Background information: Since the fall of Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan has undergone many socio-economic and public policy reforms necessary to establish a democratic state system. The priorities of the newly independent state’s policy were to transition to a market-based economy and promote the prosperity of Azerbaijani citizens. Although these reforms have achieved much, such as a decently functioning market economy, decreased levels of poverty and corruption, and increased employment and transparency, many public policy and administration issues still need to be addressed, from the decentralization of government and economy to low public trust in public policy institutions, reforms in health care, education, and social welfare, a low level public participation, a need for enhanced transparency, and institutional corruption. The influence of strong public policy institutions, which are currently lacking, would help accelerate the process of reform.

Purpose:

As the top think tank in Azerbaijan, the Center for Economic and Social Development has committed to establishing the first CESD School of Public Policy (CSPP) in the country. The purpose is to serve the citizens of Azerbaijan through research and public education on the most important public policy issues in Azerbaijan and the region. CSPP will influence public policy reforms and public policy decision making by providing primary source of information to individual citizens, as well as policy options to the government of Azerbaijan and other Civil Society Organizations. CSPP will strive to fill important gaps in the understanding of particular economic, social and political decisions. Besides providing information and research, CSPA will examine how various aspects of the policies are implemented, tracking how well those policies attain its objectives.

Objectives

• To identify public policy issues
• To conduct policy research on those issues, for example, transparency, corruption, poverty reduction, decentralization, public participation, and women’s rights
• To build consensus for reforms
• To educate citizens on public policy issues
• To build bridges between government entities and civil society organizations on the formation of public policy reforms

Future Plans

CSPP will seek out innovative, practical, and balanced solutions to critical public policy issues, advocate to help shape the direction of government policies, and strive to bring best practices of international experience. For this purpose CSPP will:

Organize Seminars, with the participation of prominent scholars on particular public policy issues, which will help participants reflect on what they think makes a good society, thereby deepening knowledge, broadening perspectives and enhancing their capacity to understand the problems
Prepare Policy papers, which will enable discussions for consensus building and problem solving on a wide variety of issues ranging from transparancy and corruption to poverty reduction. The professional research papers will be directed to fill significant gaps in the understanding of specific social and economic issues or the affect of particular policies.

Organize public conferences and events, which provide a commons for people to share ideas.

Build coalitions and promote dialogue between civil society organizations and the government of Azerbaijan to narrow the differences in public policy options and lead to better outcomes.

Our Targets

• Educated public: CSPP aims to disseminate the findings of professional research to allow broad segments of the public, including students, scholars, and policy makers, to know what is really going on in major policy debates.
• Developed relationships between CSOs, government, media and general public by promoting public dialogue
• Academic Research Writing
• Offering solutions for public policy issues
• Providing online resources