It gives me immense pleasure to extend a very warm welcome to all of you to our research center Islamabad Policy Institute (IPI) and its website.
We are living in uncertain times. The world’s changing, but more significantly the scale and pace of the change that we are witnessing is unprecedented. Be it the Brexit vote, Donald Trump winning United States’ presidential elections or for that matter the rise of authoritarian populists and nationalists elsewhere across the globe, one cannot escape the conclusion that the existing world order is in mortal danger. Resurgence of Russia, China’s growing assertiveness, West’s desperate attempts to block the rapid loss of influence, and tectonic transformation of Middle East underscore the fact that a dramatic shift in the trajectory of our globalised world is underway.
In order to comprehend the implications of some of these changes and formulate effective and efficient responses, people across the word are increasingly turning to think tanks. There has been a proliferation of such public policy research institutes everywhere and these organizations have resultantly seen an increase in their influence. The global rise of think tanks has also inspired growth in the local think tank sector here in Pakistan and several new ones have emerged over the past few years. As of now, a study carried out by Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad says there are 93 functioning think tanks in the country.
However, there was a need for a think-tank that could track fast paced changes, emerging challenges, and provide timely policy advice to policy-makers and all stakeholders with a focus on impact. IPI aims to fill that void.
IPI would abide by principles of ‘objective, high-quality and reliable’ analysis of policy-issues in a timely manner.
Guidance and cooperation of valued partners for strengthening research and policy advocacy activities would be greatly appreciated.
Syed Muhammad Sajjad Shabbir
