MAPPING OF NATIONAL ACTORS NATIONAL OF MAPPING

DATA AND INDICATORS ON SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH

DOING RESEARCH IN MYANMAR Country Report Centre for Economic and Social Development & The Global Development Network June 2020 ASSESSMENT OF THE CONTEXT THE OF ASSESSMENT DOING RESEARCH IN MYANMAR Country Report

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of GDN, IDRC or its Board of Governors. This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from Global Affairs Canada, and the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.

2 Doing Research in MYANMAR was supported by the Agence Française de THE DOING Développement, the Bill & Melinda Gates RESEARCH PROGRAM Foundation, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, and Bridging the research gap and improving the Swiss Agency for Development and development policies Cooperation. In 2017, GDN conducted a synthesis of the pilot studies2 and developed Today, governments and donors alike a standard methodology for studying social have little systematic information about science research systems in developing the state of social science research, except countries,3 the ‘Doing Research Assessment’. for in a few developed countries. Yet, the Since 2018, GDN has been implementing implementation of the global agenda for Doing Research Assessments in partnership sustainable development requires local with competitively selected national research research capacities to ensure that the institutions, with the aim of generating scientific community is equipped to critically evidence on research systems. The program analyze development and policy challenges, also aims to support the emergence of a and to accompany actions and reforms network of research institutions in the Global with contextualized knowledge of the local South dedicated to informing national environment. research policies, using new research-based, comparative evidence. An in-depth analysis of research systems is key to understanding how to bridge this gap Doing Research National Focal Points – A and raise the profile of research generated Southern network of local ‘research on in developing countries. Research systems research’ expertise analysis can help policymakers, donors and academics answer the question: What can Through the collaboration between GDN and be done to further generate and mainstream these local institutions, the program aims local research as a key input to public debate to inspire research policies, map research and sustainable human development strengths, support research capacity-building policies? efforts and enhance the quality of research that can be used for policy decisions and Assessing and benchmarking social local democratic debate in developing science research systems countries. Social science research provides a critical analysis of societies and human Doing Research (launched in 2014) is an behavior and contributes to a better initiative of the Global Development Network understanding of development challenges (GDN) that aims to systematically assess how – which is fundamental to realizing national the features of a national research system1 and global development agendas. Country impact the capacity to produce, diffuse and reports, comparative global reports and use quality social science research to the data will inform actors from research, benefit of social and economic development. A pilot phase (2014-2017) in 13 countries

2 www.gdn.int/sites/default/files/GDN-2017-DR-pilot- synthesis.pdf 1 In this document, the terms ‘research system’ and ‘social 3 www.gdn.int/sites/default/files/GDN%20-%20 science research system’ are used interchangeably. Theoretical%20Framework.pdf

Doing Research in MYANMAR 3 development and policy communities about which will lead to several knowledge outputs their policy-oriented research environment and awareness-raising efforts. and how it can be improved. Doing Research Framework: the core of Doing Research Assessment: to the assessment understand, map and assess research systems1 The Doing Research Framework is a mixed- method research module that allows a A unique feature of the Doing Research contextualized comparative enquiry into Assessment4 is the equal importance the a national research system, looking at key methodology gives to production, diffusion factors that determine the production, and uptake factors and actors in the analysis diffusion and uptake of social science. It of systemic barriers and opportunities for would typically serve as a magnifying glass social science development. to identify aspects that need the attention It involves three steps for analyzing the of the regulator, or to provide a baseline for factors that impact the social science strategizing investments in capacity-building research system in a given country or region, for research production, its diffusion or its use. Steps and activities for implementing a Doing The Framework acts as the basis for Research Assessment comparing and benchmarking research systems in different countries and includes Context analysis 54 indicators. These indicators are populated according to the national context framed by Mapping of research actors the National Focal Points (NFP); these follow Doing Research Framework the project guidelines while adapting them to their national environment. Therefore, each country follows the same framework and Collection of new data at country level general guidelines, allowing for comparisons Publication of the Doing Research between different reports of the indicators Assessment that define the Doing Research Assessments (DRA). The same is true for the Country National seminar and dissemination Reports, which follow a similar structure.

1. Production 2. Diffusion 3. Policy uptake Inputs 1.1 Research inputs 2.1 Actors & networks 3.1 Policy-friendly research Activities 1.2 Research culture 2.2 Research 3.2 Research-based and support services communication practices policymaking Outputs 1.3 Research output 2.3 Research 3.3 Research-based policy & training communication products tools Outcomes 1.4 Opportunities & 2.4 Popularization of 3.4 Research for better sustainability science policies

4 www.gdn.int/doing-research-assessment

4 Doing Research in MYANMAR which will lead to several knowledge outputs and awareness-raising efforts. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As Myanmar continues its transition from a administrators from various higher education Doing Research Framework: the core of closed society to an open economy, linking institutions in Myanmar, who helped to the assessment research to policy and evidence-based clarify the policies and processes of the The Doing Research Framework is a mixed- policymaking are critical in making this a research system. We would particularly like to method research module that allows a success. The Doing Research Assessment thank Dr. Charlotte Galloway of the Australia contextualized comparative enquiry into (DRA) in Myanmar is an essential study of National University for her work in mentoring a national research system, looking at key how the country is utilizing research and the research team at CESD throughout the factors that determine the production, evidence as the basis for formulating public assessment, and Dr. Katri Pohjolainen, Senior diffusion and uptake of social science. It policies, undertaking institutional reforms Research Advisor for the Swedish International would typically serve as a magnifying glass and integrating with the global economy. As Development Cooperation Agency, for her to identify aspects that need the attention part of the global think tank community, we valuable review during the webinar launch of of the regulator, or to provide a baseline for are particularly grateful for this opportunity the study in May 2020. strategizing investments in capacity-building to contribute to this important piece of We see the DRA as a starting point that for research production, its diffusion or its use. work. Given the nascent evolution of the research ecosystem in Myanmar, identifying will help the Government of Myanmar The Framework acts as the basis for and analyzing the different aspects of the and development partners to plan and comparing and benchmarking research research process (production, diffusion and prepare for developing an inclusive and systems in different countries and includes uptake) was an arduous task and one we productive research system for effective 54 indicators. These indicators are populated would not have achieved without the support public policymaking in Myanmar. We hope according to the national context framed by of fellow researchers, particularly those from that our study will provide a reference point the National Focal Points (NFP); these follow newly emergent think tanks in Myanmar. In for essential dialog on mobilizing existing the project guidelines while adapting them dealing with this challenge, we would like resources, both international and domestic, to to their national environment. Therefore, each to acknowledge the valuable guidance and empower Myanmar researchers. We recognize country follows the same framework and assistance provided by the International that the recommendations in our report general guidelines, allowing for comparisons Development Research Centre (Canada) and could be refined and improved on in the light between different reports of the indicators the Global Development Network. of new insights, better data and a fresh vision. that define the Doing Research Assessments This DRA uses a methodology agreed upon Our sincere thanks go to the Chairman of (DRA). The same is true for the Country and standardized by GDN, to be used in the National Education Policy Commission, Reports, which follow a similar structure. a cohort of international case studies. In the Chairman of the Rectors Committee, Myanmar, the Centre for Economic and and the Director General of the Higher Social Development (CESD) implemented Education Department of the Ministry of three comprehensive surveys conducted by Education for their guidance and direction. a team of 12 researchers, 15 interns from the We are particularly indebted to Dr. Tin Maung Yangon University of Economics and Yangon Maung Than, Member of the National Human University of Computer Studies. Their tireless Rights Commission for his role in facilitating hard work conducting face-to-face interviews consultations with international partners. with individual researchers was crucial in We would also like to express our deep helping senior researchers to carry out appreciation to other senior government additional surveys as well as key informant officials who shared their valuable insights interviews with research administrators and and experiences, all of which helped to policymakers. The data collection process enrich our analyses. In addition, we value the was further strengthened by guidance from opportunity of collaborating, learning and the National Advisory Committee, research sharing experiences with colleagues from

Doing Research in MYANMAR 5 the Asia Foundation, LIFT, the British Council, Michigan State University, the International Food Policy Research Institute, the Embassy of Canada and other experts. Finally, we could not have conducted the DRA exercise successfully without the hard work and professionalism of researchers under the leadership of Ngu Wah Win, Senior Policy Coordinator at CESD. We look forward to working with all stakeholders to advance the actions identified in this DRA study. The authors of the Doing Research Assessment Myanmar report (by alphabetical order) • Zu Xian (Anders) Lee • Jana Rue Glutting • Naing Lin Htet • Ngu Wah Win • Nyein Chan Aung • Thaint Zar Chi Oo • Zaw Oo

6 Doing Research in MYANMAR Table of Contents ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ...... 11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 12 Main Findings ...... 12 Levers of Change ...... 13 INTRODUCTION ...... 15 Social Science Research in Myanmar ...... 15 Definitions and Scope ...... 16 CONTEXT ANALYSIS ...... 18 Myanmar’s Development in Context ...... 18 The General Structure of the Research System ...... 22 British Rule (1886-1948) ...... 22 Parliamentary Democracy (1948-1962 ...... 24 Socialist Revolution (1962-1988) ...... 25 Military Regime (1988-2011) ...... 27 Reform Era (2011-Present) ...... 28 Sociopolitical Context ...... 28 Political Space: Isolation and Sanctions ...... 28 Civic Space: Independent Research NGOs ...... 29 Humanitarian Space: Cyclone Nargis ...... 30 Democratic Space: Reforms and Rehabilitation ...... 30 Economic Context ...... 32 Growing Demand for Domestic Research ...... 32 International Context ...... 34 Foreign Academic Researchers and Institutes ...... 34 Development Aid ...... 35 STAKEHOLDER MAPPING ...... 37 Introduction ...... 37

Doing Research in MYANMAR 7 Key Stakeholders in Social Research in Myanmar ...... 39 Higher Education Institutions ...... 39 Production: Higher Education Governance ...... 39 Production: Modes of Teaching in Higher Education Institutions ...... 41 Production: Further Challenges in the Research System ...... 42 Diffusion: Poor Linkages Within and Beyond Universities ...... 43 Government and Public-Funding Agencies ...... 47 International Donors ...... 50 International NGOs and Global Think Tanks ...... 51 NGOs and Civil Society Organizations: Advocacy for Policy Positioning ...... 52 Research Institutes: Informing Debates and Decisions ...... 54 Private Sector Organizations: Market Research, Consultancies and Private Education ...... 56 Market Research Firms ...... 56 Large Business Consultancies ...... 56 Development Consultancies ...... 57 Independent Consultants ...... 58 Private Education Providers ...... 58 Sampling Strategy ...... 59 Target Population and Selection Criteria ...... 59 Implementing the Surveys ...... 63 Data Collection Strategy and Tools ...... 63 Researchers ...... 63 Research Administrators and Policy Community Members ...... 64 Exclusions and Limitations ...... 65 DOING RESEARCH ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK ...... 67 Production ...... 67 Research Inputs ...... 67 Research Culture and Services ...... 71 Research Output and Training ...... 75

8 Doing Research in MYANMAR Research Opportunities and Sustainability ...... 76 Research Diffusion ...... 77 Actors and Networks ...... 77 Research Communication Practices ...... 79 Research Communication Products ...... 80 Popularization of Science ...... 81 Research Uptake ...... 82 Policy-Friendly Research ...... 82 Research-Based Policymaking ...... 84 Research-Based Policy Products ...... 85 Research Utilization for Informed Policymaking ...... 86 CONCLUSION ...... 88 REFERENCES ...... 90 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 100

Doing Research in MYANMAR 9 List of Figures

Figure 1. Position of research actors to research system functions and types of research work in Myanmar...... 38 Figure 2. Number of Researchers Per Million Inhabitants (regional comparison)...... 68 Figure 3. Allocation of Government Expenditure on Research and Development...... 69 Figure 4. Satisfaction with the time allocated for research...... 70 Figure 5. Satisfaction with access to primary sources of information and data...... 71 Figure 6. Top Institutions Contributing to International Peer-reviewed Journals and Books (2016-20)...... 75 Figure 7. Publications written by Myanmar affiliated institutions by subject area (2016-20)...... 75 Figure 8. Dynamics of policymaking...... 87

List of Tables Table 1. Myanmar HDI trends based on time series data...... 32 Table 2. Governance structure of public HEIs in Myanmar...... 40 Table 3. Total number of Public Higher Education Institutions in Myanmar...... 60 Table 4. Public Higher Education Institutions Engaged in Social Science Research...... 61 Table 5. Sampled HEIs Researchers for Surveys...... 62 Table 6. Geographical Distribution of HEIs Relative to Population Size (State and Regional Level)...... 70

10 Doing Research in MYANMAR Acronyms and Abbreviations

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations CSO Civil Society Organization DACU Development Assistance Coordination Unit DFID Department for International Development DRA Doing Research Assessment GDN Global Development Network GERD Gross Expenditure on Research and Development HEI Higher Education Institution IDRC International Development Research Centre and Global Affairs Canada INGOs International Non-governmental Organization JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency LIFT Livelihoods and Food Security Fund MDI Myanmar Development Institute MISIS Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies MMRD Myanmar Marketing Research & Development MOE Ministry of Education MOLIP Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population MSDP Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan NESAC National Economic and Social Advisory Council NESP National Education Strategic Plan NGOs Non-governmental Organizations NIHED National Institute for Higher Education Development NLD National League for Democracy PWC PricewaterhouseCoopers SLORC State Law and Order Restoration Council TVET Technical and Vocational Education Training UIS UNESCO Institute of Statistics

Doing Research in MYANMAR 11 Executive Summary Despite nearly a decade of political and qualified the research findings using a liberalization and economic reforms, and common framework, the DRA Framework a growing demand for evidence-based (GDN 2017), which allows us to study the policymaking in Myanmar, there remains research system in relation to those in other fundamental weaknesses in the country’s countries, across a number of sub-themes. social science research system. As in other developing countries, the instrumentality Main findings of social science is often overlooked by the Research funding for social sciences government and its partners in the pursuit remains low on the list of government of national development objectives and priorities. This is evident in the allocation specific policy goals. This is exacerbated by of gross domestic expenditure on research financial constraints, and the immensity and and development (GERD) in 2017: social range of development priorities. In Myanmar, sciences and humanities had a mere 0.38 international actors play an important role in percent share of the budget for research – as national development, but this often means opposed to science, technology, engineering that too little attention is given to growing and mathematics (STEM) with 32.8 percent, the local research system. agricultural sciences with 32.6 percent, This report aims to offer a holistic medical sciences with nearly 30 percent, understanding of how the research and natural sciences with 4.22 percent. The landscape works, to ensure that actions and allocation is unsurprising, given the content of reforms are informed by contextualized the National Education Strategic Plan 2016- knowledge of the local environment. 2021, which emphasizes the promotion of Employing a mixed-method approach, research and development for STEM subjects. quantitative data were collected through Research funding disbursed to higher questionnaires targeted at researchers, education institutions (HEIs) and other research administrators and members of public research institutions comes with the policy community; qualitative data were stringent budgetary rules, which makes collected during scoping interviews and it difficult to manage research projects. This subsequent in-depth interviews. severely constrains longer-term research studies or the ability of research projects to The Doing Research Assessment (DRA) adapt swiftly to changing circumstances methodology is comprised of three or policy demands. International donor components. First, as part of the context reporting requirements also impose analysis, the research team used secondary additional demands on top of those of local data and interviewed key stakeholders to administrators and policymakers. gain a deeper understanding of the state of Myanmar’s social research system. Second, There is currently no national research the research team again used secondary policy in Myanmar. In the absence of data and information from the scoping a national research policy, the current interviews to identify and map key actors emphasis on decentralizing HEIs may further (stakeholder mapping) and gain insights weaken the institutionalization of research, into the dynamics between and among the particularly in regard to social sciences. It also groups of stakeholders. Third, we quantified perpetuates the lack of emphasis on social

