To highlight the contribution of policy research to the socioeconomic advancement of the Philippines, Development Policy Research Month is celebrated in September each year. The theme for 2012 is `Regional Economic Integration And Inclusive Growth: Engaging Nations, Embracing People.` The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), a government think tank, is in the forefront of development policy research which has concentrated on rice and food security, economic competitiveness, improvement of local governance, management of international migration, coping with poverty alleviation.
