Islamabad: The 19th Meeting of the Senate of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) has approved a sweeping set of institutional reforms aimed at strengthening the Institute's role in evidence-based policymaking and Pakistan's development journey.

The meeting, held in Islamabad, was chaired by Prof. Ahsan Iqbal (NI), Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and Chancellor, PIDE.

Proceedings commenced with recitation from the Holy Quran. In his opening remarks, the Chancellor highlighted Pakistan's development trajectory and stressed the need for a holistic and integrated policy framework bringing together the public sector, private sector and academia to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth.

He particularly emphasised the importance of evidence-based policymaking in developing a sustainable export surplus, observing that research must be results-oriented and directly useful for policymakers to make a meaningful contribution towards improving Pakistan's trade performance.

The Senate also paid tribute to the late Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, a valued member of the Senate, and offered Fateha in her memory. The Chancellor welcomed Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed, elected from the faculty, and Ms. Sima Kamil, former Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, who joined the Senate for the first time.

The Senate confirmed the minutes and compliance report of its 18th Meeting and noted that eleven of the twelve decisions taken during the previous meeting had been fully implemented. The matter relating to the allotment of land for the PIDE campus remains under process with the relevant authorities.

The meeting was presented with a detailed Progress Review and Compliance Report for 2025-26 through a documentary narrated by Vice Chancellor Dr. Muhammad Nadeem Javaid (SI).

Dr. Javaid said the Institute's work during the year represented a strategic reset based on relevance, national purpose and effective utilisation of available resources under PIDE's Institutional Development Strategy 2025-2030.

He said the strategy was centred around the concept of REACH, ensuring that research reaches policy, knowledge reaches government, learning reaches the marketplace and Pakistani ideas reach wider national and international audiences.

The Vice Chancellor thanked the Chancellor and the Secretary of Planning for their continued support.

The report highlighted that PIDE's RePEc research standing had risen to 102.26, further consolidating its position as Pakistan's leading economic think tank. Research output increased to 361 products in 2025, compared with 240 in the previous year, reflecting an increase of more than 50 percent.

Members were also informed about the establishment of eight new research centres, digitisation of a three-year rolling research work plan to monitor research assignments in real time, a threefold increase in academic enrolment and an 89 percent graduate employment rate within one year of graduation.

The Senate warmly endorsed the performance, describing it as reflective of PIDE's growing national and regional stature.

In a significant governance development, the Senate approved the results of elections conducted to fill long-vacant faculty seats on PIDE's statutory bodies. Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed was elected to the Senate, while Dr. Madiha Riaz was elected to the Syndicate, restoring full faculty representation in the Institute's decision-making forums.

The Senate also approved eleven institutional policies covering academic appointments, employee welfare and student support. The policies were developed during the past year under the direction of the Vice Chancellor through consultations involving the Senior Management Committee, faculty feedback and Syndicate review.

During the meeting, members also discussed ways to benefit from the Pakistani academic diaspora, including scholars serving at leading international institutions, through sabbaticals and postdoctoral placements.

The approved policies formalise arrangements for Professors of Practice, Meritorious Professors, Professor Emeritus designations, Senior Fellows, Postdoctoral Fellows and Visiting Academic Staff.

The welfare initiatives include fee waivers for employees' children and merit- and need-based scholarships for students.

The Senate also approved the PIDE National Talent Hunt Programme, a nationwide initiative designed to identify and nurture promising analytical talent through a rigorous four-stage selection process.

Selected scholars will receive full tuition waivers, stipends and mentorship. The programme will be financed through an endowment fund and partnerships with corporate organisations and alumni rather than government grants.

The meeting also approved the business model for the newly developed MS in Project Management (MSPM), introduced as a self-financing programme aimed at building professional project management capacity for Pakistan's public and development sectors.

The programme will draw upon international faculty, leading academics and senior practitioners and is structured to break even with an enrolment of twelve scholars.

On the appointments front, the Senate approved twenty appointments at the Professor (BPS-21) and Associate Professor, Chief of Research and Director-ORIC (BPS-20) levels.

The appointments were made following a rigorous multi-stage selection process involving technical reviews and interviews conducted during six Selection Board sittings. Candidates were also evaluated by reviewers associated with leading universities in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.

In his concluding directions, the Chancellor called for the inclusion of members from Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan in the Senate to ensure wider regional representation on PIDE's apex governing body.

The Vice Chancellor invited provincial representatives to deepen engagement with PIDE and encouraged each province to undertake demand-driven policy research aligned with its respective priorities.

The Chancellor thanked the Vice Chancellor and Senate members for their guidance and support and expressed confidence that PIDE would continue to play an important role in delivering evidence-based policy solutions to support Pakistan's ambitious export growth targets.