12 Doing Research in MYANMAR research in broader higher education policy, and unofficial communication on ‘hot topics’ reflecting its peripheral role and the national politicizes dissemination. Many researchers emphasis on science and technology. are now discouraged to discuss their findings through social media and, as a result, the As ‘civil servants’, academics in public diffusion of research evidence through universities are often burdened with Facebook is limited. administrative duties, the supervision of students or heavy teaching loads. Promotion Informality is prevalent in the linkages often entails taking on greater administrative between researchers, organizations responsibilities, diverting time away from and policymakers. Unlike elsewhere, it research projects or teaching. is not the dearth of research inputs that limits evidence-based policymaking, but Women make up 75 percent of the top-down nature of the policymaking researchers in Myanmar. This is a reflection process, which means that evidence is often of social and cultural norms that often mean neglected. All too often, work commissioned that women are the secondary household by the government is conducted in a earners. Given the low salaries of university relatively informal manner, and is undertaken staff, men are less likely to work in the higher by researchers or organizations as a means education sector. of developing or maintaining a rapport with There is limited collaboration or policymakers. As such, the notion of grants, partnership among government research or a more formal manner of commissioning institutions, public HEIs and other relevant work, is less widespread, and much of the government departments. This means work remains ‘under the radar’. that research is often ‘owned’ by specific government departments. This results in Levers of change overlapping and duplicated research, and Establish a national research body makes it very difficult for researchers to access that will oversee, facilitate, coordinate, reliable or up-to-date data. support and document research activities There is no formal peer review culture conducted in Myanmar, and a structure in Myanmar, reflecting the lack of a that ensures that sufficient attention is paid conversation about research quality. to social sciences as part of the national Universities in Myanmar’s major cities, where research system. Such a body could also research is heavily concentrated, as well facilitate and develop close working as the many regional universities, produce relationships between and among different their own university research journals. These research organizations and government operate as repositories of locally produced research institutions, and promote research that is vetted according to the crosscutting conversations about research specifications of individual universities. quality and ethics. Quantity prevails over quality, both in terms Set up a robust and functioning research of publication and academic promotion. evaluation mechanism/peer review In the absence of a peer review culture, standards remain low. system for research in HEIs. A peer review system would greatly benefit the nascent Popular opinions supersede research research system, and potentially expand its evidence in policy discussions. The reliance impact and reach beyond the libraries of on platforms such as Facebook for official university campuses. Improving the quality

Doing Research in MYANMAR 13 of research papers would also increase research uptake and the production of the uptake and use of research outputs by research-informed policy, particularly if the policymakers and the general public. views of all partners are incorporated, from the outset, in the design of research studies. Prioritize investment in research capacity, infrastructure and funding for HEIs as part Increase the budget for research and of the HEI reform agenda so that they can improve flexibility. The Ministry of meet the growing demand for evidence- Education budget almost tripled between based policy research. Demand for evidence- 2012/13 and 2019/20, of which the based research is increasing and changing Department of Higher Education received from more narrowly defined scientific 15-16 percent. Although there are some research to broader social science research allocations for undertaking research, projects that assesses the fundamental mechanisms need to follow annual budgetary rules, of policymaking, outcomes and impacts. as well as provide evidence for auditing These demands come not just from central purposes, which makes it difficult to government planners but also a myriad of undertake multi-year research projects. other policy actors: regional governments, parliamentarians, political parties, private International funding for research sector associations and international in Myanmar needs to be effectively organizations. coordinated. A large chunk of donor assistance is commissioned to international Empower local researchers to provide experts to research, assess and advise on relevant and timely technical assistance to policy inputs for the government. Thus, local policymakers. The choice of policy options knowledge and research is often overlooked is context-specific. Local researchers are by international organizations and, best placed to choose the most appropriate consequently, in many instances research is course of action from among the different not properly contextualized and produces policy options provided by outside experts. Whenever possible, local researchers can be inappropriate operational recommendations. seconded to work on commissioned research Strengthen international funding support undertaken by international organizations or to boost quality, ethics and equity in the foreign experts on behalf of the Government research system. While many important of Myanmar. Interaction with local research initiatives are being undertaken at the will not only stimulate joint policy learning ministerial level by key bodies such as the but also build local capacity to effectively National Education Policy Commission, the develop public policies in the future. Rectors’ Committee and the Department Enhance collaboration and partnership of Higher Education, international funding among government research institutions, remains the main source of research funding public HEIs and other relevant in the country. Beyond commissioning government departments. Collaboration research and increasing the share of research between government departments and commissioned to local researchers, these research institutions will promote the sharing funds can support debates and processes of and access to reliable and up-to-date data. that strengthen quality, ethics and equity in Moreover, collaboration is likely to promote Myanmar’s research landscape.

14 Doing Research in MYANMAR INTRODUCTION Social Science Research in Myanmar Highlights Research findings are critical for debate, policy formulation and developing • The instrumentality of social comprehensive national priorities. While sciences is often neglected and research and development continue overlooked by the government and to garner political interest in Myanmar its partners in the pursuit of national – reflected in R&D national funding development objectives and specific commitments – research funding is primarily policy goals. allocated to ‘hard sciences’ and technical • Development agencies and research. As in other developing countries, international actors play an the instrumentality of social sciences is important role in assisting Myanmar often neglected and overlooked by the in navigating its political trade-offs government and its partners in their pursuit and achieving the desired national of national development objectives and developmental goals. specific policy goals. This is exacerbated by financial constraints and the immensity • Myanmar’s education spending has and range of development priorities that almost tripled since 2010; however, encompass a large variety of thematic areas the budget for research activities and and timescales. As a result, social science institutions remains unchanged. is low down on the list of priorities on • This Doing Research Assessment the research agenda. In addition, political (DRA) intends to study the ideology and popular persuasion often architecture of the social research supersede the use of research evidence system in Myanmar – a country and data analytics in policymaking. Amid that, now more than ever, requires such a paradigm, development agencies a sound research system to and international actors play an important successfully further its economic and role in assisting Myanmar in navigating political transition. its political trade-offs and achieving the desired national developmental goals. Social • In light of the DRA exercise, the research is critical helping in navigating these Centre for Economic and Social complexities. Development (CESD) and the Global Development Network (GDN) aim Currently, as in many developing countries, to situate Myanmar’s experience Myanmar’s social science research is funded and current research dynamics by international actors and development within the diverse pool of research donors, both for use in their respective environments. This comparative development projects and to aid domestic analysis will serve as a tool for policymaking. However, the development Myanmar’s policymakers, higher and strengthening of the social research education institutions (HEIs) and architecture is rarely seen as a development development donors interested in objective in itself. At the same time, national contributing to the development of governments are often encouraged to a sound national research system. allocate a greater share of public finance to the education sector. This is particularly true

Doing Research in MYANMAR 15 for Myanmar, where education spending Definitions and Scope has nearly tripled since 2010. However, the budget for research activities and institutions In this report, social research is defined as remains unchanged. Given the critical research that is either categorized within the role that social research plays in informing social science5 discipline, or generates and policymakers, it is important, as a first step, contends scholarly knowledge on society and to develop a holistic understanding of the human behaviors (GDN 2017). Conducting research landscape. This report provides an this type of research is considered an assessment of the architecture of the social exercise in connecting social research with research system in Myanmar – a country the various stakeholders broadly defined in that, now more than ever, requires a sound the DRA Framework: researchers, research research system to successfully further its administrators and members of the policy economic and political transition. community. The various types of social research considered in this report will be The report is structured as follows: The discussed in the stakeholder analysis. second chapter provides a contextual analysis, the first component of the DRA. The In this report, a categorical distinction is third chapter looks at stakeholder mapping, made between academic and non-academic building on the analysis in the previous social researchers. Academic researchers are chapter including the sampling strategy and defined as those employed in public HEIs, its limitations. The fourth chapter discusses while non-academic researchers encompass the findings from the DRA as well as the those working outside of these institutions. It interlinkages between the quantitative and is important to note that in a strong research qualitative assessments, and the analysis system, a considerable amount of research from the previous chapters. Finally, the output is held up to academic scrutiny. fifth chapter presents the conclusions and Quality research is defined as rigorous and recommendations for research stakeholders. reliable, and adds to the existing body of knowledge. Often it is regarded as relevant to By shedding light on the current research local contexts and/or local topics and global architecture, this report aims to examine development challenges (ibid). However, the underlying dynamics between the range of identified actors in Myanmar’s in Myanmar there are no institutionalized research ecosystem. It seeks to provide systems in place to assess research output a baseline analysis that will allow for – an issue for both academic and non- sound policy recommendations for the academic researchers and their products. overhaul of the higher education system Research administrators are defined as and improvements to national knowledge the managers of research production and production. In light of the report’s findings dissemination. They include the heads of and recommendations, CESD and GDN aim to situate Myanmar’s experience and current research dynamics within the diverse pool of research environments. This comparative 5 Social science is the branch of science concerned with analysis serves as a tool for Myanmar’s society and human behaviours. It includes disciplines policymakers, higher education institutions such as psychology, anthropology, economics, business, (HEIs) and development donors interested in education, sociology, law, political science, social and economic geography, media studies, and interdisciplinary contributing to the development of a sound social sciences (OECD 2015; Campaign Social Science national research system. n.d.).

16 Doing Research in MYANMAR departments and rectors of HEIs, as well as into an important exercise in addressing research managers from the various non- development challenges (ibid). academic bodies. Social science as an overarching concept has The policy community includes policymakers always been one that defies definition, even and decision-makers from various research within academia. In Myanmar, this term was and higher education-related government only introduced to the public conscience bodies, as well as key departmental heads following the establishment of Rangoon who oversee the production and utilization University in 1920. In the absence of more of public data. In addition, international formal attempts to define the term in the actors directly linked to policymaking in context of Myanmar, this report will define the higher education system or to research ‘social sciences’ based on the courses offered funding are also included in the analysis. at public HEIs. At present, this includes anthropology, archaeology, economics, The stakeholders in this report participate geography, history, international relations, in and shape the research system, which law, linguistics, political science, psychology comprises of a set of institutions, practices, and social work. Given the prioritization of the structures, rules and norms that determine information and communications technology the dynamics of the research cycle. The (ICT) sector by the government, as well as research cycle is the process of production, the sector’s robust research production and diffusion and uptake of social research the high levels of ICT research uptake by the (ibid). A strong research system is one that private sector, this study also covers areas of features formal, institutionalized channels advanced computer studies that contribute and linkages for research products, which to addressing traditional social science issues. flow from one stage to the next with little disruption. Research management, Finally, for the sake of brevity, and for readers rigorous social research methodology, and who may not be familiar with the sociopolitical research dissemination infrastructure and developments in Myanmar, the report will use the strategies are imperative for the production geographic nomenclature most widely accepted of high-quality research. Furthermore, this and adopted today. As such, the country will be referred to as Myanmar throughout the framework promotes the incorporation and report, except in specific cases where the term use of social research at the policymaker ‘Burma’ is more relevant to the context. Similarly, level. It is evident that doing social names of places will follow the names adopted research is a political and social process by the Union Government and international of critical assessment, which translates organizations such as the United Nations.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 17 CONTEXT ANALYSIS Myanmar’s Development in Context Highlights Myanmar is the westernmost country • The establishment of Rangoon University of Southeast Asia, strategically located in 1920 introduced social science research between the two economic giants of China to Myanmar for the first time. and India. The multiplicity of ethnic groups • The protracted armed conflicts in the and languages in Myanmar presents both ethnic states of Myanmar since the opportunities and challenges, as evidenced 1950s have resulted in displacement in its turbulent political history. According to and huge disruptions in education the latest Population Census of 2014 (MOLIP service delivery in these regions. 2015), Myanmar has a total population of 51.5 million, comprised of the majority • Given the years of isolation and Bamar ethnic group and a myriad of over academic suppression, the pedagogy of 130 other ethnic groups. According to the the public education system, including latest available official statistics on ethnicity higher institutions at all levels, still recorded in the 1983 Population Census, relies heavily on rote memorization, Bamars accounted for 68 percent of the total and neglects proof of understanding population, and the rest is divided between or critical thinking, both of which are seven major ethnic nationalities – Shan, central to research training. Kachin, Kayin, Kayah, Chin, Mon and Rakhine • A common concern among the research – together with over 100 smaller nationality community has been the continuing groups (MOLIP n.d.). The administrative difficulty in conducting independent divisions are divided along these major research, mainly because of the ethnic lines, with ‘regions’ referring to Bamar- government’s aversion to criticism. majority divisions and ‘states’ referring to areas with large ethnic minority populations. • The five-year ‘Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar’ project by International Buddhism, the country’s main religion, Development Research Centre and defined the ethical framework, sense of Global Affairs Canada (IDRC), initiated values and cultural context of the education in 2017, is the first donor-led project system throughout the ancient Burmese to focus entirely on funding and kingdoms. Educational services were promoting social science research. delivered mainly through monastic schools, which took root during the classical Burmese • The current DRA study, also funded kingdom of Pagan in the 11th Century. by IDRC, is the first attempt to map Historically, Myanmar was under the rule and analyse the research landscape of various monarchs until it came under in Myanmar, with a focus on social British colonial control in 1886. Originally sciences. administered as part of British India, Myanmar • Myanmar’s high-level research (then known as Burma) experienced some capacity is not developing rapidly return to semi-autonomous rule late in the enough and relies heavily on capacity- colonial era. Myanmar gained independence building components being built into from Britain in 1948, on condition that donor-funded projects. the Burmese leaders demonstrated that the country was unified and that control

18 Doing Research in MYANMAR could therefore be handed over to a single choose their specialization during their first authority. When the outcomes of the year of higher education. The number of Panglong Agreement, negotiated by General places for technical subjects were based on Aung San and other leaders of the major centrally planned manpower projections ethnic groups failed to materialize, tensions and admissions were determined by the grew between the Bamar population and nationwide matriculation exam organized by the minority groups over self-administration, the Ministry of Education (MOE). As a result, resulting in conflicts across the ethnic states social science subjects were downgraded, throughout the 1950s – with many of these while multidisciplinary approaches tensions still ongoing today. diminished as many universities became thoroughly compartmentalized during the The central government lost control of socialist era (Kyi et al. 2000). many of the ethnic states in 1962 when the leaders of Shan State organized a summit on Following two and a half decades of federalism and demanded more autonomy state repression and macroeconomic for the ethnic regions. The military intervened mismanagement during the socialist regime, and staged a successful military coup d’état. 1988 marked a key turning point in the The military rule that followed would isolate history of modern Myanmar, bringing Aung Myanmar from Western economies for the San Suu Kyi, now State Counsellor, to the next five decades. Macro and microeconomic forefront of the democracy movement. In mismanagement impeded development, the late 1980s, after three consecutive years and poverty levels rapidly rose. 'The Burmese of negative real GDP growth, high rates of Way to Socialism' was introduced by the inflation and misguided demonetization military to implement central planning and policies, the economy was on the brink of isolationist economic policies. One of the first collapse (Kubo 2012). In 1987, Myanmar casualties was the University of Rangoon, was included in the UN’s list of Least whose independent authority was brought Developed Countries for the first time. Pro- directly under the control of the Directorate democracy movements gained considerable of Higher Education. The whole higher momentum throughout the first half of education system was then reorganized in 1988 as university students organized mass line with the socialist model. The socialist protests, culminating in nationwide uprisings government broke up the integrated that brought down the socialist government. university system into separate units and The uprising was quickly suppressed by the established professional institutes, arts and military in September 1988, and military sciences universities, and technical colleges rule was re-established under the State Law 6 under the aegis of different line ministries. and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Under this system, students were asked to Under the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy (NLD) won the general elections in 1990, but the military refused to hand over power to the 6 Under this arrangement, for instance, the Institute of NLD and continued cracking down on the Agriculture was under the Ministry of Agriculture while the Institute of Forestry was supervised by the Ministry pro-democracy movement. As a result of the of Forestry. At one point, as many as nine-line ministries military repression, Western governments supervised a wide range of professional institutes, while suspended economic assistance and only the arts and science universities, and colleges of education remained under the supervision of the Ministry investment in the country, including of Education. educational exchange programs and

Doing Research in MYANMAR 19 technical assistance. However, in response to direct result. From a research perspective, the the economic and political reforms initiated Western sanctions also prevented any donor- in 2011, the European Union lifted the last of funded assistance to support scholarship and its sanctions against Myanmar in 2013, and research programs at public universities – the United States followed suit in 2016, after which were seen as government institutions. Myanmar held its first democratic general elections – won by the NLD. Under these conditions, the performance of both the economic and education sector Throughout the 1990s, university students – deteriorated rapidly, and the SPDC began to the driving force behind the pro-democracy implement its seven-point roadmap in an movement – organized nonviolent civic effort to ease international pressure. A new campaigns across the country. The SLORC constitution was enacted in 2008 and the first closed down all HEIs for a few years, during open elections were held in 2010. Boycotted which major universities such as Rangoon by the NLD, the Union Solidarity and University (now Yangon) and Mandalay Development Party, formed by the military Arts and Science Universities were further regime, won the elections and a quasi-civilian divided into smaller campuses in the government came to power. Under the 2008 suburbs, effectively dispersing the student constitution, 25 percent of the seats in the population and moving them outside the national parliaments were set aside for the cities. Academic freedom was suppressed in military. In November 2015, the first free and an attempt to stamp out anti-government fair election since independence was held in dissidence on campuses and, as a result, Myanmar, which saw the NLD win a landslide the quality of education declined rapidly victory and form the new government under due to lack of educational resources and the leadership of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in infrastructure on the newly relocated the newly-created role of State Counsellor. campuses. The students took to the streets again in late 1996, resulting in the closure of The protracted armed conflicts in the HEIs for another year in 1998 (Seekins 1999). ethnic states since the 1950s have resulted Between 1988 and 2000, all universities in in displacement and huge disruptions in Myanmar were closed for a total of 10 years education service delivery in these regions. (Lall 2008). Education in non-government-controlled areas, where the MOE had limited access, Following the student protests, the military has been severely affected (Jolliffe & Mears government changed its title from SLORC to 2016). Gaps in basic education in these areas the State Peace and Development Council have often been filled by a network of local (SPDC) in 1997, and announced a seven- NGOs, local political organizations or religious point roadmap for a transition to civilian rule. institutions, putting many of the youths at Further confrontations between the military a disadvantage compared to their peers in government and the NLD led to the violent regional towns and cities. With little prospect crackdown of the pro-democracy movement of improving their economic opportunities, and the house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu families have often been disinclined to invest Kyi in 2003. Western governments reacted in the education of their children, which is by imposing tougher economic sanctions, perceived to have poor rates of return (South including comprehensive sanctions under & Lall 2016). the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of the United States. Myanmar’s economy More recently, in 2019, the government declined rapidly throughout the 2000s as a started to collaborate with various NGOs

