CESD focuses on policy advocacy and reform, and is involved with policy research and capacity building. CESD involves leading researchers prominent in their fields and enjoys a broad regional and international networking.
CESD is also ranked as one of the top 25 domestic economic policy think tanks in the world. Only CESD (ranked 19) and the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE), (Poland, ranked 21) were included in the list from Central and Eastern Europe and CIS countries.
Mission
CESD has been set up to promote research into domestic and regional economic and social issues, advocacy towards reforms, and capacity building for the purpose to positively impacting policymaking and improving participation.
The focus
The center is a leading Azerbaijani think tank specialized in economic and social policy issues, working with and establishing bridges between the government and the various representatives of civil society. At the same time, the Center positions itself in the center of the civil society, having tight relationships with media, 24 communities spread around Azerbaijan, NGOs providing services at the grass-roots level, international think-tanks, financial institutions and donors, and virtually all the other think tanks functioning in Azerbaijan.
Goals
Policy advice and advocacy
Government and civil society capacity development
Public awareness, interest in involvement, and participation in policy programs and reforms
Anticorruption reforms, mechanisms, programs, and tools at the policy and grassroots levels
Understanding and application of market economy principles and values in Azerbaijan and the region
Cooperation between educational institutions and public, private, and NGO sectors in addressing the economic and social issues
Research and programs to address sustainable development, as well as the issues on women's rights protection, poverty reduction, Millennium Development Goals and economic and social reforms
Management
The chairman of CESD is Vugar Bayramov, well-known economist in Azerbaijan. He has a Ph.D. in economics from Washington University in St. Louis. The center board consists of 5 economists and social-work specialists, and all of them are alumni from different US universities.
Publications
Ending Dependency: How Is Oil Revenues Effectively Used in Azerbaijan? (ISBN978-9952-8131-0-4)
