Published: 29 វិច្ឆិកា 2023

A Diagnostic Study on the Policy Process and Use of Data: The Case of Cambodia and Insights from ASEAN (2021/2022)

Due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cambodia is about to enter a new development phase. After economic slow-down in 2020 and 2021, but with more stability in cases, priorities have shifted to economic recovery. This requires more rigorous domestic reforms and more effective regional cooperation, especially at the Association of South-East Asia Nations (ASEAN) level. In addition, the complexity of the emerging development trends, both domestically and regionally, calls for a more effective public policy process and demands better data and evidence. Despite the abundance of research and reports, insight into how public policy in Cambodia works is still limited. Even less documented is how the Government of Cambodia produces and uses data to shape the policy process. This research seeks to help close this gap by providing an up-to-date and comprehensive understanding of the public policy process, data use, and data governance in Cambodia and ASEAN in the context of the post-COVID-19 recovery. The findings are primarily intended for the current and potential partners of the Ponlok Chomnes Program and a wider audience, including researchers in public policy, students, and other interested stakeholders. The research, however, is not a systematic assessment of the current policy process and data governance nor an evaluation of the Ponlok Chomnes Program. There are already other research works that focus on what the Government needs to do to further reform the current national statistical system.