Institute of Development & Policy Research

Rationale and Message from the Director

Higher learning institutions are established to primarily serve the needs of the society. It is well understood that there should be an alliance of a wide range of perspectives to effectively tackle a multifaceted problems of community/society and/or a nation at large. In order to effectively engage all stakeholders and realize educational, social, economic, technological, and other spheres of development objectives, the policy design and its implementation strategies play a vital role. Hence, scholastic endeavors targeting policies and strategies are expected to address the practice gaps and contextual disparities. In conducting policy related researches in diverse aura of development and disseminating the findings for policy makers and other end users believed to avert the poverty cycle and enhance the quality of life in various parameters. Policy research is the process of conducting research on or analysis of a fundamental social problem in order to provide policymakers with pragmatic, action-oriented recommendations for alleviating the problem. Hence, IDPR pledges a multidisciplinary platform for collecting micro and macro level development data, generating robust evidences, informing policy, and reviewing performance at local, national, and global spheres. Since development challenges and opportunities are multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, trans-disciplinary, and also transnational, there is an emerging need for diverse scientific insights and perspectives. Thus, the contemporary thinking on development solutions depend on harmonizing evidence based views and perspectives to solve a development problem or to draw on an available opportunity.

To this end, the Institute will stretch its services to problem solving development and policy researches and connect all its knowledge and wisdom to social, cultural, economic, and political spheres. It gears to enhance the capacity of employees in the university and external stakeholders in understanding a range of policies, strategies, and programs by providing trainings. The Institute also envisages launching needs assessment based innovative graduate programs for producing scholars in various scopes where their findings will support its mission. Specifically, it stretches to promote multi, trans and inter-disciplinary research on human development issues; to provide demand based short term capacity building training to policy makers and practitioners; to offer demand driven and innovative consultancy services for government and the private sectors; to disseminate research results to the scientific community and public policy makers and practitioners; and to organize a platform of dialogue/debate and seminar series on national and regional policy issues, and to create feasibly linkages with all development stakeholders that strive to transform the livelihood status of citizens.

Mebratu Belete Beka (Ph.D)

Director, Institute of Development and Policy Research, WSU