History:

Established in 1980

Representative Officer:

Dr. Harka Gurung, Director

V. Bavanandan, Chief Administrative Officer

Objectives:

Upon recommendation by the United Nations Development Programme-Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNDP-ESCAP)Task Force headed by Professor Soedjatmoko of Indonesia, four development institutions in the region, namely, the Asian and Pacific Development Institute (Bangkok), the Asian and Pacific Development Administration Centre (Kuala Lumpur), the Social Welfare and Development Centre for Asia and the Pacific (Manila), and the Asian and Pacific Centre for Women and Development (Teheran), merged and established APDC, an autonomous, intergovernmental regional institution, to enhance the innovative capacity of the region's governments as well as of nongovernmental organizations in the development field. In particular, the center was envisaged to function as one of the strong hubs in a multiplicity of networks of individual researchers and administrators as well as of national research and training institutions in the region and through its activities, strengthen these institutions at the national level.

Geographic Focus:

Asia Pacific region

Periodicals:

• APDC Newsletter (three times a year)
• Research Reports
• Asia-Pacific Development Informatics Network
• (APDIN) Newsletter
• Issues in Women and Development (semiannual)
• APENPLAN (occasional)

Major Activities:

• Research that contributes to: 1) increasing the capacity of the poor to overcome poverty; 2) increasing the institutional capacity to manage national development and change; and 3) increasing the capacity to adjust to the changing global environment.
• Training in project planning and management and senior management development, middle management development, energy planning and management, and information technology.
• Information collection and dissemination through a library/documentation center and publications.

Number of Researchers:

19

Number of Administrative and Support Staff:

57

Financial Profile:

The total operating fund available to the center in 1994 was US$2,836,000. Total expenditures for 1994 were US$1,720,000. Annual contributions from the member governments constitute the center's institutional fund towards staff and establishment costs. Total annual contribution pledged by member governments came to US$967,000 in 1994.

Asia Pacific--Related Programs:

Training programs

• Regional Training Course on CDS/ISIS
  Funded by the International Development Information Network and held on March 29-31, 1994, in Indonesia, the training course focused on the use of CDS/ISIS (Micro Version) for the Management Information System.
• Applications of Information Technology for Sustainable Development Training Course
  Funded by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the International Development Information Network (IDIN) and held on August 15-19, 1994, at APDC, the main objective of the course was to explore the role of information technology in sustainable development rather than its use for one-shot growth.

Workshops/meetings

• BANK-POOR '96
  Select microfinance practitioners, advocates, and supporters from all over Asia and the Pacific will gather at APDC to address the common problem of how to build up the capacity of microfinance institutions to provide financial services to the millions of poor. The conference will take place on December 10-12, 1996.
• Programme for Asian Cooperation in Energy and the Environment (PACE-E)---First Annual Review Meeting
  The first annual review of the program being carried out by the UNDP. The aim of the review was to assess the progress made with implementing PACE-E component activities during 1994 and to formulate an appropriate work plan for the remaining duration of the program. The meeting was held in Colombo on December 7-9, 1994.
• Project EASES---Preparatory Workshop
  The project on Development and Dissemination of Efficiency-Oriented and Environmentally-Constrained Alternative Energy Strategy Scenarios (EASES) aims to develop a set of alternative long-term energy strategy scenarios that would reflect greater efficiency in energy production and use while being environmentally sustainable. The workshop was held in Kuala Lumpur on May 3-5, 1994.
• South-East Asian Workshop on Gender, Environment and Development: Policy and Planning
  The workshop brought together researchers and policy makers from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam and sought to address the relationship between research and policy, particularly in the areas of gender and sustainable livelihoods. More importantly, the workshop looked at new research approaches to gender and sustainable development and focused on policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation around issues of gender and the environment.
• Workshop on Development-Focused End-Use-Oriented Service-Directed (DEFENDUS) Methodology
  Based on a balanced focus between conventional energy options, new energy resources/technologies, and energy efficiency improvement opportunities, DEFENDUS has the capability to plan for future energy development in an equitable and environmentally sustainable manner. The workshop was held November 14-22, 1994, in India.

Research/Survey

• Action-Research on Rural Credit to Reduce Hardcore Poverty---Phase III
  This project is the third phase to replicate the Grameen Bank Approach to Credit for the Poor in selected countries in the region. Several new Grameen Bank-type pilot projects were initiated in this phase, including Project Tau Yu Mai in Vietnam. APDC will be conducting final evaluations of these projects in early 1995.
• Asia-Pacific Management and Training Database: A Select Directory of Institutions and Organizations/Research in Social Science: Updating Ongoing Projects
  Funded by IDIN
• International Migration of Women
  The research studies were completed in early 1992. The research project was coordinated by APDC to examine the causes, mechanisms, and consequences of female labor migration at the macro and micro levels, from both ends of the migration process: the sender and receiving countries.
• Population and Reproductive Rights
  This project was initiated in April 1993 to document, analyze, and synthesize women's experiences with different kinds of population policies in the Asian region.

Development projects

• Regional Poverty Alleviation Programme for Asia and the Pacific
  APDC implements three components of this UNDP regional program---Credit for Income-Generating Activities of the Poor in Asia and the Pacific, Community-based Initiatives, and Gender/Human Development.

Publications

• Administrative and Financial Accountability: The ASEAN-SAARC Experience
  Edited by Sirajuddin Hj Salleh and Arabinda Kar, 1995
• Flying Wild Geese Pattern of Development: Changing Comparative Advantage in Asia and the Pacific
  Somsak Tambunlertchai and Syed Abdus Samad, 1996
• Gender, Economic Growth and Poverty: Market Growth and State Planning in Asia and the Pacific
  Edited by Noeleen Heyzer and Gita Sen
• Globalisation and the ASEAN Public Sector
  Edited by Sirajuddin Hj Salleh and Ledevina Carino, 1995
• Government-NGO Relations in Asia: Prospects and Challenges for People-Centred Development
  Edited by Noeleen Heyzer, James V. Riker, and Antonio B. Quizon, 1995
• Macroeconomic Management in Southeast Asia's Transitional Economies
  Edited by Manuel F. Montes, Romeo A. Reyes, and Somsak Tambunlertchai, 1995.
• People's Initiatives for Sustainable Development: Lessons of Experience
  Edited by S. A. Samad, Tatsuya Watanabe, and Seung-Jin Kim
• Privatization in Asia and the Pacific: Profiles, Strategies, Results
  Syed Abdus Samad and James McMaster, 1996
• Public Sector Innovations: The ASEAN Way
  Edited by Sirajuddin H. Salleh, 1996
• Strategic Management in the Economic Sector: The ASEAN Experience
  Edited by Sirajuddin Hj Salleh and Ernesto Franco, 1996

Collaborating Organizations:

Twenty member governments (Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, People's Republic of China, Cook Islands, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam) and 2 associate member governments (Hong Kong, Macau)

--As of October 1996

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