Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) is a policy research institute registered as a nonprofit limited company in Pakistan. Focusing on issues of poverty and inequality, governance, gender, climate and pro-poor macro-economic policy, it contributes to the national goal of social development through research, policy advice and advocacy. Established in 1995, SPDC has made significant intellectual contribution in placing issues of pro-poor growth and social development on Pakistan’s policy-making agenda.
An independent and non-partisan research organisation, SPDC collaborates with organisations working on issues relevant to its mandate both at home and abroad. It determines its own agenda and has successfully maintained its independence. SPDC is regarded as one of Pakistan’s
outstanding policy research organisations, focusing on public policy analyses and social sector
development. It has to its credit nearly 800 research papers, policy papers, working papers,
conference papers, books, and newspaper articles.
SPDC was established with the assistance of the erstwhile Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) with a mandate to provide a focal point for social research, policy analysis and
advice to the Pakistan government. Subsequently, the International Development Research Centre, Canada (IDRC) provided core funding under its Think Tank Initiative from 2008 to 2019. The current funding sources include grant funding from multiple donors and contract research.
