Nestor was established in 2012 at the Department of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Cyprus to provide the necessary infrastructure for high quality research on political and social behavior. We aim to contribute to the international literature through cutting-edge empirical research. We are currently designing and implementing research projects in Cyprus and Greece using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies including focus groups, surveys, experiments and panel designs. One of our main aims is to develop new and useful methodological tools for the study of social and political trust and to investigate how trust formulates, crystallizes and transforms in extreme socioeconomic conditions.