Research Centers as Public Policy Players: AMBERD Member Attended Conference

On September 14-15, 2019, CRRC-Armenia organized first Think Tank Forum in Armenia with support of USAID Armenia within CSO DePo program in Aghveran. Vahe Bulanikyan, PhD in Economics, Associate Professor, represented AMBERD research center. During the discussions, special reference was made to the activities of our University research center - AMBERD, to its leading experience in obtaining a global rating.

Vahe Bulanikyan stated that the primary aim of the forum was the capacity-building and empowerment of research organizations via studying the market for services, fundraising trends and institutional development needs of policy-oriented research organizations. In addition to the keynote reports, a practical discussion was also conducted to highlight key issues, visions and solutions to the issues faced by the research and analytical centers.

Heghine Manasyan, the keynote speaker, CRRC-Armenia Director of Research and Development, emphasized that specialists from private, state, university research centers, as well as representatives of business structures, NGOs were invited to the conference. Reports regarding university research were of great interest. Arthur Khalatyan, lector at the AUA College of Science and Engineering, Alen Amirkhanyan, Director of AUA Acopian Center, shared their experience and made suggestions, Tigran Jrbashyan, Development Director at Ameriabank, presented the best case study of private business.

The event was summed up adopting a relevant declaration by the participants, according to which it is necessary to create a unified platform for Armenian research and analytical centers and solve all systemic problems. It is planned to organize such meetings regularly aimed at carrying out joint projects.

Vahe Bulanikyan, referring to the conference outcomes, noted that it is especially important to adopt a joint declaration, which will set out some key points of activity of research centers, which will both increase the efficiency of our research centers, and will enable them to be involved in the state building process.

ASUE Media and Public Relations Division