Development Policy Research Centre

The DPRC facilitates cutting edge multidisciplinary research across the School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law at LUMS to engage in evidence-based policy making and public discussion.

Given the current political and security situation in Pakistan, there is a greater urgency to the need for evidence based policy making informed by rigorous, inter-disciplinary insights. With this in view, the School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, is building up a consolidated research platform to complement its already well-established, world class, teaching platform and individual research activities. The Development Policy Research Centre  is envisaged as a knowledge centre structured around core socioeconomic development themes with the objectives of carrying out cutting edge multi-disciplinary research. The centre combines the disciplines of social sciences and law to strengthen evidence-based policymaking. The centre is structured to disseminate its findings through publications, seminars, workshops, conferences and policy advocacy forums.

Through the centre, the School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law (SHSSL) at LUMS expects to develop a culture of consolidated academic research, integrate the knowledge into classroom teaching materials and establish collaborative linkages with domestic and international research institutions to further augment its capacity as a knowledge centre.SHSSL at LUMS is widely regarded as an institution of impeccable academic repute, both within Pakistan and internationally. It has a rich inter-disciplinary faculty spanning disciplines like economics, law, political science, anthropology, sociology and history, with an established track record of excellence in academic and applied research, including collaborative research networks with reputed Pakistani and international research institutions. Several faculty members are already assisting policymakers through insights from applied policy research. They are providing advisory services to Federal and Provincial governments, serving on government taskforces, the Law and Justice Commission, bilateral and multilateral donors and foreign governments. Faculty members at SHSSL currently serve on advisory councils for both the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Chief Minister of Punjab, as well as government task forces, Commissions and boards for NGOs and industry. Many faculty members also interact with the media.

The DPRC will provide a platform to channel this expertise towards sustained, thematic research work and contribute to evidence based policy making and public discussion. The research will be disseminated among policymakers, politicians, the private sector and the academia. The mode of dissemination will be journal articles, books, specialized reports, seminars and workshops. Pakistans vibrant media will be engaged via op-eds and focused television programs. Importantly, research carried out at the Centre will provide material for the Schools teaching programs, thus incorporating current policy issues into class room teaching.

The research program of DPRC will focus on the following research themes:

• Accountability, institutional capability and governance

• Culture, heritage and policy: cultural studies as applied science

• Democracy, social movements and civil society

• Environment and natural resources

• Poverty and welfare: incidence, causes and remedies in Pakistan, South Asia and globally

• Prosperity and social justice: determinants and sustainability

• Regionalism and globalization

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