Centre for Economic Development and Administration (CEDA)

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Introduction

The Center for Economic Development and Administration (CEDA) was established on May 15, 1969 under a tripartite agreement between His Majesty’s Government of Nepal, TU and the Ford Foundation. Started as an autonomous institution, the Centre was integrated into TU and given the status of research centre on December 15, 1975 after the National Education System Plan (NESP) was implemented.

CEDA has been serving as a policy-research centre contributing towards the national development policies and strategies. The Centre’s activities are basically confined to research, consultancy and training programs. The Centre to its credit has publications that are well received by both national and international agencies.

Goal

The goal of the centre is to contribute to the nation building through analytical and problem solving works in the areas of socioeconomic and administrative development.

Objectives

• To assist the policy makers in formulating and implementing the development policies, plans and programs;
• To provide the policy-makers with conceptual, empirical and value premise for shaping the development policies, plans and programs;
• To recommend the policy makers /alternative policies, ideas and options;
• To foster intelligent and informed discussions on the issues and problems in the Nepalese public affairs so as to promote and establish an enlightened, conscious and influential public opinion;
• To help various agencies of the TU in their diverse programmes and to enhance their roles in national development; and
• To engage oneself with international collaboration in the study and pursuit of development changes.

Institutional Network

CEDA is presently a networking member of the following international institutions:

• Trade and Investment Relation in South Asia and South East Asia, Trade and Investment Division, ESCAP, Bangkok.
• Development Information Network for South Asia (DEVINSA), Colombo, Sri Lanka. The centre’s library is also the focal point for the Development Information Network for South Asia (DEVINSA) Project for Nepal.
• Thematic Node for South and Central Asia, Networking of Environment Training Institutes at Tertiary Level in Asia and the Pacific (NETTLAP), and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

CEDA is also a member of the following institutions:

• Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA), Manila, Philippines.
• Asia and Pacific Development Centre, APDC, Kualalumpur, Malaysia.
• Association of Development Research and Training Institutes of Asia and the Pacific (ADIPA), Kualalumpur, Malaysia.
• Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA), Hyderabad, India.

Human Resources

Academic Staff

Currently CEDA has a team of the following highly experienced and qualified professionals.

Technical and Administrative Staff

Publications

The Centre publishes research reports, bibliographies, case studies, seminar reports and occasional papers. It has its own half yearly newsletter, "CEDA NEWS" through which the progress of the ongoing projects/activities is made public. Further, it brings out a bi-annual, "Journal of Development and Administrative Studies (JODAS)." It also publishes articles on development management and administrative problems of Nepal and that of other developing countries. The Centre has so far brought out some 500 research reports including seminar proceedings. The Centre has, to its credit, publications that are well received by both national and international agencies.

Institutional Involvement

Member: BIMSTEC Network of Think Tanks

CEDA is a member of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Network of Think Tanks. BIMSTEC is an international organization involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia. The member countries of this group are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

Partner Institute: World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland

CEDA has been a partner institute of the World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland for conducting the Executive Opinion Survey since 2006. The Executive Opinion Survey, the “Voice of the Business Community” is a major component of the Global Competitiveness Report and provides the key ingredient that turns the report into a representative annual measure of a nation’s economic environment and its ability to achieve sustained growth. The survey gathers valuable information on a broad range of variable for which hard data sources are scarce or nonexistent. High level business executives operating in Nepal are surveyed to capture their opinion on the business environment in which they operate. The Global Competitiveness Report has been the World Economic Forum’s flagship publication and is widely recognized as the world’s leading cross country comparison of factors affecting economic competitiveness and growth.

Focal Point: SAARC Network

CEDA is a focal point for the SAARC Network of Researchers on Global, Financial and Economic Issues. The major objective of this Network is to focus on external economic issues that will have an impact on the individual Member States and the SAARC region. CEDA in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Nepal organized a meeting of SAARC Network of Researchers on 6th to 7th May 2005.

Member:

• CEDA is a member of the High Level Advisory Committee of the Economic Policy Network II formed under the Ministry of Finance, Government of Nepal in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The centre is regularly participating in the various meetings of the committee and providing policy suggestions.
• Partner institute as a think tank for World Economic Forum (WEF), Geneva, Switzerland.
• BIMISTEC Network of think tank.

IESON:

International Economic Society of Nepal (IESON) was formed as part of CEDA in July 2003 in collaboration with the Norwegian Embassy in Nepal with two basic objectives:

• To bring together the economists of public and private institutions, Government of Nepal, donor agencies and academic institutions to a common forum for discussion and interaction on economic development issues of Nepal; and
• To organize workshops and seminars on similar issues.

Current Activities:

The centre is conducting following research projects:

• “Poverty Monitoring and Evaluation Follow-up Survey” in cooperation with Poverty Alleviation Fund/The World Bank“
"Situation Assessment of Tourism Products in Terai Districts of Nepal” in cooperation with Nepal Tourism Board
• “The Executive Opinion Survey” in cooperation with World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness Program, Geneva, Switzerland
Research programmes with Tibetan Academy of Social Science, China

The centre has recently completed a research project “Social Exclusion, Democratic Inclusion and Insurgency in Nepal” in cooperation with NORAD, Norway in 2010. The centre also organized a national seminar as well as a national policy dialogue on current development issues.

Infrastructure:

It has a library and a documentation section, which facilitates the researchers, teachers and trainers. The library has a collection of reports, mimeographs, periodicals and books related to development, public administration, business management, economics, anthropology, sociology, psychology, political science and geography etc. The Centre has one auditorium hall accommodating 100 people and two other seminar halls of moderate size, each having the capacity to room 30 people.

The Executive Director is the head of both academic as well as administrative wing of the centre.

Dr. Ram Chandra  Dhakal

Executive Director

CEDA TU

P.O.Box 797, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal

Phone: (977-1) 4330324, 4330851, 4331721

Fax: (977-1) 4331722

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Website: www.ceda.org.np