The Seldon Institute of Psychohistory was an institution that existed within the United Federation of Planets. After the discovery of the Mirror Universe, the Institute was tasked by Starfleet to compile a study on how exactly the two universes might have diverged. This was because Starfleet wanted to know if the fate of the Terran Empire could possibally befall the Federation as well, and how to avoid such a situation in the future. (TOS novel: Spectre) This institute is clearly a tribute to author Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.