The Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Research Network is a network of Southern research institutes, researchers and stakeholders, supported by international experts, and devoted to ensuring greater participation of local expertise in the analysis of policy issues related to poverty, and economic and social development. PEP has regional offices in Asia (Philippines), Africa (Senegal), Latin America (Peru) and North America (Canada). It is currently funded by AusAID, CIDA, IDRC and UNDP, and working in collaboration with several other institutions - such as IADB, IFPRI, UNICEF, etc. - in special initiatives for research on various thematic issues.

With ten years of experience, and the support of world-renowned scientific experts in development economics, PEP has become a unique source of expertise in building local capacities for economic and policy analyses in developing countries. Indeed, since its establishment in 2002, PEP has contributed to build research capacities in nearly 50 developing countries, and for more than 500 local analysts who now have the expertise and resources to produce reliable scientific evidence on emerging development issues, to assist in related policymaking at home.

This scientific evidence proceeds from different analytical approaches:

• Community-Based Monitoring Systems; providing systematic sources of data from local-level censuses, implemented in coordination with local government units, to both profile and monitor poverty in a multidimensional sense, to complement existing national statistical databases
• Statistical monitoring, measurement and analysis of multidimensional poverty and development; using both monetary and non-monetary approaches to provide a fuller characterization of the nature, distribution, causes and consequences of poverty in the country
• Impact assessments: conducting rigorous evaluations of policies and program interventions in order to assess the actual impact on targeted populations and effective use of budget resources
• Prospective analyses of the impact of macroeconomic policies and shocks on long term economic growth and socioeconomic well-being at the national level - using modelling and macro-micro simulation techniques

These different approaches are based on world-renowned, state-of-the-art methodologies, techniques and tools, to the development of which PEP research and experts have substantially contributed over the past ten years.

PEP-led initiatives provide funding and scientific support for studies to be conducted by competitively-selected teams of developing country researchers. These teams are “gender-balanced” and usually count 3 to 4 members, including one senior researcher and several junior researchers. So far, PEP support has allowed the completion of 172 study projects, under a variety of policy research themes, from child poverty, to fiscal and trade policies. In each case, specific policy issues to be addressed were identified by the selected researchers themselves, in consultation with local or national policy stakeholders, and development partner representatives, to ensure both policy relevance and local ownership of the research agenda. 

Promotes/support local research

An integrated approach