The Context
After the enactment of the 18th Amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan, the provincial governments in Pakistan have been given more autonomy, mandate, powers and resources. However, there hardly exists any systematic mechanism at provincial level to support the provincial governments with independent analysis of their policies so that the quality of their policies be objectively assessed and improvement/changes suggested for a free, open and prosperous Pakistan.
Realizing the critical nature of the existing gap, Experts in Management and Social Sciences (Pvt.) Ltd., a group of experts working with all stakeholders to address their social and economic well-being through a variety of interventions, like research interventions, trainings, seminars, workshops, and conferences, has decided to set up Experts Centre for Market ad Policy Research (ECMPR). The Centre will be tasked to act as an independent policy think tank in Pakistan. The research and advocacy work of the think tank will target improvement in the quality of public policy at provincial as well as federal level through exploring creative solutions and developing innovative ideas.
The ECMPR will be a nonprofit public policy center of the EMS based in Peshawar with a coordination office in Islamabad. In the future, the ECMPR will consider setting up regional offices in Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Muzafarabad, and Gilgit. However, most of the activities will be conducted online.
Vision, Mission and Values of the ECMPR
Vision
The ECMPR envisions public policy making process in the country based on evidence for a free, open and prosperous Pakistan.
Mission
The ECMPR is committed to work for the ideals of liberty, governments with limited interventions, rule of law, free markets and property rights by fostering high quality policy-relevant research, and disseminating the findings widely to decision-makers in the public and private sectors in Pakistan in general and in provinces in particular.
Values
Key values of the Centre will include:
- Creativity
- Learning
- Dialogue
- Continuous improvement
- Objective thinking
- Collaboration
Organizational Structure
Executive Director will be the administrative head of the Centre. The Centre will be governed by a Board of Directors. Experts representing different domains of public policies will be included in the Board. The tenure of each member will be 3 years. The Centre will constitute working units for different policy domains. These working units will work independently.
Working of the Centre
The ECMPR will develop its strategic plan. In line with its strategic plan, the working units of ECMPR will meet annually to review the progress of research activities and set the agenda of research for the following year. The agenda will be debated at the following board meeting each year, where approval will be accorded. Each working unit will also develop plans for arranging resources for conducting research. Each working unit will recruit volunteers to contribute to the implementation of the sectoral research agenda. The volunteers will be designated based on their qualifications, experience and commitment for the Centre. The designations will include:
- Research Associate
- Research Fellow
- Senior Research Fellow
The working units will also meet as and when needed to review progress on the implementation of their research plans. Each research initiative will have a leader, who will be responsible for all matters related to the initiative.
Research reports of all research initiatives will be converted into working papers and policy briefs. All working papers will be placed on the web-portal of the Centre. The ECMPR will share policy briefs with the relevant departments of the respective governments and with other relevant stakeholders. The policy briefs will contain policy analysis and recommendations.
Besides, the ECMPR will also create partnerships with academia and other stakeholders. The Centre will share the research priorities with the relevant departments of public and private sectors’ universities so that students may pick research topics having relevance and value for society, businesses and governments.
The ECMPR will organize an annual conference wherein research work of these units will be presented. Besides, academia, research institutes and government institutions will also be invited to present their research work.
The organization will create and maintain a website where working papers of ECMPR’s research projects will be uploaded for open discussions. Besides, a page for policy blogs will also be created.
Policy research areas
Tentatively identified policy research areas include:
- Economic Development
- Governance, Local Finance and Fiscal Policy
- Local governance and rural development
- Poverty, Livelihood, Food Security and Unemployment
- Humanitarian & Disaster Assistance
- Entrepreneurship and Startups
- Manufacturing
- Technology, Telecommunications, Innovation and Cyber security
- Tourism
- Transportation Industry
- Infrastructure
- Peacekeeping & Conflict Management, Terrorism & Extremism
- Education and Health
Events
The ECMPR will organize events such as seminars, panel discussions, workshops and conferences, The ECMPR will also present its research at EMS conferences. Besides, series of training programmes will also be run for public servants to develop the capacity of provincial governments in policy making. The ECMPR will regularly arrange policy briefings and issue press releases.
Our Team
Our management team with years of experience in corporate sector, government organizations, and academia will conduct policy research and communicate findings and policy recommendations to provincial governments and organizations having a mandate of policy advocacy.
Management Structure
The management of ECMPR will comprise of:
- Dr. Fayaz Ali Shah
- Dr. Shahid Jan
- Dr. Wali Rahman
- Dr. Atiq ur Rehman
Advisory Board Members
- Dr. Prof Abdul Saboor, Dean Social Sciences PMAS- Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan
- Dr. Zekeriya Nas, Associate Professor, Yuzuncu Yil University Van-Turkey
- Dr. Mustufa Musa, Dajila University, Iraq
- Mr. Atif Shehzad, Vice-President, Peshawar Chambers of Commerce and Industries, Pakistan
Research Fellows
Research fellows will provide support to research teams. At present following research fellows are available with the ECMPR on volunteer basis:
- Jabran Umar (Public Policy)
- Dr. Aamir Nadeem (Market Research)
- Dr. Sonia Sethi (SMEs)
- Himat Ali (Development Sector)
Experts
The ECMPR will create a list of experts in all critical policy domains, representing different parts of the country. They will be engaged on assignment to assignment based.