20 Doing Research in MYANMAR to set up accreditation systems for schools international actors, given the absence of any run by non-state actors. Chapter 6 of the evidence that the research was founded on Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement states that sound methodology. the governing authority of ethnic armed While the Rakhine crisis has had a significant groups should be respected in matters such adverse impact on international relations as health, security, resource management recently, there has been an influx of and education in the areas that they control; investments and donor funds over the and Article 43 of the 2015 Amendment to last eight years (Robinson & Nitta 2017). the National Education Law allows the use There is now an even more pressing need of ethnic languages in the classroom. In for evidence-based research to inform 2018, the MOE launched a pilot program in policymakers, particularly to address Mon State to implement these provisions the socioeconomic challenges facing (Hirschi 2019). Despite these developments, the country. In the absence of a thriving high school diplomas awarded in non- academic research scene – once an integral government-controlled areas are yet to be part of Myanmar society – applied research recognized by public universities, hampering driven by international organizations and students’ access to higher education (UNFPA donors has become the dominant form of Myanmar 2019). social research. This was first prompted by Peacebuilding efforts have unfortunately the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis stalled with the eruption of conflicts in 2008. Alongside the government’s move in Rakhine State and the subsequent toward a democratic transition, there was humanitarian crisis in northern Rakhine. an influx of international aid organizations Since 2017, the Rakhine crisis has refocused conducting applied research on the impact international attention on Myanmar, of the cyclone on livelihoods and regional with foreign academic researchers and economies, to determine international aid international NGOs conducting a considerable requirements. As the country continues its political transition, what has emerged is a amount of research on human rights fragmented social research landscape where violations and complex political emergencies. private or non-governmental agencies Renewed conflicts have also broken out in a compete for funding and research projects few other ethnic states such as Kachin and commissioned by international actors. Shan States, destabilizing and displacing many rural communities already devastated During the reformist period (2010 to 2015), by seven decades of armed conflict and a Thein Sein’s Government initiated reforms in high prevalence of illicit economic activities. the higher education sector, doubling the These developments have contributed to country’s education budget in 2012 in an the further polarization of views on the attempt to rejuvenate the academic research various crises, with huge resistance from environment. That same year, he also visited within Myanmar to external observations the United States to promote US–Myanmar of what is largely regarded as a domestic cooperation as a vehicle for much-needed issue. Given the heightened sensitivity, very human capacity development. This prompted little systematic research or evidence-based the re-opening of international collaboration analysis was conducted locally on the internal within the higher education sector. Several conflicts, despite the international attention. education institutions in the US, led by Furthermore, any outcomes from local the Institute of International Education, research were unlikely to be taken seriously by initiated an academic exchange program

Doing Research in MYANMAR 21 and broader activities aimed at developing which led to the subsequent drafting of the capacity in HEIs in Myanmar. The University National Education Strategic Plan (NESP) and of Yangon was designated as a ‘Centre of its final adoption in 2016 by Aung San Suu Excellence’ and, in close collaboration with Kyi’s government. While the need to improve the Johns Hopkins University and a few research is highlighted in the NESP, there is other participating universities, it conducted currently no blueprint on how efforts will be a guided strategic planning exercise on coordinated among all the HEIs in Myanmar upgrading research systems. The exercise (Howson & Lall 2019). benefited from expert mentorship from the To help understand the overall structure of the faculty members involved the partnership.7 research system in Myanmar, the subsequent Despite the optimism surrounding the sections detail some of the key historical economic and political reforms, and the developments within higher education, encouraging signs of increased spending on many of which were driven by the turbulent education, research conducted with academic political history of Myanmar. A significant staff and students at the University of Yangon number of these reforms in the past have following the democratic reforms initiated continued to affect the higher education and in 2010 found a lack of academic rigor and research system, and are highly relevant to any freedom to conduct research, particularly in discussions on these matters today. the social sciences (Esson & Wang 2016). This is largely because research proposals have The General Structure of to be reviewed by the MOE for both funding the Research System and general approval, and ‘politically sensitive’ research topics are often filtered out(ibid). British Rule (1886-1948) Nonetheless, international partnership in the Following successive Anglo-Burmese wars higher education sector reached a historic throughout the 19th Century, the British level of cooperation when Thein Sein’s deposed the last Burmese monarch in 1885. government initiated the Comprehensive In 1886, all of Myanmar came under colonial Education Sector Review (CESR) with the rule. The Education Bureau was established support of a number of donor agencies to set up the first non-monastic education in 2013.8 The CESR was finalized in 2015, system in Myanmar, which later shaped the evolution of social research systems in the country. The colonial administration expanded Anglo-vernacular education 7 IIE (2013) Investing in the Future: Rebuilding Higher Education through over 5,000 schools in cities across in Myanmar, Washington D.C. The report states that were the country as part of the new secular 807 students from Myanmar studying in the US in 2012 (compared to only 717 students over the entire previous approach to mass primary education, while decade). However, this figure pales in comparison to the allowing monastic education to continue number of students from neighbouring countries such in villages. The main aim of the colonial as Thailand and Vietnam, which sent 7,626 and 15,572 students to the US in 2012 respectively. administration was to form an educated 8 Asian Development Bank (2013) Myanmar Comprehensive administrative cadre for the colony. As Education Sector Review (CESR) – Phase 1: Rapid Assessment. formally declared in parliament in 1903, its Support for CESR was co-financed by ADB and the purpose was to “convey useful and practical Government of Australia (AusAID) – as well as support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and knowledge, suited to every station of life, to Cultural Organization (UNESCO). the great masses of people” (Fuqua 1992).

22 Doing Research in MYANMAR Western-style education was first introduced students had the opportunity to pursue to Myanmar by the Catholic missionaries as higher education in Myanmar. The university early as the 18th Century, to reach and convert was comprised of six colleges and offered the local population. The expansion of degrees in arts and science, law, forestry, mission schools accelerated under the efforts engineering and medicine. Although of the American Baptist Mission during British many lecturers were recruited from Britain, rule. In this context, Western-style education others were local Burmese scholars who was largely associated with Christianity. With had graduated from British and British the successful conversion of a large number colonial universities. Rangoon University of the Chin, Kachin and Kayin populations introduced social science and research to in the frontier regions, the non-Bamar Myanmar for the first time. In fact, the term minority groups were the main beneficiaries ‘social science’ was never used prior to the of improved access to modern education. establishment of the university; instead, the The perception that modern education study of subjects such as economics and disproportionately benefited the non-Bamar political science fell under the umbrella of population caused grievance among the the humanities. Up until independence, law, Buddhist Bamar majority, who largely avoided history and economics dominated the social attending such schools (Taylor 2005). science disciplines. Rangoon University A series of measures by the colonial attracted some of the most promising government to improve education led academics in the country, who later became to the establishment of HEIs in Myanmar. prominent scholars in their respective fields. Rangoon College was formally established Research findings on the economic and in 1879, as an affiliated college of Calcutta social problems facing Myanmar began University, with its operations under the to emerge, and significant research was administration of India. Given its status conducted in the field of political economy, as a pre-collegiate preparatory school for building the foundations for the science of university programs taught entirely in English economic development (Taylor 2009). in Calcutta, Rangoon College was modeled Equally illustrative of the emerging on the British system and offered a four-year academic research environment was degree program with an emphasis on liberal the Burma Research Society, founded in arts, law and English (Steinberg 1950). Its 1910 by four scholars – three foreign and students came from elite families, although one local. As the first research society in the number of indigenous students (Burmese Myanmar, its goal was “the investigation or other ethnic groups within Myanmar) and encouragement of Arts, Science and was limited to no more than two-thirds of Literature in relation to Burma and its the student body; the remaining third were neighbouring countries” (Selth 2010: 406). In students from Southeast Asia seeking high- its early years, the majority of contributions quality education overseas (Taylor 2009). were made by Western scholars researching The sea change in academia in Myanmar Myanmar. Over time, the balance shifted came with the establishment of Rangoon to include more Burmese scholars, many of University in 1920, which profoundly whom were recognized as early leaders in reshaped the higher education and research their fields. Research papers produced by landscape. Under the Rangoon University Act, the Society were overwhelmingly within the the status of Rangoon College was elevated social sciences and humanities, representing to that of a University. For the first time, over 80 percent of the papers published

Doing Research in MYANMAR 23 in the Society’s journal between 1948 and scheme to send hundreds of young scholars 1974 – up until the isolationist policies of the to Western campuses, including a number of military government came into full effect (Kyi top universities in the United States. 1977). The founding of the Burma Research Society, then the first of its kind in the region, The boom in demand for admission into was indicative of the outstanding educational Rangoon University following Myanmar’s status and thriving academic research independence led to the addition of new landscape in Myanmar during this period. subjects, such as sociology and anthropology, Faculty members at Rangoon University while subjects like statistics and commerce made up a large proportion of the society’s were separated out from economics to members, earning a great reputation for the become their own disciplines. By the early university as it leaped ahead of universities 1950s, Rangoon University was one of the top in other British colonies in the region, universities in Asia, attracting both local elites particularly the highly prestigious University and foreign scholars. Scholars from Britain of Malaya. and Europe came and worked as lecturers and professors, resulting in a great exchange Parliamentary Democracy of academic ideas between Myanmar (1948-1962) and the rest of the world. However, anti- colonialist sentiments began to grow among After gaining independence from Great some Burmese intellectuals, who had long Britain in 1948, the post-independence been suspicious of external interpretations government enjoyed a vibrant parliamentary of national problems. This eventually democracy, where independent media and culminated in the dissolution of the Burma academia served as important watchdogs Research Society – a famous research body for government policies. This era was the among international scholars and researchers golden era for Myanmar intellectuals, who – by Ne Win’s government in 1980 on the took pride in their educational achievements grounds of foreign conspiracy.9 and expressed their independent views. Freedom of expression stimulated a wide Professors from Rangoon University also range of ideological views from Marxist, earned sought-after positions in prestigious socialist, Western and traditional Buddhist universities overseas. Academics at the philosophies (Badgley 1969). In the early university contributed significantly to 1950s, the government, led by Prime Minister the social sciences, particularly history, U Nu, launched an ambitious national geography and economics – a testament development plan named the ‘Pyidawtha to the superior teaching quality and close Plan’ – which literally meant 'building a happy contact with other academics globally (Kyi and prosperous nation'– to support the 1977). In 1957, the Faculty of Social Sciences implementation of far-reaching development was established at Rangoon University projects and wide-ranging investments in with the aim of fostering interdepartmental the education sector (Maung 1953). These included progressive policies for schools and universities, free primary education, mass literacy projects and the translation, for 9 Wei Yan Aung. 'Revered Burma Research Society Founded popular consumption, of informative books 109 years ago,' Irrawaddy, 29 March 2019. Accessed at https://www.irrawaddy.com/specials/on-this-day/revered- on a wide range of modern subjects (ibid). It burma-research-society-founded-109-years-ago.html in also established a generous state scholarship December 2019.

24 Doing Research in MYANMAR cooperation in teaching and research. General Administration Department (GAD), The departments of history, psychology, was tasked with collecting information and anthropology, sociology, economics and community-level intelligence to serve the statistics fell under the purview of the faculty government’s operations (Saw & Arnold (ibid). 2014). Equipped with detailed statistics about livelihoods and activities at the Universities enjoyed a high level of autonomy grassroots level, the government intended during the early post-independence to mobilize the civilian population in support years, with their own boards for academic of its socialist agenda. While it was easy governance. For example, Rangoon University to implement a mass countrywide basic had its own endowments, and governed literacy campaign under such a system itself fairly independently through a council of governance, this mission-led approach consisting of professors, government officials severely hampered development in higher and public interest groups, and a Senate education and academic research. Rote predominantly made up of academic staff. learning or memorization was used to teach Aid and training were provided by the British students from primary through to tertiary 10 Council, the Ford Foundation, the Asia level – a means of gaining knowledge Foundation, the Fulbright Program and the without encouraging critical thinking or Johns Hopkins University (Kyi et al. 2000). alternative views that questioned the official State scholars and military officers were sent ideology. Teachers were goal-oriented and abroad, mainly to the United States and the were seen as information transmitters, and United Kingdom – an indication of the close issues were not problematized. collaboration between Myanmar and other countries during this period (Steinberg 2013). During this socialist period, social sciences became a tool of government, training the Socialist Revolution (1962- next generation of public administrators to 1988) play the role of subservient functionaries for the socialist regime. Social science teaching The rise to power of General Ne Win in 1962 was overhauled to suit the needs of the prompted many changes to the education revolutionary government. Economics, and research systems of the time. Firstly, statistics and commerce were grouped into the medium of instruction changed from their own institutions, focusing on economic English to the obligatory use of Burmese in planning and management. Political science textbooks and schools across all levels of was removed as a discipline from universities education. All policies implemented during and absorbed into a new Central Academy of his rule were meant to limit and discourage Political Science, established as a wing of the dissent and alternative views or knowledge Burma Socialist Programme Party, the official of the outside world. The regime expected party of the ruling government (Kyi 1977). graduates to become civil servants or enlist in the military (Callahan 2005). The leading During this period, Myanmar had three administrative body for the civil service, the primary research actors: the academic departments of universities, specialized research organizations, and data gathering and professional agencies. Present-day government agencies like the Central 10 The British Council set up offices in Yangon in 1946 and went on to establish a library, reading room and Statistical Organization can trace their origins classrooms (British Council n.d.) to this era. All three actors fell under the

Doing Research in MYANMAR 25 oversight of the Research Policy Direction Institute of Economics (Thein 2004). The act Board, which was a sub-committee of the undermined the multidisciplinary approaches Council of Ministers. Deliberate organization in higher education, as well as the vibrant of research actors under an overarching student life that had existed in Myanmar. mandate did not improve national research The mid-1970s saw further measures to policy capacity. Indeed, this direct command physically separate universities as well as from the top inhibited the independence impose restrictions on academics, including of researchers and data scientists; they were barring them from overseas travel (Smith under pressure to deliver data that suited the 1992). Similarly, it became difficult for foreign central planning political agenda (Raynaud academics to visit Myanmar. 2014). While detailed statistics were collected The two decades following the socialist (for example, data on every product line firms revolution (the 1960s and 1970s) had sold or produced, or household consumption a damaging impact on the research patterns) they were used not for critical landscape in Myanmar – still evident today. policy analysis but for indicative planning – a The centrally planned model of education hallmark of centrally planned systems. Clear and the ideology of 'The Burmese Way and measurable results – such as per capita to Socialism' significantly transformed income growth, the implementation of new the national curriculum, replacing the industries, the utilization of natural resources once liberal system that saw Myanmar’s or the development of agriculture – could HEIs develop into regional leaders. The be used by the government to assert the University Education Law of 1973 transferred effectiveness of their policies. It is evident, governance of matters traditionally handled in hindsight, that data not supporting by individual universities to the University government policy was not made public or Central Council or the Council of University ignored. Academic Boards, resulting in universities Universities also became focal points for losing autonomy over their own budgets. political unrest. Demonstrations at the Tight restrictions were enforced by the University of Yangon in July 1962 resulted in socialist government on research, travel and the violent crackdown of the student union. publishing, resulting in the abolition of PhD The incident – better known as the ‘7th July programs. Many specialist departments in events’ – led to continued student unrest anthropology and philosophy collapsed as in other campuses. Motivated by fear of a result of mismanagement (ibid). Technical and Vocational Education and Training further activism, the government adopted was promoted as an essential subject for the University Education Act of 1964, all higher education students and regional which separated professional faculties from colleges were opened across the country to universities into their own institutions. Under offer vocational subjects in the first two years the law, Rangoon University and Mandalay of university education. Students were given University were significantly scaled down only two additional years to learn disciplines and renamed the Rangoon Arts and Science of their choice, which did little to advance University and the Mandalay Arts and Science their knowledge of their chosen subject. University. A multitude of universities were established from the previous ‘professional’ Under the isolationist policies adopted by the faculties, based on their respective area of socialist regime, scholars were not allowed specialization – for example, the Institute of to travel abroad for fear of Western influence. Medicine, the Institute of Agriculture and the Study exchanges were limited only to other

