We at the Centre for Economic and Social Development (CESD), a local socio-economic research institute, are currently embarking on a project that intends to scope the social research landscape in Myanmar.

This project, “Doing Research Assessment,” is being done in partnership with the Global Development Network. We aim to measure the production, diffusion, and uptake of social science research in developing nations. The overall project has two components. The first component is a case study on the state of Myanmar’s social research (mainly comprised of two sections: a contextual analysis, and an interview and survey analysis). The second component is a quantification of our findings using a common framework, which will be a component of a global comparative study. We believe that readers of Tea Circle will be important participants of this project because many have professional experience conducting social research in the country. Many also have a personal  perspective on the social research landscape, which will be very informative.

For this reason, we would like to request that readers participate in a questionnaire we have developed for researchers. Given that such an exercise has not been done before in the country, this input is highly valued and crucial for this research exercise. With the data gathered, we aim to analyze the survey responses in order to then be able to develop a sound evidence-based report with a policy recommendation to the Ministry of Education and University Rectors to improve the aforementioned system.