by the Centre for Policy Research which Universiti Sains Malaysia established in the 1970s and which was funded jointly by national and local governments.