26 Doing Research in MYANMAR socialist countries in the Soviet Union and in distance learning have changed little, Eastern Europe. Research became a vehicle to despite being the dominant mode of study support the socialist revolution, as Burmese in higher education (NESP 2015). scholars lost touch with international trends and practices. The Burma Research Society Between 1989 and 2004, the number of and its journal, which had been running universities and colleges grew from 32 to for seven decades as forums of debate and 154, as the spatial separation of campuses research on Burma, were accused of being and students accelerated (Chinlone 2018). Western vehicles for domestic interference, This was most evident with the separation and abolished by the Burma Socialist of the Yangon School of Economics from Programme Party government in 1980. the University of Yangon – the former was colloquially called ‘Jungle University’ as Military Regime (1988-2011) it was relocated to a newly established satellite town 25 kilometers outside of Following the student-led 1988 pro- central Yangon in 2001. The University of democracy protests and the subsequent Yangon campus near the heart of the city violent military crackdown, the military hosted only postgraduate students. Faculty reasserted its authoritarian rule under the members had to commute between the name of the State Law and Order Restoration various faculties scattered across the city, Committee (Lwin 2000a). In order to quell wasting hours on the road. the widespread student protests, the SLORC closed all universities for two years – a Furthermore, these newly-created HEIs strategy used on numerous occasions in the were governed by a multi-ministry system, 1990s amid fears of another student uprising whereby only half of the institutions (Skidmore & Wilson 2008). were under the MOE, with the remaining scattered across 13 associated line ministries, An important change in the education following specific ‘technical disciplines’ to system during this period was the deliberate support government functions (ibid). It is spatial, cognitive, and administrative important to stress that these new faculties separation of disciplines and faculties. The were no longer in close proximity to the intention was clearly signaled with the resources they had previously enjoyed (e.g. establishment of the University of Distance extensive and diverse library catalogues) Education in Yangon in 1992, largely and only offered limited academic resources motivated by the desire to avoid student that were specific to each discipline. The congregations and diminish their capacity curriculum was shortened, disciplines were to mobilize (Koon-Hong 2014). Even after compartmentalized and, more specifically, universities reopened in 2000, the majority social science disciplines were taught of students were still enrolled in distance- in isolation. As a result, social research learning programs (ibid). Distance learning suffered immeasurably – few academics relied heavily on textbooks, study guides and were engaged in producing social research assignments so that students did not have to beyond generating research papers for take any classes on campus (Hla Tint 2014). their own university journals. Following Critics of distance education have argued the restrictions on engagements with that the system is not effective, and that international institutions and organizations, students do not receive any qualifications social research in academia became even or skills beyond merely receiving a degree more isolated and was of little relevance to certificate (Win 2015). Teaching methods industry or society.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 27 Reform Era (2011-present) under the NESP 2016-2021, with a focus on upgrading research in higher education. The After decades of authoritarian military government set up the National Education rule and isolationist policies, wide-ranging Policy Commission to oversee the reform reforms were introduced by the transitional process and the Rectors’ Committee to government in 2011 in the lead-up to the support internal reforms across universities, 2015 democratic elections. The transition, in line with national policies. Research recognized by the international community conferences were also organized to enable as the Nay Pyi Taw Accord of Effective both professors from public universities Development Cooperation in 2013, ushered and independent researchers to present in a new era of liberalization and reform their scholarly research work. In addition, initiatives, driving rapid economic growth in for the first time, plans have been adopted the following two years. to promote a research system. However, Widely regarded as the final frontier for Myanmar has inherited the legacy of the past, investments and international donors where historical, sociopolitical, economic in Southeast Asia, Myanmar witnessed and international contexts have shaped the tremendous changes in social policies evolution of the social research system. This affecting the higher education sector during will be discussed in the following sections. this transitional period, with further reforms In addition, new contemporary issues after the 2015 election of the NLD under the emerging in Myanmar will be addressed in leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi. Prior to 2011, the ‘Stakeholder Mapping’ chapter. Myanmar was the only country in Southeast Asia where government spending on the Sociopolitical Context defense sector was consistently higher than spending on health and education combined Political Space: Isolation and (Turnell 2011). In 2012, under the guidance of Sanctions international financial institutions, Myanmar From 1962 to 1988, Myanmar experienced undertook one of the most significant an isolationist period during which the reforms in public financial management, with government terminated various international huge investments in education and health. contacts, particularly with the West. The Over the next three years, the government socialist government even cut itself off from made efforts to increase budget allocations the Non-Aligned Movement of developing for health, education and social services; the countries in the 1980s. It also refused to join share of social services in the 2015/16 Budget the Association of Southeast Asian Nations constituted, for the first time, the largest share (ASEAN) throughout this period and refrained of the Union Budget Law. Between 2009 and from any development cooperation, even 2013, expenditure on education quadrupled, with neighboring countries. As a result, the while expenditure on health increased nine- education system became far removed from fold. The newly-elected civilian government further accelerated these cross-sectoral international trends. However, a few selected reforms, as government spending on health government civil servants were allowed to and education increased significantly. study abroad and further their academic training (graduate or PhD) in strategically- Since the NLD came to power in aligned countries such as East Germany, 2015, Myanmar has introduced more Poland and the Soviet Union, mainly for comprehensive higher education reforms narrowly defined technical subjects such as

28 Doing Research in MYANMAR statistics, nuclear science, military technology research materials and the civilian population and engineering. The government also (Farrelly 2016). For research undertaken in maintained some engagement with its Asian the country, all papers had to pass the official counterparts, most notably the Japanese military censorship board, which meant that government. university professors and academics resorted to self-censorship in their academic enquiries When the socialist era ended following (Selth 2017). the violent military crackdown in 1988, the international community, led by the Civic Space: Independent United States, imposed severe economic sanctions, which included stopping bilateral Research NGOs academic exchanges with the West. From Domestically, the main types of social inquiry the beginning of the 1990s up until 2012, were in the form of information gathering nearly all bilateral university exchanges and exchange by various underground for local and foreign researchers ceased. activist networks. They collected evidence American universities discontinued their to document living conditions under programs with local universities (Martin military rule. In the early 1990s, UN health 2010). This excluded most local researchers and education agencies and various from international scholarship opportunities, INGOs engaged or resumed engagement and isolated them from contemporary trends with Myanmar within the context of child and research practices. It is important to and family health. During this period, the note that students were still able to apply for Millennium Development Goals were scholarships abroad individually, though this contextualized in Myanmar around the was highly dependent on the socioeconomic Global Fund – an initiative to combat HIV, background of the applicant – it was predominantly urban, well-off applicants tuberculosis and malaria. Due to the lack who had access to and knowledge of these of qualified professionals to work in this opportunities. The only avenue for Myanmar newly established sector, the government academics to engage with international allowed their staff to study abroad to develop developments was through regional capacity in these areas. scholarly exchanges, namely in Thailand and 1997 marked a watershed year for the military Singapore. Fewer students were able to study regime with its decision to join ASEAN. in Australian or New Zealand universities. ASEAN membership required extensive While these foreign-educated scholars often engagement, with intense planning for remained in their host countries, those with year-round meetings throughout the region. family still at home tended to self-censor To handle the preparations, the military their research on Myanmar, for fear of any government established its first think tank, repercussions for their family members. the Myanmar Institute of Strategic and For the small number of foreign academics International Studies (MISIS) under the who were able to navigate the bureaucracy Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The international in Myanmar, nearly all of the ‘approved’ relations department of the University of research topics related to history and Yangon was also instructed to open an archaeology, which were deemed ‘safe’ ASEAN Study Centre to begin research research activities (Skidmore 2005). Even work on regional integration. The MISIS then, research frameworks were tightly began to hold several research symposia in controlled and there was limited access to the early 2000s, particularly on economic

Doing Research in MYANMAR 29 issues, to solicit independent ideas from dispersed disaster relief and monitoring retired economists, private businessmen and livelihood reconstruction projects. In the end, faculty members of the Yangon Institute of the tragic event became a turning point for Economics.11 social research activities and paved the way for the further reforms. Humanitarian Space: Cyclone Nargis Democratic Space: Reforms and Rehabilitation In the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in 2008, the military government was under This new paradigm in Myanmar’s history tremendous pressure from the international opened the door for limited data collection. community over human rights issues. The Consequently, from 2008 onward, country military junta started to gradually relax data could be included in the many its aversion to international involvement, international comparative indicators. The rebooting their engagement in the form Worldwide Governance Indicators assessed of humanitarian assistance. It formed the the state of governance in the country as Tripartite Core Group, together with ASEAN extremely low across all its main indicators.12 and the UN, to manage the humanitarian However, alongside the incremental reform response. This opened up an unprecedented process, the country’s governance ranking level of engagement with international began to improve – a process that led organizations within the humanitarian space. up to the democratic transition and the contentious 2010 elections. The quasi- The increased engagement with the civilian government – led by the military- international community heralded a new backed Union Solidarity and Development era for a country which has been in isolation Party (USDP) – which won the elections, for over four decades. Foreign governments introduced the Framework for Economic and development agencies began to and Social Reforms (FESR) and, in 2013, partner with newly-formed local civil society entered into a formal partnership with major organizations (CSOs) to deliver resources to donors under the Nay Pyi Taw Accord for affected communities. This also served as a Effective Development Cooperation. Close springboard for the international community collaborative relationships were forged to engage with political actors (Stokke et al. between the government, researchers, 2018). CSOs became the main intermediary and relevant NGOs and CSOs for the for efforts focusing on the promotion of implementation of the two flagship initiatives self-reliance in local communities, a strategy under the FESR: the Extractive Industry that served as a bridge between donors and Transparency Initiative and the Citizen’s the government (Mullen 2016). Informed by Budget. These two initiatives allowed previous academic studies, development the administration in specific ministries aid helped to introduce a more favorable to ‘learn-by-doing’ and institutionalize environment for conducting research. some of the practices learned. As an Research funded by development aid initially focused on assessing the social impact of

12 The relevant indicators were: voice and accountability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, 11 The Yangon Institute of Economics was renamed the control of corruption. In 2008 Myanmar ranked below the Yangon University of Economics in 2014. 5th percentile for all these indicators.

30 Doing Research in MYANMAR interviewee working on the Extractive During this period, university campuses in Industry Transparency Initiative reported, central Yangon were formally reopened for “The experience and positive outcome of postgraduate studies. Foreign professors were the EITI Report convinced the government invited on a case-by-case basis and, from about the importance of good data and 2013, visiting scholars were allowed in a few methodologies.” Nonetheless, the main universities including the Yangon University dilemma for the transitional government of Economics. Since then, foreign students was how to allow access to previously have been allowed to undertake a semester undisclosed and sensitive information for the or year-long exchange at universities in first time, while presenting evidence of the Myanmar, again on a case-by-case basis. After progress under their reformist policies. decades of absence from universities, political science courses were reintroduced in 2013: As some commentators have argued, with the Department of International Relations the quasi-civilian government seeking at the University of Yangon began offering a legitimacy for their reform agenda, this Bachelor’s degree in political studies for the was a period characterized by significant first time in many decades – although, as yet, relaxation of the restrictions on conducting there is no department of political science in social research in the country. The growing the country. research interest in Myanmar from various actors allowed for more open discussions The decisive NLD victory in the 2015 and research on areas that were previously elections was a much-anticipated turning off-limits (Farrelly 2016). A range of different point in Myanmar’s democratic transition. stakeholders was able to persuade the However, despite these changes in the political sphere, a common concern government of the importance of social among the research community has been research, resulting in the establishment the continuing difficulty of conducting of the Myanmar Development Resource independent research. The bureaucratic Institute in 2011. The aim of the Institute hurdles today are higher than during the was to steer the economic and democratic earlier period of liberalization, mainly transition plan. With similar goals in mind, because of the government’s aversion to the NLD established the Renaissance criticism. A recent report revealed that, Institute in 2013. In addition, the Tatmadaw13 increasingly, access to information and established its own research institute, its diffusion is being obstructed or even ThayNinGa, in 2015. That same year, the first banned via the various articles of the university in Naw Pyi Taw was opened by the Telecommunications Law. This particularly Ministry of National Planning and Economic affects journalists, activists and researchers Development – the Graduate School of engaged in areas or subjects that are Administration and Development – in deemed controversial (Athan 312 2019). As collaboration with economic universities. an interviewee for the DRA pointed out, the It offers evening and weekend classes for main underlying factor is the lack of trust on senior officials as part of graduate degree the part of policymakers in what researchers courses. will do with the information once the research is completed. It is important to note that the political

13 Tatmadaw is the official Burmese name for the armed climate is framed by the 2008 Constitution, forces of Myanmar. which spells out three national objectives:

Doing Research in MYANMAR 31 the non-disintegration of the Union, the non- The lifting of the economic sanctions by disintegration of national solidarity, and the the US and EU countries following the perpetuation of sovereignty (Constitute n.d.). comprehensive reforms undertaken during There is therefore an expectation among the 2010-2015 period generated greater politicians that journalistic ethics must not economic interest in the country, leading to jeopardize these national objectives (Khin a large influx of foreign direct investment. Maung Myint 2016). Similarly, as a research This, in turn, created a domestic economic manager pointed out, the same ethical stimulus. Between 2005 and 2015, the conduct is expected of researchers: research poverty rate dropped by a third, from 48 findings should not violate these national to 32.1 percent; in 2017, it was estimated goals. at 25 percent, according to the Poverty Report (CSO et al. 2019). Over the 2015-2018 Economic Context period, as shown in Table 1, the per capita income increased dramatically alongside life Growing Demand for expectancy at birth. Nonetheless, Myanmar’s Domestic Research 2018 HDI of 0.584 is below the average (0.741) for countries in East Asia and the Pacific. While the country continues to be categorized as a least development country, These economic reforms not only had a it has made notable progress over the last positive impact on the population but also two decades. Prior to the comprehensive on the business environment. The most economic and political reforms, Myanmar’s noticeable reform was the liberalization of GNI per capita in 2000 and 2005 stood at USD the telecommunications sector, which not 1,289 and USD 2,252 respectively14 (see Table only allowed people to connect with the 1). However, in terms of human development outside world, but, more importantly, allowed progress, as measured by the Human the country to make great technological Development Index (UNDP 2018), Myanmar advances (GNLM 2015). It played a has fared poorly in all measures relative to pivotal role in improving public access to other countries. government information, while also reducing

Table 1. Myanmar HDI trends based on time series data. Years Life expectancy Mean years of GNI per capita HDI value at birth schooling (2011 PPP$) 2000 60.1 3.1 1,289 0.424 2005 61.6 3.6 2,252 0.470 2010 65.8 4.9 4,863 0.565 2018 66.9 5.0 5,764 0.584

Source: UNDP 2018

the spatial and time constraints on the production and dissemination of research

14 As previously mentioned, comprehensive comparative (UNDP 2016). As the country attained a data collection was only really possible from 2008 higher economic growth rate, surpassing onward. For certain economic indicators, international comparisons have to rely on self-reported figures other high performing economies in the provided by the national government. region, the demand for structural reforms

