The Evolving Role of Think Tanks in Cambodia

What exactly is a think tank, what do these organisations actually do, and how do they operate in Cambodia’s current climate? This special report offers a long-overdue, full-spectrum look at the country’s think-tank landscape, domestic and foreign alike, by explaining their roles, the constraints they face, and why their work matters for evidence-based policymaking. On Friday, 30 May 2025, KAS Cambodia convened the dialogue “The Role of Think Tanks in Cambodia: Challenges and Opportunities,” bringing together local institutes, government officials, and international experts. Insights from that discussion, combined with the authors’ independent research and literature review, form the backbone of this report. Why do Cambodian think tanks matter and how have they grown from fragile saplings into a thriving ecosystem of ideas? The report revisits Sangkum planning offices of the 1960s, the void left by the Khmer Rouge, and how CDRI and CICP moved after 1993 to fill data gaps. By the 2010s a second wave of institutes, university centres and policy units had mushroomed with economic integration. Today the landscape spans autonomous NGOs, quasi independent hubs, government link and foreign foundations, all registered with state ministries and balancing autonomy with alignment. Alongside policy papers they host dialogues, train skilled analysts and translate research for local audiences. International grants keep the lights on, domestic funds stay scarce, brain drain siphons talent and bilingual outreach strains budgets even as ministries call for data driven policy. Yet unlike peers in larger economies they rarely command endowments or subscription income, and that financial fragility shapes the substance and speed of their work. The study urges institutes to link research to national priorities, widen funding, embed peer review and publish in Khmer and English, working with rather than against the growing cadre of government researchers. Cambodia’s policy future will be sturdier once a financially resilient, methodologically rigorous and locally rooted think tank community turns evidence into long term insight.