The Conservative Systems Research Centre was set up in 1968 during the Party's time in Opposition, and was an independent body run by Michael Spicer and Mervyn Pike MP, with secretariat services provided by CRD. The Centre appears to have been wound up by 1971 after completing modelling projects on tax policy and public expenditure based on computer simulations. The intention was for the outcomes of these projects to inform the 1970 manifesto and Budget.