32 Doing Research in MYANMAR grew, requiring more systematic research and writing, a law governing private HEIs is still evidence to guide the reforms. pending, and several parliamentarians have demanded the strengthening of oversight However, given the years of isolation and over the quality of higher education offered academic suppression, the pedagogy of the by the private sector.15 public education system, including higher institutions at all levels, still relies heavily on With investment restrictions being eased rote memorization and neglects proof of and more sectors expected to be liberalized, understanding or critical thinking, which are foreign investors are increasingly seeing central to research training (Lwin 2010b). Myanmar as a high potential economy Universities and colleges remain underfunded (Park et al. 2012). Driven by the economic despite the redesigned and updated curricula opportunities, the private sector is generating across various disciplines (Hayden & Martin demand for research on the domestic market 2013; Institute of International Education and its consumers, as well as the country's 2013). Although the quasi-civilian and the economic and political system. The private NLD governments were both aware of sector actors that are conducting social these shortcomings, a maximum of only 8 research are primarily market research firms, percent of the Union budget was allocated small development consulting companies for education, of which 85.25 percent was and large international consulting companies. channeled toward basic education (Primary According to a researcher working at a and Secondary) and 10.35 percent allocated foreign embassy, these actors “mainly to higher education; only 2 percent was focus on conducting market assessments, allocated to TVET (technical and vocational business feasibility studies, and monitoring education training). More importantly, and evaluations for other private entities or research and innovation were included in outsourced tasks of large development aid the ‘other’ category, which was allocated 2.4 programs.” This has important ramifications percent of the education budget (UNICEF for the quality of research. As another 2018). Critically, although the government interviewee pointed out, “An implication appears to view the development of a of being a strong force when conducting research system as a budgetary priority, there social research in Myanmar is that because is no explicit mention of social research as a knowledge is not publicly available, the priority within that. quality of their research cannot be assessed, only inferred by the organization’s reputation.” The government has relied on foreign aid contributions to finance the gaps in the education budget – most notably, 241 million euros in assistance from a multi-donor 15 See New Light of Myanmar, ‘Hluttaw Proceedings’, 15th education fund (UNICEF n.d.). In 2018, the February 2020. Presently, these institutions run their education sector was liberalized with the aim programs as business enterprises and, unfortunately, many companies of questionable repute have set up of addressing the current quality gap across schools and programs with non-accredited certificates all levels of education, while allowing for a and degrees, in response to the high demand from greater selection of curriculum (PWC 2018). students looking for alternatives to public universities. Several scandals relating to fake degrees and credentials At the same time, several private education have recently come to light. These have even affected providers have been set up, most of which the government’s top civil service training university, prioritize the development of research and which provided Masters degrees in partnership with a fake university, prompting lawmakers to question the analytical skills, offering courses that are not arrangement. More detailed discussions on private sector available in public universities. At the time of institutions can be found in Chapter III.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 33 Exacerbating these dynamics is the fact ranked at the bottom in terms of research that wages in independent or academic produced by local researchers (Gerke & Evers research are far less competitive than those 2018). in the private and development sectors. Because of restricted access to the country Recent graduates from local universities and and strict control over research and abroad are often financially discouraged publishing, scholars from abroad had to rely from pursuing a research career in the public on insights from a variety of disciplines and sector – a trend that is prevalent across many fields of study to fill in the knowledge gaps. developing countries (Gindling et al. 2019). Thus, academic social research on Myanmar That said, Myanmar is in an advantageous was characterized as being multidisciplinary, position with regards to its skilled diaspora an approach that reflects the inter-related and foreign-trained students. Since the nature of many of the problems facing the transition, many Myanmar nationals, country (Selth 2010). Moreover, this type including social researchers, are increasingly of research on Myanmar was mainly done seeing Myanmar as a viable place to further through literature reviews because of the their careers. This has encouraged many strict restrictions (up until 2010) barring highly skilled Myanmar nationals to return data collection by foreign researchers. With back home (Chinlone 2018). In the short- the relaxation of censorship since 2011, the translation of important scholarly works has term, as an experienced Myanmar scholar been paramount to the dissemination of argued during an interview, “The skilled research, and increasingly, foreign academic diaspora that Myanmar has abroad could papers on Myanmar have been translated help fill this capabilities gap. However, to assist the growing local demand for the incentives and environment must be knowledge (Dolinska 2017). However, conducive to retain national talent [and] these efforts are still very limited and, more foster a much-needed research culture.” importantly, need to be better harmonized This needs to be combined with a massive with activities in local HEIs in order to allow effort to strengthen research training for local researchers to access existing and improve research career prospects in knowledge in the research system. public universities and other local research organizations. Contemporary scholarly interest in Myanmar was initially sparked by the 1988 pro- International Context democracy demonstrations and subsequent crackdown. It was not until the late 1990s Foreign Academic Researchers that research interest became more and Institutes formalized – namely, the Burma Economic Watch (Macquarie University, Australia); the Prior to the 1990s and early 2000s, research SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research published on Myanmar was predominantly academic by SOAS, University of London; and the and, by and large, conducted by foreign Center for Burma Studies, which published researchers. This is illustrated by a study its own journal (Northern Illinois University). that found that the number of articles on While the first two have ceased publication, Myanmar during the period 1970-2000, the latter remains active. In 1999, the first regardless of the researcher’s nationality, was Myanmar Update Conference organized similar to three other neighboring ASEAN by the Australian National University was countries, despite that fact that Myanmar was initiated and continues to be organized as

34 Doing Research in MYANMAR a biannual event, where scholars present as well as collaborating with HEIs and civil current research findings on the country, with society organizations to enhance research a particular focus on economic and political capacity-building (Nyein 2017). While such affairs. In more recent years, the number of interactions are still ongoing with the current international institutions that solely focus government, there is increasingly a shift on Myanmar has increased. The bordering toward providing technical expertise for the Chinese province of Yunnan has an Institute development aid programs in the country. of Myanmar Studies at the Yunnan National University. There are also four more centers Development Aid in other countries: one in India (Manipur There was a proliferation of donors and University), one in Thailand (Naresuan development actors in Myanmar following University) and two in Australia (Australian the reforms of 2011. Much of their National University and the independent efforts were directed at supporting the Australia-Myanmar Institute based in democratization process and peacebuilding Melbourne). While the growing academic initiatives (Frewer 2017). During this period, interest in Myanmar is promising, there is still much of the research driven by donors little representation from local researchers centered on the rights of ethnic minorities, in the expanding platforms for research. human rights and humanitarian relief, and Recently, there have been more efforts to inform and include these researchers in more recently, on the crisis in northern these events and journals, but these remain Rakhine. Aid programs and the research they marginal (Myanmar Research Centre 2019). fund are intimately intertwined with the economic and geopolitical concerns of the Alongside the establishment of these centers, donors (Frewer 2017). various NGOs (e.g. Prospect Burma, Open Society Foundations), foreign governments Despite the growth in donor-funded and multilateral organizations have been research, the five-year ‘Knowledge for offering scholarships predominantly for Democracy Myanmar’ project, initiated Myanmar students from disadvantaged in 2017 by IDRC, was the first donor-led backgrounds, ethnic minorities and for project that focused entirely on funding selected disciplines. It is important to and promoting social science research. emphasize that prior to 2011, funding Over CAD 10.7 million was pledged to was granted only for studies in public strengthen research and analytical capacity administration, public policy, economics, among university academics and students, agriculture and political sciences. From 2011, civil society leaders, think tank researchers, the subjects that were funded broadened to and government officials in support of include technical and engineering subjects the democratic transition (IDRC n.d.-b). such as computer science and architecture. With the emergence of a small group of specialized research institutes since the While previously, engagements with foreign democratic transition, IDRC’s engagement academics and institutions had been has played a crucial role in encouraging and contained within academia, during the sustaining a nascent independent research period of the quasi-civilian government they space in Myanmar. Three local think tanks became more involved in informing the were selected during the first phase of the reforms, serving as non-partisan experts for initiative – with more likely to be included in specific government reviews and conducting the future – to promote active engagement impact assessments for various ministries, and enhance dialog between policymakers

Doing Research in MYANMAR 35 and the various research actors. This report, working as assistants to foreign researchers also funded by IDRC, is the first attempt to engaged by overseas agencies. This is map and analyse the social science research mainly because of a lack of knowledge landscape in Myanmar. of analytical methodologies and data interpretation. However, these gaps need to With regards to funding research institutions, be addressed if the creation of knowledge development aid funding remains project- is to meet local needs or the interests of based and targeted within a specific the global community of scholars and framework. As a report from the Norwegian international donors (Alatas 2000). In Institute of International Affairs states, “The order to address these gaps in research increased engagement of Western aid capabilities, research engagements are donors in Myanmar has not been followed by increasingly focusing on providing research strategies for knowledge production” (Stokke methodology training as part their project et al. 2018). As a consultant historian explains, plans. From the government’s perspective, “In Myanmar, research institutions are not budgeted spending on education (to cover seen as independent researchers providing this knowledge and capabilities gap) has independent research and following their increased, though there is still a shortage of own agenda; rather the funding institutions people in the education sector with the skills set the research agenda.” The lack of national and training to train others in research skills. governance capacity, the isolation and limited Moreover, while the international community research capacity of HEIs, and prevailing has increasingly focused on funding donor dynamics exacerbate the lack of educational reform, so far these funds have local ownership over the research agenda. mainly been allocated to reform basic Consequently, donor-commissioned research education rather than developing research has disproportionally defined the research capabilities in the tertiary sector. Meanwhile, agenda and the research system. Nonetheless, donor-commissioned research carried out by the fact that current social research is donor- foreign experts has become very influential in dependent is not necessarily problematic, policy circles, while local research institutions as long as the funding for scholarships or training translates into a sustained increase are mired in a vicious cycle of limited inputs in the supply of indigenous local knowledge and low uptake. As such, Myanmar’s high- and research skills. level research capacity has not developing at a rapid enough pace and relies heavily As a result of limited local research capacity, on capacity-building components built into most local researchers find themselves donor-funded projects.

36 Doing Research in MYANMAR STAKEHOLDER Introduction MAPPING This chapter identifies the types of research actors (research organizations and individual researchers) in terms of their contribution to Highlights the different functions of the research system • English remains the official language (production, diffusion and uptake) and the of instruction for universities, though nature of relationships between them. In in reality, lectures and lessons are accordance with the definitions used in predominantly delivered in Burmese the DRA methodology, four categories of given the poor proficiency in English researchers are included — HEIs, government of the majority of students, tutors and and funding agencies, industry, and civil professors. society. In order to characterize the types of • Distance education offers greater access research work each category of researcher to university education for the poor and may be contributing to, we follow Enrique those from remote regions where there Mendizabal’s research work typology (2010): are no HEIs. However, its graduates often face discrimination from employers a) Independent research: Researchers have because of their lack of proper knowledge the freedom to choose their research and skills. questions and methods, and can focus • Academic staff at universities are on long-term issues or ‘big ideas’ with employed by the government to first and no direct policy relevance or on policy foremost teach, with few incentives to problems that require a thorough undertake research typical of professors in investigation and experimental many other countries. components. • Given the limited experience of civilian b) Consultancy: Researchers attempt policymakers, decisions are often based to address one or two key questions on personal or political interests rather requested by specific clients through than on evidence. commissions, often in response to an • There is a total of 174 public higher existing agenda or problem. education institutions in Myanmar; 134 HEIs are administered by the MOE, while c) Influencing/Advocacy: Researchers the remaining institutions are overseen by may use evidence emerging from seven different ministries. independent or contracted research • Most private HEIs do not conduct any work to influence policymakers academic research, but merely operate through communications, capacity as businesses offering degrees in development, networking, campaigns collaboration with overseas universities. and lobbying, etc. • Private HEIs have not been included in the study given the lack of a formal To map the research actors, this study used accreditation system and regulatory the matrix above to locate each research framework for governing institutions in actor in terms of where they are contributing the private education sector. to the research system functions, as well as • The largest sample for this study the type of research they are producing. comprises academic researchers, selected through a two-stage cluster sampling In Myanmar, HEIs, individual researchers and method. local CSOs are producing a wide range of independent research work with very little or

Doing Research in MYANMAR 37 no direct policy relevance. Researchers in HEIs ‘value chain’ by supporting these actors to rarely publish their work given that there are accomplish positive results at all three levels. no financial, reputational or career incentives By sponsoring the entirety of the research to do so, and policy actors do not actively cycle,16 donors have taken on a research or systematically demand comprehensive, leadership role, guiding research actors and in-depth research to address their policy moderating the substance of many research challenges or problems. projects in recent years. In contrast, many INGOs, think tanks, Last but not least, government research development consultancies, private research organizations and government-affiliated think companies and marketing research firms tanks such as the Myanmar Development contracted to donor institutions work in Institute create research products that tend areas that extend across all functions of to advocate government policies or influence the research cycle. In fact, donors have legislative bodies in support of executive been very successful at controlling the initiatives. At the same time, INGOs, non-

Figure 1: Position of research actors to research system functions and types of research work in Myanmar

Research System Functions Production Diffusion Uptake Types of Research Work

Higher education Independent institutions Research Local Individuals CSOs

Consultancy/ INGOs, thinktanks and development consultancies, marketing firms – all contracted by donors Contract

Private sector firms, consultancies

Influence/Advocacy INGOs, thinktanks and consultancies + Gov Research

Source: authors’ own elaboration

16 Please see the Introduction chapter for a definition of the research cycle.

38 Doing Research in MYANMAR partisan think tanks and consultancies often – relationships that have been developed seek partnerships with government think informally. Given the limited space and tanks to advocate and influence government heavy reliance of these policy actors, it is policies. Through these partnerships, there is imperative for researchers to be cautious in often a high level of uptake of their research maintaining credibility and access to such products by government ministries. The political space. Moreover, many researchers following matrix shows the positions and depend on these established relationships to relationships of researchers to research provide them with a competitive advantage system functions and the types of research when interacting with donors and accessing work they engage in. funding opportunities. Therefore, there is a worrying trend toward self-censorship With the exception of the government’s own among researchers amid the fear of upsetting research bodies or organizations, very few and losing access to policymakers. actors can effectively facilitate the uptake of their research by policymakers, despite This is further exacerbated by the increasing the credible evidence and methodological restrictions against freedom of expression, rigor of their research. For public HEIs, which also discourage many researchers independent researchers and local CSOs, from disseminating their work through their dissemination remains an important networks.17 The lack of research groups and challenge – research output rarely reaches associations also weakens the independent beyond circles of like-minded researchers. position of research actors against undue In this regard, production, although critically pressure from the government. low, seems to be more developed than diffusion and uptake, despite the lack of Key Stakeholders in Social independent and quality research. In other Research in Myanmar words, the system has become supply-driven, disproportionately driven by donors in the Higher Education Institutions face of a lack of research activity in HEIs. In fact, there is an oversupply of research Production: Higher Education Governance products that do not connect with local HEIs are typically at the forefront of the demands. A few of these government- advancement and dissemination of research affiliated research organizations have in countries with strong research culture. become quite comfortable in their role as However, in Myanmar, the nascent academic ‘gate-keepers’ of research uptake, while ignoring their original mission of producing independent or long-term research or shaping ‘big ideas’ independently of donor influence. As part of this evolution, many 17 Section 66(d) of 2013 Telecommunications Law, amended in 2017, provides for up to three years in prison for research studies that are taken up by “defaming, disturbing, causing undue influence or policymakers have become solution-driven threatening any person using a telecommunication instead of problem-driven, often sacrificing network.” The vague wording has allowed for an abusive application of the law, and at least 71 people were methodological transparency, rigor and charged in the same year that the law was amended holistic understanding of the issues at hand. (HRW 2017). In addition, some well-intended initiatives such as the establishment of the Ethical Review Board In Myanmar, the functioning of the research in 2017 have inadvertently held up research production and approval processes, resulting in the cutting back of cycle depends heavily on gaining the trust important research studies on critical issues. of and building a rapport with policymakers

Doing Research in MYANMAR 39 research landscape remains severely framework for governing institutions in underdeveloped and under-resourced. At the private education sector. At present, present, the higher education environment private education providers in Myanmar in Myanmar is characterized by a highly that do not teach the national curriculum centralized governance structure spread are only required to be registered with the across various ministries, with complex and Directorate of Investment and Company lengthy decision-making processes. Based on Administration as companies, operating with data provided by the Department of Higher little or no oversight and regulation from the Education in 2018, there are a total of 174 MOE. Most private HEIs do not conduct any public HEIs in Myanmar (Chinlone 2018). academic research, but merely operate as While 134 HEIs are administered by the MOE, businesses offering degrees in collaboration the remaining institutions are overseen by with other overseas universities, often seven different ministries. Under the NLD targeted at students who have not received government, there have been ongoing efforts the necessary grades to enroll in public to transfer more of these institutions under universities (Xinhua 2019). the purview of the MOE, to allow for better coordination of higher education reform. As discussed in the contextual analysis, the current system governing HEIs is a legacy Private HEIs have not been included of the structure designed by the socialist in the study given the lack of a formal government under the University Education accreditation system and regulatory Act in 1964. Following this classification,

Table 2: Governance structure of public HEIs in Myanmar Number of Ministry of Reference Subcategory institutions Arts and Sciences Universities 42 Universities of Economics 3 Universities of Distance Education 2 Ministry of Universities of Foreign Languages 2 Education Universities and Colleges for Teacher Education 25 Technological Universities 33 Universities of Computer studies 27 Subtotal 134 Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation 7 Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry 1 Ministry of Defence 6 Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture 5 Ministry of Border Affairs 3 Ministry of Transport 2 Ministry of Health and Sports 16 Total 174

Source: Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, The Republic of the Union of Myanmar, November 2018 (as cited in Chinlone 2018: 12)

