Kathmandu University, being the recipient of Policy Honor and Cash Prize worth NPR. 50000 for the year 2021 awarded annually to the organizations/individuals contributing to policy research of the country, has attempted to establish and institutionalize the PEF through KU’s Executive Council, an apex body of KU (647th KU Executive Council Meeting dated on January 13, 2022). During the award receiving ceremony, KU Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof. Dr. Bhola Thapa announced to convert the prize money into Policy Endowment Fund (PEF) which would be equivalent to NPR 5,000,000 in days to come.
The main objective is to contribute to the public policy making and governance through the policy research, policy influencing and publications for evidence based policy making and advocacy in the public policy mainstream through the mobilizing and utilizing the PEF. Specifically, the contributions would be made through i) the research fund, provided to public policy students ii) support to faculty on policy research, and outdoor/policy outreach activities in the policy mainstream iii) support to PhD, MPhil students who are trying to contribute to the policy domain and iv) capstone research grants.
The MPPM Scholars Network is a student-led public policy discussion platform within KU SOM that has been organizing regular public policy dialogue through its novel initiative called Tomorrow’s Policy Leaders for Public Dialogue (TPLPD). The dialogue series aims to bring together public policy leaders and experts around the world to deliberate on pertinent policy issues important for Nepal’s prosperity and development. This initiative comprises activities that can mediate interactions among concerned stakeholders in a constructive manner, giving voice to and optimizing outcomes for everyone engaged. The broader idea is to deepen interactions on contemporary policy issues among relevant stakeholders including public policy experts, university professors, aspiring students, development professionals, public officials, diplomatic agencies among others through bi-weekly lecture series, round-table discussion events, and theme-based panel discussion events.
Its main vision and mission are briefly stated below: