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 institutions such as independent NGOs, government policy councils, policy research institutes, and university-affiliated research centers had mushroomed since. Today the landscape spans across all categories and definition of what a think tank is. Alongside publishing policy papers, they host dialogues, train skilled analysts and translate research for local audiences. International grants keep the lights on, domestic funds remain scarce, brain drain siphons talent and lack of bilingual outputs limit audience and reach, even as government institutions call for data driven policy. Unlike think tanks which operate in more developed countries, those in Cambodia rarely command endowments or other sources of revenues that shape efficiency of their work. This study urges institutions to link research to national priorities, expand funding partners, publish peer-reviewed and bilingual outputs while working alongside government counterparts to maintain their relevance. In sum, Cambodia’s think tank industry will be sturdier once institutions can be financially resilient, methodologically rigorous and recognized as proactive solution providers rather than reactive critics.
