UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies

What UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies does

UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS) is the policy research unit of the University of the Philippines system, established by the UP Board of Regents on June 13, 1985 and formally mandated by Executive Order No. 9 issued on September 24, 1985 by then UP President Edgardo J. Angara. Operating under the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA) since 2001, the center is currently led by Executive Director Rosalie Arcala Hall, who assumed the role in December 2023. Its core function is to conduct multi-disciplinary, integrative policy research addressing Philippine national development challenges in education, health, political economy, strategic studies, food and urban systems, biodiversity, and data science.

UP CIDS runs a platform-plus-programs architecture comprising sixteen Research Programs organized into three thematic clusters — Education & Capacity-Building (Education Research; Assessment, Curriculum and Technology Research; Higher Education Research and Policy Reform; Data Science for Public Policy), Development (Escaping the Middle-Income Trap: Chains for Change; Political Economy; Alternative Development; Health Systems Development), and Social, Political & Cultural (Islamic Studies; Strategic Studies; Critical Futures; Conservation and Biodiversity; Food Security; Urban Studies) — plus the Local-Regional Studies Network spanning UP Baguio, Cebu, Visayas, Tacloban, and Mindanao. Outputs are disseminated through the peer-reviewed Philippine Journal of Public Policy (archives from 1997), monographs, discussion papers, policy briefs, proceedings, the Katipunan Dialogue podcast on Spotify, the Philippine Local Government Interactive Dataset, the DSPPP microsite, and a Primary Health Care resource website. Notable technical components include the Data Science for Public Policy program, which delivers a three-tier Explainable AI (XAI) bootcamp, an AI Policy Hub with research fellowships, Power BI dashboards for pharmacy workforce monitoring, an R Shiny cognitive diagnostic analysis tool, the SukatWika linguistic-analysis software, and the Digital Public Pulse media-monitoring project.

The unit operates on a non-commercial model: all publications are distributed as free downloads through the UP CIDS database (1,000+ papers, 601,204 cumulative website users as tracked), and the go-to-market is community-led through conferences, roundtables, webinars, podcasts, and convenings rather than paid services. Funding flows from UP system allocations, government appropriations, and project-specific grants from international partners such as the Australian government (for the joint ACTRP program with the University of Melbourne) and the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety. The center is classified as a government/state entity with no private equity or venture capital ownership.

Name

UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies

Legal name

UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies

Website

https://cids.up.edu.ph

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UP CIDS is the policy research unit of the University of the Philippines system, operating sixteen research programs across education, development, and social/political/cultural domains to produce and freely disseminate evidence-based policy research for Philippine government, academia, and civil society.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Quezon City

HQ country

Philippines

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Policy Research and Publications: UP CIDS operates as a university policy research unit generating publications including journals, monographs, discussion papers, policy briefs, and proceedings made freely available through their database

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

UP CIDS is a university-based policy research unit that conducts multi-disciplinary research through sixteen Research Programs spanning education, development, and social/political/cultural concerns. It produces and disseminates scholarly publications (Philippine Journal of Public Policy, monographs, discussion papers, policy briefs, proceedings), hosts conferences, podcasts, and capacity-building bootcamps (e.g., Explainable AI for Public Policy), and provides an open-access publication database with 1,000+ policy papers available for free download.

