The Philippine Institute for Development Studies was named as the top think tank in Southeast Asia and one of the best in the world by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program of the University of Pennsylvania.
The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program recognized PIDS in the 2013 Global Go Think Tank Report, a comprehensive ranking of the world`s top think tanks that acknowledges the important contributions and emerging global trends of think tanks worldwide.
It said for 2013, 6,826 think tanks from 182 countries were evaluated. PIDS was ranked 37th among the top 50 social policy think tanks in the world, surpassing the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore that was ranked 41st.
PIDS also managed to improve its position from 40th place in the 2012 report.
PIDS and ISEAS were the only Asean think tanks included in the world ranking of top social policy think tanks. PIDS was ranked 70th among 80 top international development think tanks, moving up from its ranking of 79th place in the 2012 report.
PIDS is a state-funded think tank devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions. Since its establishment in 1977, it has been engaged in conducting long-term, policy-oriented studies to assist policymakers and planners in crafting development plans and programs that are based on sound research evidence.
PIDS said it has completed more than 800 studies that encompass a wide range of development issues such as trade, competition policy, housing and urban development, demography, poverty, agriculture, environment, public finance, information and communication technology, education, health economics and others.
