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Our History

Collage“CIDS Montage” © 1999 UPCIDS.

A collage that reflects the dynamic and multifaceted initiatives of the organization.

The University of the Philippines-Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP-CIDS) spans various perspectives, methodologies, and ideologies in its conduct of basic and policy-oriented research. The Center harnesses the University’s multidisciplinary expertise in its studies on critical fields.

Establishment of UP-CIDS

In the early 1980s, then UP President Edgardo J. Angara envisioned a policy research unit that will harness the multidisciplinary expertise of the University toward the resolution of the nation’s critical problems or harness the expertise of the university on issues of national significance.

The UP President’s Committee for the Establishment of a Strategic Areas Studies Unit submitted its recommendations on the creation of a university-based think tank.  On June 13, 1985, the UP Board of Regents (BOR) approved the establishment of the University Center for Strategic and Development Studies (UCSDS).  The center’s name was soon changed to the University Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UCIDS) “in order to reflect the center’s primary objectives and goals.”

Mandate

A UP President’s Executive Order (EO), dated September 24, 1985, stated the objectives and functions of the Center as follows::

  • Develop, organize and manage research issues of national significance. Such issues , because of their importance and inherent complexity, require an integrative and  collaborative approach and also more sophisticated research methodologies and skills;
  • Encourage and support research and study on these issues by various units of the University and individual scholars;
  • Secure funding from public and private persons and agencies; and
  • Ensure that the research outputs and recommendations of the Center are published and openly disseminated.

In May 1993, UP-CIDS identified a three-pronged strategy to achieve its objectives.  These are to:

  • Set a track record that will enhance the reputation of UP-CIDS and make it visible to recognized scholars;
  • Convene core Fellows to develop research agenda and programs in policy areas; and
  • Establish linkages with other sectors and policymakers through collaborative research, discussion fora, and research dissemination activities.

Organization

In its early years, the UP-CIDS was under the Office of the UP President. This was to facilitate its evolution into a system-wide intellectual arm of the university as well as enhance its chances of obtaining funds. In 2001, the direct responsibility for the center was devolved to the Office of Vice President for Academic Affairs in order to enhance the links of the center with other academic units and programs.

Since the 1990s, UP-CIDS has been convening programs on a wide array of issues, ranging from European studies to Asia-Pacific and Philippine concerns. It has also been in the forefront of endeavors in the 1990s and 2000s toward understanding the dynamics of peacebuilding, especially in Mindanao. Beginning in 2014, UP-CIDS has been organizing research programs, round table discussions and forums on ASEAN integration, national marine policy review, migration, environmental governance, sustainable energy, and China Studies, among others.

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