CDAPS
Center for Development and Applied Policy Studies
The Center for Development and Applied Policy Studies (CDAPS) is an independent, not-for-profit research organization established under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013. The Center has been created as a dedicated institutional platform for applied research, policy analysis, and evidence-based evaluation across key domains of governance and development.
CDAPS is founded on the recognition that effective public policy and institutional decision-making require more than normative intent or ideological alignment. They demand empirical evidence, analytical clarity, and systematic assessment of outcomes. The Center therefore positions itself as a knowledge-driven institution, committed to advancing research that informs policy through data, method, and context.
Contemporary governance systems operate within environments marked by increasing complexity, social diversity, technological change, and economic uncertainty. While governments and institutions implement a wide range of policies and development programs, the independent assessment of their real-world outcomes remains limited.
CDAPS was established to address this gap by providing a credible and autonomous research platform capable of undertaking methodologically rigorous and analytically neutral studies. The Center seeks to evaluate policies and institutions not only in terms of design and intent, but in terms of implementation processes, institutional performance, and measurable impact.
CDAPS functions as a knowledge institution rather than an advocacy organization. It maintains independence from political, ideological, and partisan affiliations, ensuring that its research outputs remain credible, objective, and institutionally reliable.
The Center adopts an interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon insights from political science, public administration, economics, development studies, sociology, and allied disciplines. This integrated orientation enables CDAPS to engage with policy questions that cut across sectors and institutional boundaries.
Research integrity forms the cornerstone of CDAPS’s institutional identity. All research activities undertaken by the Center are guided by empirical and data-driven inquiry, methodological transparency and rigor, ethical engagement with stakeholders and communities, and responsible interpretation and communication of findings.
The Center recognizes that long-term institutional credibility is built through consistency, accountability, and intellectual honesty.
Through its research and analytical work, CDAPS seeks to contribute to evidence-based policy discourse, institutional learning and governance reform, academic research and scholarly engagement, and informed public understanding of policy challenges.
The Center aims to function as a bridge between academic research and applied policymaking, ensuring that knowledge generated through research is both intellectually robust and practically relevant.
For institutional communication, collaboration inquiries, or academic engagement:
📧 Email: info@cdaps.org