The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI – th, สถาบันวิจัยเพื่อการพัฒนาประเทศไทย) is a non-profit non-government Thai policy

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-govern ...

focused on social and economic development issues. The institute has seven major research programs: Human resources and social development; international economic relations; macroeconomic policy; natural resources and environment; science and technology development; sectoral economics; and Law for development.

History

TDRI was established by the initiative of the

National Economic and Social Development Board The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council ( th, สำนักงานสภาพัฒนาการเศรษฐกิจและสังคมแห่งชาติ), also known as NESDC, is a national economi ...

as a public policy research institute in 1984 with the intention of creating a research agency that is independent from the government and bureaucracy. Thai Prime Minister General Prem Tinsulanonda and Prime Minister

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...

of Canada therefore signed an agreement to provide assistance granting funds through the

Canadian International Development Agency The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was a federal Canadian organization that administered foreign aid programs in developing countries. The agency was merged into the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2013 by the federal governmen ...

to establish the institution. In addition, the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 b ...

also provided funding for the establishment along with other private companies such as

Mitsui Group is one of the largest ''keiretsu'' in Japan and one of the largest corporate groups in the world. The major companies of the group include Mitsui & Co. ( general trading company), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Nippon Paper Industries ...

and

Unocal Corporation Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headq ...

. It is a private non-profit foundation and it provides technical analysis (mostly in economic areas) to various public agencies to help formulate policies to support long-term economic and social development in Thailand. Its current income is mostly derived from government contracts and funding from international organizations.

Mission

In line with this central objective, it is mandated to: * Conduct policy research * Network extensively with other institutions and individuals engaged in policy research, both in Thailand and abroad * Disseminate its research results to ensure maximum impact on policy-making

References

External links

TDRI

Person of the Year
{{authority control Political and economic think tanks based in Asia Research institutes in Thailand Think tanks established in 1984 1984 establishments in Thailand