PIDS marks fourth straight year among world’s top think tanks

MANILA, Philippines – For the fourth consecutive year, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) has been recognized among the world’s best 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 6,846 think tanks from 198 countries were assessed.

PIDS remained the top social policy think tank in Southeast Asia and was ranked 37th among the top 100 in the world. In 2014, PIDS also ranked 37th among 50 nominated think tanks in this category.

Other think tanks from Southeast Asia that made it to this category (social policy) were Singapore`s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (41st) and Institute for Policy Studies (53rd) and Malaysia`s Center for Public Policy Studies (66th).

PIDS, an agency of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), also maintained its ranking as among the top international development think tanks (70th out of 128) and among the top education policy think tanks (33rd 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.

In 2015, the PIDS completed a number of 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.

Incidentally, the World Bank’s Development Research Group got the top spot among the world’s government-affiliated think tanks, followed by the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI).

The ADBI ranked the 29th best think tank in the world, 20th best non-US think tank, sixth best international development think tank, 6th best think tank network, and 16th best managed think tank.