40 Doing Research in MYANMAR public HEIs can be further divided into and professors (Dinmore 2015). Based on subcategories: professional universities, arts the English Proficiency Index by Education and science universities and degree colleges. First, Myanmar is ranked 86th (out of 100 Professional universities include institutions countries), denoting a 'very low proficiency' specializing in medicine, public health, of English skills (Education First 2019). nursing and other technical fields such as Teaching materials including textbooks, computer science, economics, agriculture study guides and presentation slides are in and aerospace engineering. Arts and science English, so professors and students with poor universities specialize in arts, social sciences English skills merely regurgitate information and humanities, and therefore contain the — a major hindrance to the development largest population of HEIs directly relevant of critical thinking skills fundamental to to our analysis. Instances of ‘specialist’ academic research. professional universities engaged in social research are not uncommon – in fact, the Another peculiar phenomenon in Myanmar’s University of Computer Studies produces higher education sector is the dominance of the highest number of studies among all distance education, and the resulting impact HEIs, and is an important stakeholder for it has on the lack of a vibrant ‘campus life’ in research production. The final subcategory Myanmar. First established with the aim of of degree colleges are lower-tier HEIs that making higher education more accessible offer only undergraduate programs. These to students across Myanmar, it was vastly HEIs are often attended by students who expanded following the mass protests have not earned the necessary grades in their of 1988. With the closure of university matriculation exams to enter a full-fledged campuses, distance education was the university and cannot afford the tuition fees only way to earn a Bachelor’s degree in of the private education providers. Myanmar at that time. Distance education has continued to grow in popularity, owing Production: Modes of Teaching in Higher to the fact that students do not have to Education Institutions leave their homes or jobs to earn a degree. For students who cannot afford to study Like other countries in the region grappling full-time or move to another city for the with their colonial past, Myanmar has majority of the academic year, distance undergone numerous policy changes education remains the most preferred mode regarding the language of instruction at of accessing higher education (Chinlone universities, an issue that remains contentious 2018; Win 2015). According to the NESP, as of and debated today. General Ne Win made 2015, there were 411,164 students enrolled in Burmese the language of instruction at distance education universities, nearly twice universities in 1964, before reverting to the number of full-time students (225,178) in English in the late 1980s. The changes in HEIs under the MOE (NESP 2016). Although language policy have caused significant distance education offers greater access to issues in higher education, given the poor university education for the poor and those grasp of English among the majority of from remote regions where there are no HEIs, students and university professors. Officially, graduates often face discrimination from as stipulated by law, English remains the employers because of their lack of proper language of instruction for universities, knowledge and skills. though in reality, lectures and lessons are predominantly delivered in Burmese given A major concern with distance education the poor proficiency in English of tutors in Myanmar is the lack of quality and, in

Doing Research in MYANMAR 41 particular, the very limited number of contact relative lack of ICT skills in the country. hours with university professors — distance The ICT Development Index developed education students are required to only by the United Nations International attend classes for ten consecutive days18 Telecommunication Union ranked Myanmar in order to sit for the annual examinations 135th in 2017 – although there have been (Ko 2019). The classes scheduled during encouraging advancements in mobile this period focus on preparing for the technologies following the liberalization of examinations, supplemented by textbooks the telecommunications sector triggered by and study guides which students use in the reforms in 2013. Myanmar continues to their self-study throughout the rest of the trail far behind the region and globally – just year. Compared to the eight months of 13.6 per cent of households own a computer face-to-face contact hours full-time students (compared to 37.8 per cent in Asia and the receive, the limited number of contact Pacific, and 46.6 per cent globally), and only hours in distance education programs about 25 per cent of the population use the has implications for the broader research Internet (International Telecommunication landscape in Myanmar’s HEIs. First, distance Union 2017). Over the two decades since education students attend their weekend distance education was introduced in or final preparation classes at universities Myanmar, the teaching methodology has affiliated with the Yangon University of hardly changed, despite the increasing Distance Education or Mandalay University demand for distance education or the of Distance Education, placing an additional demands of the modernizing economy. As burden on the teaching staff at these an indicator of the outdated methodology, affiliated universities (ibid). Overstretched assignments, often made up of lengthy faculty members therefore have less time essays, continue to be handwritten and to engage in research. Second, the passive mailed to the universities. ‘teaching and learning’ approach embedded in the distance education programs merely Production: Further Challenges in the helps students earn a degree, a prerequisite Research System for many of the better-paying jobs. Students Academic research is heavily concentrated are therefore less concerned about what in the HEIs of major cities: Yangon, Nay Pyi they study, or the knowledge they stand to Taw and Mandalay. This is unsurprising gain (Su 2019). Distance education remains given that universities based in these cities the preferred mode of study for university typically have the best access to resources, students despite these shortcomings, as it helping to promote a more research-active is perceived to be the easiest and cheapest environment. These universities have method of earning a locally-recognized relatively well-stocked libraries for both degree. students and academics, allowing access The poor quality of distance education is to published academic work and archives further compounded by issues relating of Master’s and PhD theses. In addition, to the weak ICT infrastructure, and the universities such as the University of Yangon and Yangon University of Economics now house Open-Access Repository platforms on their websites to store and provide access to research papers produced by their faculty 18 This differs across different distance learning programs, but the lowest number of days required for any program members and students. Similarly, Dagon is currently ten days. University and the Yangon University of

42 Doing Research in MYANMAR Education have started publishing their percentage of academic staff that engage in research journals on their websites since research. 2018. The NESP 2016-21 enshrines the current This does not, however, imply that blueprint and strategic direction for the universities outside of the largest urban overhaul of the education system in centers do not undertake or produce social Myanmar, from basic education through research. In fact, universities located outside to tertiary education (NESP 2016). The the three major cities often conduct research establishment of research and development related to their specific regional context.19 centers has been highlighted as one of The main challenges for these regional HEIs the key pillars for boosting the quality of are the lack of funding and channels to higher education and fostering research- communicate and disseminate their research active environments in HEIs. A Higher studies – although there is a growing interest Education Research and Innovation Fund among regional authorities to tap into the will be established to provide grants to these research potential of these HEIs.20 research and development centers. In 2019, the University of Yangon announced a call At present, there is no institutionalized for proposal for a feasibility study to establish structure for academic research in Myanmar, a ‘Centre for Research and Innovation’, and many academic researchers interviewed signaling the first steps in setting these plans during this project remarked on the lack in motion (MOE 2019). As outlined in the of interest in research from policymakers. proposal, the key objectives of the center are Academic staff at universities are employed to promote continuous and applied learning, by the government to, first and foremost, and incorporate skills-based learning into teach, with few incentives to undertake its degrees to better match the needs of research typical of professors in many other industries. It is anticipated that the center will countries. The interviews with stakeholders form linkages between the private sector, in HEIs found that the majority of research government, civil society organizations studies were self-funded, with a small and development actors. While still in its number funded from external sources. This infancy, the plan to establish a ‘Centre for supports the findings reported by the Asian Research and Innovation’ indicates a strong Development Bank that “research students motivation to rejuvenate academic research are expected to pay for their research projects in Myanmar, where research is promoted ‘out of their own pocket’” (ADB 2013). The lack as a vehicle to inform more practical, skills- of funding, and lack of time for professors, based learning, and form partnerships with are major constraints for research production different actors. However, it is important in HEIs, and are likely factors for the low to note that the focus of the research and development centers is currently on science and technology, and it remains to be seen if similar policies would be adopted for social 19 Sittwe University, for example, developed a ‘Seasonal sciences. Assessment of Physicochemical Properties of Sea Water from Point Beach in Rakhine Coastal Area’ in 2015 to identify pollution hot spots in coastal sea waters and Diffusion: Poor Linkages Within and highlight the alarming rate of marine depletion (Howson Beyond Universities & Hall 2019). 20 Interviews with research administrators from two regional The interaction and linkages between HEIs. November 2019. universities and the private sector or

Doing Research in MYANMAR 43 government institutions remain rather weak. in actively promoting research as a driver At Yangon School of Economics, which is of nation-building. The papers presented popular among entrepreneurs and business featured a diverse range of topics, such as the leaders for its management courses, there 'Impact and Effect of Cyberbullying among are few opportunities for students to gain the Co-operative College Students, Mandalay' first-hand experience through industrial and 'Nation Building Through Lends a Hand of placements or internships. In recognition of ICT Innovation: Preliminary Approach to the the importance of aligning higher education Multilingual Dictionary for the Prosperity of programs with market trends and the Shan State' (Myanmar Universities’ Research demands of the private sector, the MOE is Conference 2019). This adds to the mix of redeveloping its programs to incorporate conferences, including the longstanding a more practical, real-world curriculum. In research conference hosted by the Myanmar February 2019, it launched a pilot initiative, Academy of Arts and Science (first initiated the School Industry Partnership with the in 2000), and the international conferences Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of jointly organized by local HEIs and foreign Commerce and Industry, to promote research universities (such as the Australian National and development activities with the private University). In 2019, the conference was held sector. Furthermore, the government has for the 19th year and continues to serve as also initiated internship–research exchange an important platform for the exchange of programs for a select group of final year ideas and social science research. Again, with students at certain universities, to forge closer the unique structure of HEIs, these academic relationships with industry. For instance, conferences tend to be a mix of papers from the University of Computer Studies, Yangon the arts and science disciplines. A research (UCSY) has increasingly been involved in conference focused solely on social sciences social research through its active engagement has yet to emerge. with the private sector and government. This tripartite engagement has been driven Another key development in the higher primarily by the need to address social issues education sector was the official revision of through data collection and application the promotion policy for HEI professors in development for the general public – for July 2019. In the past, teacher deployment example, students of UCSY helped the and their promotion were based on the Yangon Regional Government in a project to number of years of experience rather than optimize bus routes (Sein, Hlaing, Thuza 2017). performance. The revised promotion policy adds new criteria for academic career The emergence of new academic conferences advancement, based on the number of in Myanmar is another encouraging sign of authored or co-authored publications, the the increase in platforms for promoting and level of degree obtained and international disseminating research. In May 2019, the exposure – all conditional on not having Myanmar Universities Research Conference been imprisoned (Tun 2019). The main was held for the first time, allowing academic challenge, however, lies in the ambiguity researchers from different HEIs and academic surrounding the policy. Based on fields to present research papers. Jointly information gathered from interviews with organized by the National Education Policy representatives in the higher education Commission and the Rectors’ Committee, the sector, the details have yet to be finalized. event was indicative of closer collaboration No written policy has been drawn up for between policymakers and universities the amendment, and therefore there is little

44 Doing Research in MYANMAR scope for analyzing how quality of research restructuring of the national research ethics output feeds into the promotion process. committee and its approach to research The criteria for career advancement, which is ethics. Research proposals, particularly in the centered on quantity, has resulted in a recent social research field, have to be reviewed controversy in which many academics in by the MOE for both funding and general Myanmar paid for their research papers to be approval, with ‘politically sensitive’ research published in illegitimate journals in a bid to topics often getting rejected (Esson & gain promotion. The incident was reported Wang 2016). Following a series of training in the news and widely discussed on social workshops held in 2017 and 2018 led by media, helping to undermine public regard the National Institute for Higher Education for academic research output. The incident Development (NIHED), participating further highlights the urgent need for a universities highlighted the lack of a defined framework to assess the quality of research ethics review committee as one of the output as part of the promotion criteria. main challenges in research management. Subsequently, the MOE issued a directive to The issues that followed the new promotion universities that they should establish their policy highlight an important challenge: own ethics review committees by no later even with good intentions, policies that are than 2020 (GNLM 2018). However, while ambiguous or poorly-executed could have some universities have experience with unintended consequences, undermining any these types of mechanisms, specifically in attempt to promote an active research culture the medical sciences, most professors and within HEIs. For example, the promotion rectors – especially in the arts and science policy did not indicate where professors universities – have a limited understanding should publish, or set standards for what of what ethical review guidelines should look constitutes a quality and reputable journal. like. It was pointed out by a participant in a Furthermore, in the absence of a strong closed-door national consultation meeting21 peer review system and with the lack of that universities end up merely sending international recognition for PhDs awarded in ‘representatives’ to these meetings, without Myanmar, there are few options for professors any real understanding of the functions to have their work published outside of of an ethical review committee. Moreover, their own university journals – which is why university guidelines do not appear to be many professors paid to have their research benchmarked against international best papers published in journals of questionable practices or standards. repute. Such a policy would have been more effective if it had taken into consideration Over the last few years, there have been the development of new academic journals movements from within the academia to – for example, for specializations in different push for more autonomy, though reforms thematic areas or disciplines. to accord greater autonomy to HEIs have 22 The National Education Policy Moreover, this example exposes the absence been slow. of a functioning national or subnational Commission is currently leading the reform, mechanism tasked with reviewing research proposals on the basis of ethically responsible scientific conduct and academic integrity, let alone technical quality. Amid the irregularities 21 Throughout the DRA Project, two closed-door national advisory meetings were held in Yangon, co-organized by surrounding research outputs, the Rectors’ GDN, IDRC and CESD. Relevant actors within the national Committee has been considering the research system were invited to attend.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 45 collaborating with the British Council on a to scholarship opportunities for young pilot project that will grant greater autonomy Myanmar students, various embassies, as to a select group of universities in Yangon well as the EU,25 offer exchange programs and Mandalay. In reality, the push for greater to universities in their countries. In 2017, autonomy may be much harder to realize, the National Institute for Higher Education especially given the lack of capacity among Development was established with the university administrations for governing support of the British Council. This national- financial and staffing matters.23 With regards level institute is tasked with the long-term to academic freedom, interviews conducted capacity development of individuals and with academics in the arts and social sciences institutions in higher education, as well as faculties noted a high level of bureaucracy, with improving the governance structure with prior approval required from the MOE of the Department of Higher Education, the for matters ranging from student admissions, National Education Policy Commission and the research topics, fieldwork, seminars and Rectors’ Committee. The first capacity-building international collaboration (Esson & Wang training sessions were launched in January 2016). Strengthening research capacity is not 2020, with a long-term focus on three core a central part of this initiative as yet. areas: training and capacity development, It is worth pointing out that the international research on issues related to management and donor community has played a notable role governance in the higher education sector, in the higher education reform process. The and external relations with private, non-profit main actors, the British Council, the Japan and development partner agencies. International Cooperation Agency (JICA) These affirmative steps need to be and the US Embassy, have each provided juxtaposed against the newly introduced capacity-building training sessions for red tape within the system, which continues technical HEI professors.24 When it comes to bind researchers. Amid the ongoing demands for freedom of speech by several student unions in Myanmar, the MOE issued a new directive at the end of 2019 that HEIs 22 A recently released draft of the higher education law are not permitted to source and receive came under criticism from student and teachers’ unions, who argued it would lead to too much centralization, that funding from external parties. At present, any it failed to include relevant stakeholders in the draft phase funding goes through the MOE before being and contradicted the existing national education law and its amendment (Phyu 2018a). re-allocated among universities. With the 23 According to the Executive Director of a private new directive, the capacity and autonomy education institution who has worked with the relevant of HEIs to conduct research will be severely government bodies on university autonomy, academic hampered, just as it was starting to develop. staff at universities are considered civil servants and governed by the Union Civil Service Board. While they will More importantly, such policies contradict have the option of choosing to remain on or leave the the efforts to grant greater financial Board, many academics may choose to remain because of autonomy to universities. It also signals concerns over matters such as pensions. In this context, staffing autonomy at universities may never be truly the contradictory nature of policymaking achieved. 24 While these initiatives are important, it highlights the emphasis on technical studies. Similarly, the Indian Embassy has focused on providing IT skills training programs. None of these organizations, as far as the 25 The EU’s ‘Erasmus Mundus’ program offers higher authors of this report are aware of, offer specific training education scholarship opportunities for talented young programs for social science HEI professors. Myanmar students.

