Center for Integrative and Development Studies
The University of Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UPCIDS) hosted the second Melbourne Forum in October 2017. Established in 1985 by UP President Edgardo Angara, UP CIDS is a policy research unit of the University of the Philippines that connects disciplines and scholars across the several units of the UP System. It was initiated to encourage collaborative and rigorous research addressing issues of national significance by supporting scholars and securing research funding, enabling them to produce outputs and recommendations for public policy.
The Center accomplishes this by convening a broad range of programs as well as producing publications for academics and the wider public. In August 2017, CIDS began to undertake research under nine regular programs and other special projects. These include programs on higher education and policy reform, education research, data science, the middle-income trap, social and political change, strategic studies, alternative development, peace and conflict transformation, and the Korean Research Center. The Center and the convened programs also host public fora, roundtable discussions, and conferences that bring together various sectors with a view of broadening the Center’s network and research agenda.