The Sustainable Development Policy Institute convened its annual strategic policy retreat in Islamabad to take stock of institutional performance and set priorities for 2026. Staff and faculty carried out a focused SWOT exercise, identified emerging opportunities and agreed on policy directions to sharpen SDPI policy work and public engagement.<\/p>\n
IMF Resident Representative Dr Mahir Binici, attending as chief guest, praised SDPI\u2019s role as a policy check and balance grounded in evidence and independent analysis. He urged the Institute to translate complex research into accessible language for wider public and policy audiences, noting that digital technology and AI tools can help bridge the gap between technical work and broader understanding. Dr Binici also encouraged deeper comparative analysis and stronger ties with universities, international organisations and global networks to broaden the reach of SDPI policy research.<\/p>\n
Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri described the retreat as a structured forum to review performance, learn from experience and set a clear direction for future engagement. He announced stricter performance and accountability norms across SDPI units and outlined plans to revive the Policy Solutions Lab to deliver rapid, practical recommendations, including the capacity to respond to major policy developments within 72 hours. Dr Suleri highlighted the need to strengthen strategic communication, digital outreach and knowledge dissemination to enhance SDPI\u2019s national and international impact.<\/p>\n
Senior Advisor Emeritus Dr Ehsan Mehmood Khan characterised the Institute as efficient, credible and high performing, with a strong external reputation built through sustained stakeholder engagement. He urged a greater push on policy dissemination and an expanded digital footprint so research translates into measurable influence. Dr Ehsan also stressed the importance of converting strategic thinking into execution and setting clearer annual thematic priorities to guide programmes and partnerships.<\/p>\n
Deputy Executive Director Dr Shafqat Munir opened the retreat by outlining the day\u2019s purpose and format, emphasising inclusive participation to ensure broad institutional input. The discussions were designed to surface challenges, consolidate lessons and convert collective reflection into a practical roadmap for 2026.<\/p>\n
The retreat closed with a collective commitment from SDPI faculty and staff to sharpen research priorities, improve outreach and communication, strengthen institutional coordination and deepen the Institute\u2019s role as a trusted source of evidence based policy advice for Pakistan\u2019s development agenda. These steps aim to make SDPI policy work more responsive, accessible and impactful across national and international forums.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SDPI policy retreat in Islamabad revives Policy Solutions Lab, tightens accountability and expands digital outreach to make research more accessible and timely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":16647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16648"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16649,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16648\/revisions\/16649"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}