46 Doing Research in MYANMAR in Myanmar, which often stems from poor Moreover, the ethics review committees coordination among government bodies and should function independently and comprise ministries, and the lack of clear action plans of reviewers with sufficient academic and strategic direction. research experience and relevant credentials. They should be able to rely on ethical review The speed at which the reforms in the guidelines common to all HEIs in the same higher education sector are undertaken areas, rather than the current format where has increased significantly over the last few decision-making depends solely on the years. New policies and initiatives appear administrative authority of relevant line to promote a stronger research system. The ministries. establishment of Open-Access Repositories at some of the largest universities in the Government and Public- country, and new conferences for the funding Agencies promotion and diffusion of research are strong indicators of the government’s Government agencies are key stakeholders desire to promote a research-active higher for both the production and uptake/ education sector. The new promotion policy consumption of research, with important also signals this new commitment to foster a roles in the process of strengthening research research culture and build stronger linkages capacity in HEIs. In a typical research system, with the private sector and policymakers. HEIs would perform research autonomously However, the lack of clarity and transparency and the findings would then be used to in many of the new reform measures inform policymakers. However, in Myanmar, result in rather arbitrary interpretations there is currently very little engagement and applications of these policies. As the between government agencies and HEIs in controversy around the new promotion this regard. Instead, what tends to happen policy has highlighted, there is a need for is that research is primarily informed by clear, well-defined steps within these policies the needs of the government, often in in order for these reforms to truly achieve collaboration with multilateral/bilateral their intended objectives.26 donor organizations or international NGOs, with agencies contracting HEIs for specific Research is certainly gaining policy relevance studies. This is illustrated, for instance, by a and traction, but as one PhD supervisor puts major agriculture research project sponsored it, “The Union Government does not have any by USAID and the Livelihoods and Food real research priorities, no research agenda.” Security Fund (LIFT). The project collaborated This is evident in the absence of a nationwide with Yezin Agriculture University (YAU) and strategic research policy (at the time of funded a few research studies undertaken by finalizing this report). the University, but YAU was not necessarily involved in conceptualizing the research questions and design during consultations with the focal agencies of the Ministry of

26 Although there is an overall framework of reforms set Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation. forth in the National Education Sector Plan, there is little detail on priorities, approaches and objectives of the In contrast to the previous administration, reform measures, particularly in terms of doing research. the NLD government has not appointed While the higher education authorities did organize presidential advisors or an advisory council several rounds of research paper readings for papers concerning the higher education reforms, issues related through which distinguished scholars and to doing research were not discussed. renowned experts could offer candid policy

Doing Research in MYANMAR 47 advice. This has probably undermined some by academics or students in HEIs are not of the progress made on research-to-policy funded by government agencies. The linkages. Many donors and foreign investors Department of Higher Education was now complain about the limited access to allocated 17 per cent of the education policymakers, compared to the access they budget in 2017/18 (compared to 77 percent enjoyed under the previous government. A for the Department of Basic Education), well-known advisor on think tanks, Enrique or 0.32 percent of GDP in 2017/18. The Mendizabal (2010), notes that “research uptake Department of Higher Education controls is not always up, but it can well be ‘sidetake.” the budget for research in HEIs, though there When researchers have links with fellow is no official data on the actual allocation of researchers working in policymaking bodies, funding for research activities. During one of they can form effective collaborations to make the in-depth interviews, a faculty member evidence available to policymakers at the highlighted the greater flexibility in the use right time. The plurality of research-to-policy of funds allocated to higher education in linkages through multiple channels could the past; the current approval process is enhance better uptake; having intermediary coordinated across three governing bodies institutions such as advisory councils or (the MOE, the National Education Policy research bodies may help in this regard. Commission, and the Rectors’ Committee). It is still not clear how the establishment of For the purposes of this study – and the focus the National Institute for Higher Education on research uptake – the target stakeholders Development will impact the approval from the policy community include the process. Similarly, while there are guidelines Ministry of Education (MOE) and other line for civil servants on the public disclosure ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture, of sensitive information,27 there are no Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI), the Ministry standardized protocols for information of Planning, Finance and Industry (MOPFI), sharing across ministries and government the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and agencies. According to an interviewee, civil Population (MOLIP) and the Ministry of servants are often reluctant to disclose any Commerce (MOC). They play a pivotal role information without a firm directive from in mobilizing international partnerships on higher-level officials, in fear of jeopardizing research production as well as serving as their position, or worse, their safety. This is entry points for policy uptake. a legacy of previous government regimes – For all types of education- and research- whether or not this fear is justified, it is still an related activities across the entire impediment and has a tangible impact on government sector, only a small fraction decision-making. of public funds is allocated specifically to While funding allocated for academic research. For instance, over 75 percent of research remains scarce in Myanmar, formal the budget allocated to the MOE is spent on collaborations between researchers and salaries, with little or no funds allocated for policymakers are happening both at the funding research in HEIs. Likewise, the MOALI Union level and regional levels (state and Department of Research received less than 2 regional governments). Researchers can percent of the total budget allocated to the entire ministry. As discussed earlier in the previous section, the majority of research projects undertaken 27 Note that public university academics are civil servants.

48 Doing Research in MYANMAR participate in government-sponsored members of parliament (Fraser & Myat Kaw research projects to shape official policies, 2015). The research department of the Pyithu hired on a project-by-project basis. Since Hluttaw has been publishing journals on 2016, the Department of Monitoring and current affairs (Egreteau 2017). Similarly, Evaluation (Research) under the MOE has the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw has undertaken a tendered a dozen consulting services, considerable amount of research, publishing of which at least half of them involve their findings on their website, with a comprehensive survey research. One such primary focus on international relations and project was aimed at undertaking a research macroeconomic policies (Amoyotha Hluttaw study on expanding TVET to boost human n.d.). resource development in the agriculture During the initial scoping interviews, sector. The project enabled researchers and academic researchers interviewed by the experts from a regional consultancy agency, team noted the lack of interest in social Mekong Economics, to work with local research among the policy community, researchers from regional HEIs to conduct undermining the potential contributions a detailed assessment of the demand and that could be made by social research in supply of agriculture skills in major rice- addressing economic and social challenges producing regions such as Ayeyarwady and in Myanmar. This is in sharp contrast to the Sagaing. longstanding relationships that exist between In terms of the production, there have HEIs specializing in science and technology been a number of research departments and the relevant government departments or established within government agencies in ministries. For example, a significant amount Myanmar specifically tasked with producing of the research activities at Yezin Agricultural research. Each of the three Hluttaws28 (the University is undertaken in collaboration with three houses of the legislature) of the the Department of Agricultural Research, Myanmar Parliament houses an International which comes under the purview of the Relations and Research Department. Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Since 2013, the UNDP-IPU (United Nations (Than 2006). Similar consultations are Development Programme and the Inter- happening in other ministries, including the Parliamentary Union) program has been Ministry of Commerce, concerning the thorny providing parliamentary support, in addition issue of cross-border trade between China to ICT equipment, and research and library and Myanmar. The Ministry of Commerce has management training. By mid-2015, the sought technical assistance from researchers program had successfully developed the at the Yezin Agricultural University to address research departments within all three knowledge gaps in overcoming quality Hluttaws, producing research briefings assurance for agriculture export to China. and addressing research enquiries from Myanmar researchers collaborated with their research counterparts from Kunming University of Science and Technology, and later organized a consultation with private

28 Myanmar’s current bicameral legislature was convened sector representatives and traders who had on 31 January 2011. The three Hluttaws are: Amyotha hands-on experience in dealing with the Hluttaw, or the House of Nationalities (the upper house); issues on the ground, as part of efforts to Pyithu Hluttaw, or the House of Representatives (the lower house); and Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, or the Assembly develop trade facilitation measures at the of the Union. Ministry.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 49 At present, a major challenge is the like the EU, USAID, DFID, Australian Aid, the gulf between social research funded by World Bank and the Asian Development international donors (and implemented by Bank have ongoing development projects NGOs) – which focuses heavily on gender that operate with INGOs, local CSOs or and humanitarian issues – and the research NGOs as implementing partners. Along with undertaken by HEIs and government the changes in the country, the top donor agencies. There is no overlap in the research priorities have shifted from agriculture, space occupied by these stakeholders. These health, and ‘government and civil society’ in gaps need to be filled in order to create a 2011, to conflict prevention and resolution, truly dynamic evidence-based policymaking and developmental food aid and food system necessary for the development of security in 2016 (Equality Myanmar 2018). Myanmar. At present, the Development Assistance Finally, there has been an emerging trend of Coordination Unit (DACU) plays a critical role government agencies contracting private in screening and approving not only donor sector partners, and more recently, big projects but also public investment and international consultancy firms, to undertake public-private partnership projects, in line research on a project-by-project basis. This with the policy priorities set by the Myanmar will be discussed in the later sections of this Sustainable Development Plan. In fact, the chapter. need for evidence is one of the requirements of funding approval. This created an The growing number of research opportunity for the government to promote actors following the emergence of new the value of research – as an integral part of development consultancies, research policymaking – among the wider civil service. organizations and big international The institutionalization of evidence-based consultancies have increased the complexity policymaking through the establishment of of detailing the relationships between the DACU mechanisms encouraged close different stakeholders, especially given collaboration with development partners, the prevalence of informality in Myanmar. to use their evidence-based technical All of the relationships between HEIs, assistance programs to support government government agencies, donor agencies and initiatives. As the DACU increased the level the various types of research organizations of development cooperation, there was are undocumented and difficult to track, intense pressure on donor agencies to which adds to the difficulty of compiling a come up with their own evidence-based systematic account of the different actors evaluative assessments to inform continuing involved in this study. relationships with the government. This led International Donors to a hiring spree: technical consultants were contracted by various donors to write up International development donor research reports showing evidence of results, organizations and agencies have been impacts and feedback, to help speed up supporting and engaging with NGOs and the project pipeline.29 Many non-academic CSOs in developing countries since the 1990s, often to support democratic processes and/or to promote non-profit research to inform or advise policy (Parks 2008). In 29 DACU. ‘Myanmar Development Assistance Policy’, January Myanmar, development donor partners 2018.

50 Doing Research in MYANMAR research studies were written by international Nations Office for Project Services. Founded consultants with few co-authorships with in 2009, the LIFT Fund is a multi-donor local assistants. vehicle that serves as both a mechanism for streamlining finance to agricultural projects, The main way in which donors influence and a platform for research and technical social research is through the funding assistance to the government (Carr 2018). The of programmatic social research via Joint Peace Fund, was established in 2015, project tenders, whereby NGOs, CSOs and and funds research production for all of its other actors compete for funding in the main programs. ‘marketplace of ideas’ (McCombs & Shaw 1993). This influence is heightened by In essence, according to interviewees, there the fact that funding is concentrated on is a vast amount of research being funded specific areas in line with the priorities that by donor agencies and INGOs, but the main donors deem important for the country’s challenge appears to be in coordinating their development. Thus, by deciding which thematic research in order to better capture topics are deemed fundable, donors play a the broader dynamics of selected priority critical role in determining which topics are themes. An interviewee researching natural researched in the first place. The process by resources argued that calls for research which funding is allocated and dispersed proposals from donors set the parameters often entails a call for research proposals and seek evidence for their agenda, within a specific thematic area. These are effectively taking significant control over open to INGOs, NGOs or private entities, or research production in Myanmar. aimed at finding implementing partners for donor projects. Given the size of donor International NGOs and Global projects, actors divide up the project phases Think Tanks and activities by forming consortiums or developing subcontracting arrangements to As in many developing countries, the tap into the different sets of capabilities and Myanmar government has an overstretched expertise of organizations and independent bureaucracy and limited capacity for in- consultants. As various interviews with house governmental policy analysis. This researchers and research administrators have capacity and knowledge vacuum provides pointed out, funding for social research, in an opportunity for think tanks to fill the this context, is often a contextual knowledge- gaps within the policy community. In gathering exercise to ensure that projects Myanmar, global think tanks and INGOs are successfully implemented.30 Research is have been propelled by grants and other often used to inform projects or assess their funding sources from the government and effectiveness. international organizations that seek to expand the policymaking capacities of the There are two main sector-specific donor country and its civil society (Saha 2011). funds that include research as one of the main Because of their non-profit nature, they are program pillars: the LIFT Fund and the Joint often viewed as non-partisan and of greater Peace Fund, both managed by the United integrity than vested interest groups or for-profit research organizations. However, global think tanks and INGOs can also be involved in cross-national processes of policy 30 Various interviews in Yangon, from September to transfer, where they go beyond detached November 2019. policy analysis to advocate and spread

Doing Research in MYANMAR 51 certain policy ideas and practices (Ladi 2005). NGOs and Civil Society For instance, these types of organizations Organizations: Advocacy for have been vehicles for the spread of policies as diverse as privatization, anti-corruption Policy Positioning strategies, drug elimination policies and NGOs and civil society organizations have constitutional reform. long been an integral part of Myanmar. In Myanmar, the research commissioned The country has a very active civil society, by INGOs or international think tanks is particularly compared to its regional counterparts. Myanmar topped the Charities often used as a device to draw out policy Aid Foundation World Giving Index in lessons and global best practices that can be 2017 for four consecutive years, although adapted to the local context, or to generate it is important to note that the majority knowledge about a subject to influence of individual donations went to religious government policy preferences. In Myanmar, institutions and religiously-affiliated CSOs. The Asia Foundation, an influential global During the socialist and subsequent military think tank, opened a country office (1958- dictatorship, CSOs and NGOs were the voice 1962) and invited international economists of many marginalized communities and were to formulate and advise on the Pyidawtha critical in maintaining relationships with Plan in the 1950s. After decades of closure international counterparts. Given the lack following the coup d’état by Ne Win, The of social research undertaken by HEIs, civil Asia Foundation re-established an office in society organizations and non-government Myanmar in 2013. Recognized for conducting organizations in Myanmar have also played quality research and policy analysis, The an important role in conducting research Asia Foundation has established itself as a directly or indirectly, as part of advocacy critical player in various fields: democratic efforts or programmatic research. governance, women’s empowerment and political participation. Moreover, it enjoys The involvement of political parties in the strong informal links with members of demand for and production of research is parliament and the government, helping to a new phenomenon; it was only formally facilitate uptake of its research products. The initiated by the quasi-civilian government in Asia Foundation also provides research for 2011. Furthermore, independent, non-partisan ideological argumentation for federalism and research institutes, often referred to as ‘think decentralization, areas of particular interest tanks’, are also a contemporary phenomenon for the NLD-led government today. in Myanmar. It is only with growing interest from the international community during Other international NGOs conducting the democratic transition that local NGOs research in Myanmar include the and CSOs began playing an important role in International Crisis Group, Human Rights funding and demanding research – mostly Watch and the Transnational Institute. All of for advocacy purposes. Some local NGOs these organizations advocate for legislative conducting research stated in their interviews reform by conducting investigative research that the challenge in Myanmar is not the lack and gathering first-hand evidence in the of research being done, but an oversupply various sectors they work in – namely, of research output. The major challenges all conflict management and monitoring, ethnic actors commonly experienced are access rights and human rights abuses, and informal to information. In cases where information and illicit political economies in Myanmar. is available, there is also the additional

