In a world of growing globalization and increasing mobility, more and more people find themselves in situations which involve some sort of translation. Messages are adapted to new situations, local texts are transferred to global contexts, and global texts are localized into multiple languages. The production of knowledge, entertainment, services and industrial products presupposes interaction and communication across languages and cultures.Translation, interpretation and exchange of knowledge and information are becoming a still more integral part of both global production processes and of the way we think, communicate and construct our cultural identities.

The primary aim of the research carried out at Center for Research and Innovation in Translation and Translation Technology (CRITT) is to build up new knowledge of translation and communication processes and provide a basis for technological innovation in this field.

On the one hand, the center's research looks outward at the transformational processes in organizations and societies that are significant features of globalization, and, on the other hand, it looks inward at the mental and language processes which constitute communication and translational expertise.

On the occasion of CRITTS 10 years celebration, Sandra  Halverson underlined that CRITT has contributed to an "immensely deeper and broader understanding of Translation Process Research", shown a "deep commitment to methodological rigor that is disseminated through its summer schools and workshops" with an "admirable generosity and hospitality that the center has shown to so many people". 
Andrew Chesterman remarked in his talk that "methodological sophistication has made CRITT a flagship; ... CRITT has become a model of how to do translation research"