Product overview

UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS) is UP's policy research unit operating as a platform-plus-programs architecture. It comprises sixteen (16) Research Programs organized into three thematic clusters (Education & Capacity-Building, Development, and Social, Political & Cultural), plus Special Projects. Core products include: research programs (Education Research Program, Assessment Curriculum and Technology Research Program, Higher Education Research and Policy Reform, Data Science for Public Policy, Escaping the Middle-Income Trap: Chains for Change, Political Economy Program, Alternative Development, Health Systems Development, Islamic Studies, Strategic Studies, Critical Futures, Conservation and Biodiversity, Food Security, Urban Studies, Local Regional Studies Network, ED Special Projects); academic publications (Philippine Journal of Public Policy, Discussion Papers, Monographs, Policy Briefs, Proceedings); and knowledge dissemination tools (Katipunan Dialogue podcast, Philippine Local Government Interactive Dataset, DSPPP microsite, Primary Health Care website). The programs collectively address national policy concerns across education, health, development economics, governance, environment, and strategic studies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Education Research Program (ERP) A research program focused on education policy, functional literacy, non-formal education, curriculum indigenization, and family studies. It develops tools such as SukatWika (linguistic analysis software), TuklasBasa materials, and Multi-Literacy Assessments for Filipino Children (MLAF), and conducts the annual Sipat Edukasyon dissemination forum.
• Assessment, Curriculum and Technology Research Program (ACTRP) A joint research program between UP CIDS and the Assessment Research Centre (ARC) of the University of Melbourne, funded by Australian Aid. Conducts curriculum analysis, learning assessment research, and studies on technology's role in education delivery across basic education levels, including Cognitive Diagnostic Analysis using R Shiny App and ILSA support.
• Program on Higher Education Research and Policy Reform (HERPRP) Charts research agendas and builds evidence base for higher education policy analysis. Currently undertaking digital transformation research for Philippine higher education in collaboration with UPOU and BulSU, including the 'Advancing Flexible Learning' project kickoff in June 2025.
• Program on Data Science for Public Policy (DSPPP) Builds capacity and crafts research agendas toward applied data science analytics through complex systems frameworks. Operates the AI Policy Hub, conducts Explainable AI (XAI) bootcamps at three levels (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced), submits AI governance policy briefs to government, and manages the DSPPP microsite.
• Program on Escaping the Middle-Income Trap: Chains for Change (EMIT C4C) Examines the nexus of inclusion and competitiveness in the Philippines' sustainable growth efforts. Conducts big data analytics on manufacturing and exports, action research on agricultural/fisheries value chains, and business for peace initiatives. Partners with Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.
• Political Economy Program (PEP) Advances innovation-driven and equitable development through problem-solving research on development policies. Promotes collaboration among academe, government, and industry on inclusive technology and sustainable industrial policy, and hosts round table discussions on industrial and development policies.
• Program on Alternative Development (AltDev) Documents and analyzes marginalized development paradigms, policies, practices, and projects. Covers alternative regionalism in Southeast Asia, feminist policy analysis, transformative social protection, and Marxist theory studies.
• Program on Health Systems Development (PHSD) Investigates health systems problems and innovations bridging divides between public health and clinical medicine. Flagship project is the Philippine Primary Care Studies (PPCS) with sites in UP Health Service, Samal (Bataan), and Bulusan (Sorsogon), including medical and financial information systems and telemedicine setup. Operates a Primary Health Care resource website.
• Islamic Studies Program (ISP) Advances critical and strategic roles of Islam in nation-building through three research components: Hikma (historical and Islamic knowledge), Shari'a courts practices, and the Moro story. Covers Muslim communities governance, madrasah education, and halal compliance research.
• Strategic Studies Program (SSP) Promotes interest, discourse, and changes in Philippine foreign policy and strategic studies capacity building. Organizes the annual Katipunan Conference (now in its 8th iteration) and produces the Katipunan Dialogue podcast series on Philippine foreign policy and regional security distributed via Spotify.
• Critical Futures Program (CFP) Examines urgent national issues in a technologically-driven, environmentally challenged world. Conducts strategic foresight research, digital futures studies, and future leaders development. Houses AI literacy training modules, Community AI workshops, the 'Digital Horizons' research project, and an AI Governance for the Health Sector project.
• Conservation and Biodiversity Program (CBP) Assesses policy impact of Philippine biodiversity conservation laws and their alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals 13, 14, and 15. Focuses on fisheries/aquaculture sustainability, protected areas governance, and strategic marine science research policy.
• Food Security Program (FSP)

Quantifiable outcome

• 323 publications in SERP-P database as of March 2023
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability11 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SocioEconomic Research Portal for the Philippines (SERP-P) and Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023UP CIDS is a member of SERP-P network and has contributed 323 publications to their database as of March 2023. SERP-P maintains a repository of socioeconomic studies conducted by PIDS and other research institutions using modern information technology and research networking.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• RAND Corporation: Global policy research organization with multi-disciplinary programs and applied analytics — directly comparable in methodology focus (DSPPP aligns with RAND's data-driven policy work) and breadth of policy domains covered.
• Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI): Regional policy research arm producing working papers, policy briefs, and capacity-building on Asian development — comparable in offering free publications and policy convening at a regional level.
• Brookings Institution: Global multi-disciplinary think tank producing policy research, publications, and convenings across governance, development, and education — comparable in publishing volume, multi-program structure, and policy convening role.

Regional players

• Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia: Indonesian independent policy think tank focused on strategic studies, foreign policy, and Southeast Asian regional dynamics — strong parallel to UP CIDS' Strategic Studies Program and SE Asia regional work.
• S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS): Regional security and strategic studies center in Singapore with focus on Southeast Asian geopolitics — directly comparable to UP CIDS' Strategic Studies Program and Katipunan Dialogue on Philippine foreign policy.
• ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute: Singapore-based institute for Southeast Asian studies producing policy briefs, journals, and convening scholars on regional issues; directly comparable in mandate, free-publication model, and Southeast Asia focus.
• NUS Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy: Asia-leading university-based public policy school; comparable in operating model (university research unit), multi-disciplinary programs, and convening of government stakeholders across Asia.

Direct peers

• Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS): Philippines' main government socioeconomic policy research institute and a co-maintainer of SERP-P; UP CIDS actively contributes 323 publications to the SERP-P network alongside PIDS, making it the closest direct functional peer for Philippine development research.
• De La Salle University – DLSU Angelo King Institute: Philippine private university research institute publishing economic and public policy research; comparable as a domestic, university-affiliated think tank producing free policy outputs for Philippine stakeholders.
• Ateneo School of Government (Ateneo de Manila University): Philippine university-based policy and governance research unit producing policy briefs and convening government stakeholders; competes with UP CIDS for academic policy advisory work and government engagement on national development.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SERPPH
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/up-center-for-integrative-and-development-studies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies