PIDS named one of the world’s best think tanks anew

For the fourth consecutive year, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) has been recognized as among the world’s top think tanks.

In the 2015 Global Go To Think Tank Report and Policy Advice of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania, PIDS was included in the list of best think tanks in seven categories. More than 6,600 think tanks from 198 countries were assessed in this round.

PIDS remained the top social policy think tank in South East Asia and was ranked 37^thamong the top 100 in the world. Other think tanks from Southeast Asia that made it to this category (social policy) were Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (41^st) and Institute for Policy Studies (53^rd) and Malaysia’s Center for Public Policy Studies (66^th). In 2014, PIDS also ranked 37^th among 50 nominated think tanks in this category.

PIDS also maintained its rankings as among the top international development think tanks (70^th out of 128) and among the top education policy think tanks (33^rd out of 65). 

Moreover, the Institute has been included in four new categories: best think tanks in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, best government-affiliated think tanks, and think tanks with the best external relations/public engagement program. The East Asian Development Network (EADN) Secretariat, which PIDS has been running since 2010, also made it to the list of best think tank networks. The EADN is a network of institutes and centers in developing countries of East Asia. It sponsors research and capacity-building activities for early career researchers.

The Go To Think Tank Index is a comprehensive ranking of the world's top think tanks and has been described as the premier database and measure of world think tanks. It aims to increase the profile, performance, and impact of think tanks, and to create a transnational and interdisciplinary network of centers of public policy excellence. A total of 4,677 journalists, policymakers, think tanks, and public and private donors from 143 countries participated in the 2015 ranking process.

Established in 1989, the TTCSP aims to acknowledge the important contributions and emerging global trends of think tanks worldwide. Think tanks are public-policy research analysis and engagement organizations that generate policy-oriented research, analysis, and advice on domestic and international issues, thereby enabling policymakers and the public to make informed decisions about public policy.

PIDS is a state-funded think tank devoted to policy research.  Its Board of Trustees is chaired by National Economic and Development Authority Director-General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, with Mr. Romeo Bernardo, Dr. William Padolina, Atty. Raphael Lotilla, and Dr. Gilberto Llanto (PIDS president) as members.

Since its establishment in 1977, PIDS has been engaged in conducting long-term, evidence-based research that serves as inputs in crafting socioeconomic policies for the country. PIDS has completed close to 1,000 studies covering a wide range of issues that encompass macroeconomic, agricultural, trade and industrial policies, health economics, education, environment, natural resource management, urban development and social services, and governance.

In 2015, the Institute completed a number studies evaluating the effectiveness and impacts of key government programs and projects to ascertain whether they are achieving their intended objectives and to ensure that government resources are being used wisely.  Impact evaluation helps promote greater transparency and accountability in government. (PIDS)