52 Doing Research in MYANMAR challenge of verifying its accuracy. Moreover, analysis. Since the 2015 democratic elections, the research that is commissioned is often however, the emphasis has moved toward problem-driven, rather than part of a longer- advocacy research on the peace process, term attempt to shape ‘big ideas’. human rights, gender and federalism. In the Myanmar context, the term ‘civil Many of interviewed researchers argued that society organization’ encompasses all the space for broad-based advocacy has Myanmar-led organizations, including become more limited since 2016. Authorities community-based organizations, local are increasingly prosecuting individuals for advocacy NGOs, border-based organizations, online and offline speech, and reporting and faith-based organizations, government- advocacy on sensitive issues has become backed NGOs, and CSOs linked to ethnic more tightly restricted. Journalists and activists armed organizations (LRC & Amatae 2016). have had defamation cases brought against These actors are important stakeholders them under the Penal Code, particularly if their who have the unique social capital to build research implicates the military (Athan 312 the state and foster social development in 2019) or some regional governments (Win Myanmar (Thura 2018). The number and 2017; Myint 2018; Wai 2019). variety of organizations reflects the historical role that civil society has played in taking up While most CSOs specialize in a thematic or the roles that were not fulfilled by the state, regional research area, they are increasingly largely through the support of international diversifying their scope of research, and have donors. While some CSOs have remained as become more engaged in policymaking – service suppliers (in health and education, a shift largely supported by international for example), there has been an increase in donors (Paung Sie Facility 2018). As such, the number of CSOs providing knowledge CSOs are now need to strengthen their – in the form of advocacy research – to the capacity for policy research and advocacy, government and the general public. This was which often entails engaging with first prompted by the move by donors to international consultants to assist in technical centralize resources and thematic networks policy formulation. A recent report on the following their experience of providing dynamics between CSOs in Myanmar found assistance during Cyclone Nargis, whereby that their operations and activities are 100 particular organizations began serving as a percent reliant on donor funding (Equality platform for local and international NGOs to Myanmar 2018), and are often competing support and coordinate emergency relief among each other for funding. and humanitarian assistance (Christian Aid 2016). When it comes consortium and subcontracting arrangements for donor After Nargis, some of the most successful project proposals, CSOs are often seen as networks were formalized as independent the ‘boots on the ground’ for INGOs or larger CSOs, focusing on research for high-profile entities. Their ‘local knowledge' is often used development projects and key issues relating for providing language interpretation, liaising to land, conflict and development, and with government officials, and working as rural livelihoods. They have increasingly data collectors or enumerators (Krembzow reoriented their activities to more sustainable 2016). While the main purpose of CSOs is grant-based projects. Their research focus to conduct research for policy advocacy during the quasi-civilian government was purposes, their output is often of low quality on evidence-based social and economic and based on questionable methodology.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 53 Research Institutes: Informing several smaller NGOs and ethnic groups Debates and Decisions to carry out action research on the peace process. The Joint Peace Fund is by far the Prominent research institutes or think tanks31 largest multi-donor fund in Myanmar. It has are scarce in Myanmar, but slowly growing also provided over USD 1 million in research in number (the first institutes were only funding to independent think tanks such as founded in 2011). Contrary to the American ALARM (Advancing Life and Regenerating model and experience of think tanks, many Motherland), which has identified local and early Southeast Asian research institutes had national mechanisms for resolving resource strong links with the state or enjoyed official conflicts as part of a broader goal to improve patronage (Nachiappan et al. 2010). Many of people’s participation in identifying solutions them were established by their respective and advocating for change in ceasefire areas. governments to contribute toward research The Myanmar Institute of Strategic and on national economic development and International Studies (MISIS) and the CESD security. were established under the previous In April 2016, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi stated quasi-civilian government. These research that “The country’s peace process will be institutes have become venues for informal the first priority" of her new government diplomacy – platforms for international even before she was officially sworn in as organizations and other entities to engage the State Counsellor. She was adamant in with the government. Their establishment stressing that “we can do nothing without also served a symbolic function – namely, to peace in our country,” and pledged that illustrate the government’s commitment to an all-inclusive peace process would be reform, evidence-based policymaking, and the first priority of the new government. In greater engagement with the international community (Stone & Denham 2005). response to this important policy statement, several independent think tanks have Due to the turbulent history of Myanmar, and undertaken research studies to support the contrary to the American model of think- government’s peace efforts. One prominent tanking, political parties do not have a long think tank, the Myanmar Institute for Peace tradition of establishing their own research and Security, worked closely with the institutes (Nachiappan et al. 2010). When the principal stakeholders in the peace process NLD established the Renaissance Institute in to provide timely conflict monitoring 2012 to conduct research on macroeconomic analyses, while conducting research on management and public policy, it was the security sector development as part of a first of its kind. After the 2015 elections, long-term initiative. Another think tank, the MISIS and CESD were considered political Centre for Development and Ethnic Studies, actors and had to adapt to the new political focused on assessing the different ideas on landscape. They became fully independent federalism in the context of Myanmar. Both think tanks that relied on external sources think tanks were generously supported by of funding. Simultaneously, the new the Joint Peace Fund, which also funded government established the Myanmar Development Institute in Nay Pyi Taw to conduct economic research and assist with the policy objectives of the new government. 31 The terms ‘think tank’ and ‘research institute’ are often Unlike purely academic research, policy used interchangeably. research primarily targets the interests of

54 Doing Research in MYANMAR policymakers. Given the limited experience researchers with local researchers for of civilian policymakers, decisions are often academic inquires and co-authorships. based on personal or political interests rather than on evidence. A worrying emerging There are also a variety of regional research trend is that, while the research produced by institutes that focus on building and Myanmar’s independent research institutes delivering social research capabilities is considered to be of relatively good quality, for specific ethnic groups, with activities policymakers more often than not turn to often run in parallel with their research INGOs, global think tanks or private sector activities and technical support. Noteworthy actors for information to inform policymaking organizations include the Kachin-based (Initiative Think Tank 2018). Kachinland Research Centre and Chin- based Chinbridge Institute. These types of In addition to the research institutes organizations stated during their interview established in 2011, some CSOs established that their main research themes involved in early 2012 have shifted into the policy- issues relevant to their respective regions. research space. For example, Enlightened Their research was often used to advocate Myanmar Research initially started as a regional government reforms and campaign survey research firm, but later rebranded through their international network; itself as the Enlightened Myanmar Research hence, they rarely engage with the Union Foundation (EMReF). EMReF now focuses Government. on delivering policy research and capacity training for various international partners, In conclusion, while there are a variety of CSOs, regional governments and the CSOs producing research-informed reports donor community. Within this space, the and policy papers, most of them are not Inya Institute is the only independent full-fledged research institutes, and are organization in Myanmar that focuses solely still fully dependent on external funding, on assisting and contributing to the creation predominantly from donors. The research of academic research in the social sciences topics are often heavily steered by donor and humanities. The organization is funded funding, and competition for funding has by the Open Society Foundations and LIFT,32 become a harsh reality. Moreover, because of and was the first institution to develop a the low wages in the research institute sector, bilingual social research methodology book these organizations have a high turnover in Burmese and English for undergraduate of employees, hampering the effectiveness students. The book, 'Introduction to Social and depth of research training offered and Research Methods,' is easily accessible both discouraging organizations from investing as a hard copy and online. This institution in up-skilling their staff. As previously also conducts research methodology training mentioned, the reliance on political programs for young graduate students but connections for access to data has meant does not confer official certification. The that many of these organizations depend on Inya Institute also connects international their political positioning or their leadership’s personal ties and networks. Lastly, there appears to be formal conversations among think tanks and a push from funders to 32 LIFT, Livelihoods and Food Security Fund, is a multi- improve the quality of research output, donor fund set up in 2009 to fund projects related to strengthening the resilience and livelihoods of poor particularly in terms of rigor and greater households throughout Myanmar (LIFT n.d). transparency of methodologies.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 55 Private Sector Organizations: and dynamics – in order to determine the Market Research, market potential and consumer base for their products and services. The research Consultancies and Private and communication produced by market Education research firms is largely geared toward promoting Myanmar as an attractive With the rapid economic liberalization destination for investment – often hailed as Myanmar has experienced over the past the ‘final frontier’ in Asia (BBC 2013). decade, there is a growing commercialization and privatization of socioeconomic research. Myanmar Marketing Research & The expansion of the private sector, which Development (MMRD) and Myanmar Survey offers more competitive salaries, has attracted Research (MSR), established in 1992 and 1995 talent from the highly skilled Myanmar respectively, were the first market research diaspora (including graduates of foreign firms in Myanmar, initially conducting surveys universities), which increasingly see Myanmar for private companies. Despite the initial as a safe and economically viable destination. limited analytical capacities of these firms, The private sector has also tapped into the they have recently broadened the scope existing CSO sector, drawing in locally trained of their services, creating the MMRD Social social researchers. Insight and MSR Social Research Department. While this is not necessarily problematic, These new departments focus on livelihoods, this shift has implications for transparency, migration and opinion poll research projects. particularly in terms of the methodologies Since its establishment, the Social Research used to conduct research, and raises Department has undertaken projects concerns over the accountability of commissioned by numerous international researchers and their output. The restricted organizations such as the World Bank and access to the research produced by these UNOPS, as well as bilateral and multilateral actors is controversial, given that a large development funds such as JICA, the Korea number of them have been commissioned International Cooperation Agency and DFID by governmental/non-profit organizations. (MMRDS n.d.; MSR n.d.). Another problematic issue, pointed out Large Business Consultancies by various interviewees, is the use of commissioned research produced by the With the burgeoning interest among both private sector to lobby for legal reforms – local and foreign private firms in establishing the evidence is often dependent on the a foothold in Myanmar, various types of methodology employed, and the quality of consulting companies have become key focal the reports are not closely scrutinized by the points for assisting new companies to enter relevant legislative bodies. the market, or advising established firms on Market Research Firms the reformulation of their business strategies amid growing competition. Much of the social research conducted by the private sector in contemporary Large international consulting companies Myanmar is carried out by market research started operating in Myanmar by conducting firms. Amid the move toward greater countrywide macroeconomic research liberalization, companies and external actors on the telecommunications and banking are looking to gather knowledge on the sectors with the aim of developing their local national economy – its main characteristics knowledge. Roland Berger, a second-tier

56 Doing Research in MYANMAR consulting company, was the first consulting Working in the country since the onset of company to conduct a large project in the democratic transition, Oxford Policy Myanmar and has continued to leverage Management has established its presence its well-established trust and rapport with in Myanmar, setting up a local office in the Myanmar government. It was in charge 2016. The development consulting firm of the tender for the telecommunication continues to work with and conduct research liberalization process, a position that for the Myanmar government and other helped it gain legitimacy among foreign international NGOs. It conducts research companies, which later contracted Roland analysis and monitoring and evaluation Berger to inform their Myanmar operations activities for development projects, in the (Trautwein & Hammon 2015). More recently, areas of public financial management, social Roland Berger won the tender to provide protection and education. consultancy services to the Central Bank of Local development consultancies not only Myanmar for the selection of foreign banks, as cater to the same research demands as part of the measures to further liberalize the other development consultancies but also financial sector (Mizzima 2019). Soon after, those of non-profit research institutes, CSOs larger international consulting and auditing and NGOs. An example of this subtype of firms followed suit – namely, McKinsey, PWC, development consultancy is SPPRG-Lodestar, Deloitte and Boston Consulting Group. PWC’s a private research firm established in 2012. research on electricity in Yangon is a recent It conducts for-profit policy research on example of this dynamic, and it has since a broad range of issues from poverty, to won the tender for the Yangon Regional peace and the rule of law, and provides Government’s privatization of electricity and capacity-building training programs. They water project (PWC 2019). carry out research consultancy projects for government bodies and are funded by LIFT Development Consultancies and DFID. Another category of development Established international development consultancies that has emerged in this consultancies such as Adam Smith research landscape are environmental and International and Oxford Policy Management social impact assessment firms, which cater have also established teams in Myanmar to private companies and NGOS that need or to conduct research, adding to the mix want to demonstrate their compliance with of private sector actors, and increasing international standards and best practices for competition in the space created social responsibility. by development actors. While these Generally, development consultancies rely on companies often collaborate with local foreign researchers for analytical and project development consultancies, they are also drafting expertise. Despite being assisted by direct competitors. Since the election of local colleagues (as described in the previous the NLD government in 2015, the clients of chapters) they are often unfamiliar with (or Adam Smith International have increasingly not embedded in) the Myanmar research shifted from foreign government agencies system. Within the Myanmar context, the to ministries within Myanmar, including the main difference between development Department of Rural Development Myanmar, consultancies, and think tanks and research the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and institutes is that the former are for-profit the Ministry of Planning and Finance (Adam and offer slightly higher wages. The latter, Smith International n.d.). on the other hand, focus more on public

Doing Research in MYANMAR 57 advocacy and outreach. Their research thinking and research methodology skills endeavors overlap – as with the various other not taught in public universities (American actors previously described – leading to an University of Yangon n.d.; Myanmar Imperial increasingly crowded research space. College n.d.). Many of these private education providers, such as Strategy First University Independent Consultants and Myanmar Imperial College, partner with There are a multitude of independent foreign universities to offer internationally consultants involved in the production of recognized degrees. With no legal framework social research in Myanmar. The government to provide accreditation to these institutions often relies on international experts because or govern the private education sector, there it acknowledges its limitations. Foreign is no regulation to manage the growth in experts (or more general consultants) often private education providers, and ensure provide technical expertise for projects. quality and a minimum set of standards for Information gathered from interviews the services they offer to their students (Phyu with key actors suggests that international 2018a). specialists are preferred, and often hired to Other private initiatives have been take on the role of team leaders. They are established that focus on up-skilling potential also considered to be more experienced, graduate students to international standards. relegating many local consultants to more The Pre-Collegiate Program of Yangon, a minor roles in the research project cycle. liberal arts education program, prepares a Meanwhile, local consultants are seen as few selected students to study in the USA, local facilitators, providing local contextual familiarizing them with social research and knowledge. analytical skills as well as critical thinking. Private Education Providers Similarly, Parami Institute in Yangon has established itself as an organization that The private sector’s involvement in higher provides capacity development and teaches education is to cater to the growing demand critical thinking, offering scholarships to less for private sector jobs, which are among well-off students for a one-year liberal arts the highest paying for many graduates. preparatory course. Consequently, social research methodology is not offered as a course because, currently, The boom in the private education sector there is a lack of demand from students and in recent years has led to calls for greater working professionals. scrutiny in assessing the standards and quality of education provided by these The boom in private education providers in institutions. A new Private Education Myanmar has been driven by the deficiencies Registration Law, currently being drafted, in the public education system. First, the will replace the existing 2011 Private School archaic university selection system, which Registration Act. It requires all private schools is based on the results of the matriculation teaching the state or international curriculum exam, often leaves students who performed to apply for a five-year license from the poorly with little or no alternative but to national private education administration seek expensive tertiary education offered by board. The board will assess the private private education providers (Phyu 2018a). schools in terms of facilities, teaching ratios, Second, these private education providers curriculum, and safety and security (Kean seek to address the need to offer a more & Soe 2019). Further developments in the academic structure that fosters critical policies surrounding the governance of

58 Doing Research in MYANMAR private education providers could potentially Table 3 shows the full list of public HEIs that contribute to a greater production of conduct social research in Myanmar.34 research from these actors. Target Population and Sampling Strategy Selection Criteria The third component of the DRA is to There are more than 60 universities in quantifiably assess the state of the research Myanmar relevant to the study, spread across system and the functioning of the research all 14 states and regions of the country. cycle in Myanmar. To this end, the study According to recent statistics from the developed a sampling strategy that was Department of Higher Education, less than then used to survey the population of 10 percent of teaching staff have written research actors identified during our scoping a research paper. Given this context, the interviews and secondary research (see research team deemed it appropriate to previous chapters). The target population depart from the DRA selection guidelines. The for this study is categorized into three main team set eligibility criteria to specify a target groups according to the distinct role they population with particular characteristics play in the research cycle. As defined by relevant to the objectives of the study. The the DRA guidelines, these are: researchers, research administrators, and members of the first criterion was to choose the regions policy community (GDN 2017). where all three dimensions of the research process exist: production, dissemination and Because of the isolation and poor state of uptake. This is because the aim of the study HEIs, a distinction between academic and is to collect information on all aspects of the non-academic researchers33 was made challenges and opportunities experienced in order to gain a deeper understanding by researchers, not just in terms of producing of the unique challenges experienced by research. In many parts of the country, each of these groups. For this study, the researchers may be able to produce research largest sample is made up of academic without further dissemination and uptake. researchers, selected through a two-stage As discussed in the section on stakeholder cluster sampling method. Using this method, mapping, much of the research production HEIs are divided into two clusters: research- conducted in regional HEIs is merely an oriented HEIs and non-research HEIs. These academic or promotional exercise, with no groups are made up of the same types of intention of furthering the work along the universities – professional, arts and science, research cycle. As such, their experiences and computer studies universities – all would not provide any useful information related to social science research. Clustering about the research process as a whole. in the first stage reduces the size of the sample to a manageable level. In the second The second criterion is the availability of stage, a weighted representative sample of sufficient research infrastructure and facilities respondents from the cluster of research- that allow for research to occur, such as oriented HEIs was chosen for the survey. functioning libraries, Internet access and

33 Definitions of these two categorical groups can be found 34 Please see the Introduction for the discussion on what in the Introduction. constitutes ‘social science research’.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 59 Table 3: Total number of Public Higher Education Institutions in Myanmar 10 Professional Universities 34 Arts and Science 23 Universities of Computer Universities Studies (CS) University of Economics 1. University of Yangon 1. University of CS, Yangon

1. Yangon 2. Mawlamyine University 2. University of CS, Pathein 2. Monywa 3. Pathein University 3. University of CS, Sittwe 3. Meiktila 4. Sittwe University 4. University of CS, Mandalay University of Education 5. Mandalay University 5. University of CS, Magway 4. Yangon 6. Magway University 6. University of CS, Myitkyina 5. Sagaing 7. Myitkyina University 7. University of CS, Taunggyi 6. University of Agriculture 8. Taunggyi University 8. University of CS, Monywa 7. University of Forestry 9. Monywa University 9. University of CS, Pyay 8. University of Veterinary Science 10. University of Distance 10. University of CS, Meiktila Education 9. University of Public Health 11. University of Foreign 11. University of CS, Taungoo Languages 10. National Management College 12. Dagon University 12. University of CS, Dawei 13. Pyay University 13. University of CS, Pakokku 14. Meiktila University 14. University of CS, Hpa-an 15. Taungoo University 15. University of CS, Lashio 16. Dawei University 16. University of CS, Kalay 17. Yadanabon University 17. University of CS, Hinthada 18. University of East Yangon 18. University of CS, Banmaw 19. Pakokku University 19. University of CS, Kyaing Tong 20. Hpa-an University 20. University of CS, Myeik 21. Lashio University 21. University of CS, Pinlon 22. Kalay University 22. University of CS, Thaton 23. University of West Yangon 23. University of Information and Communication Technology 24. Kyaukse University 25. Hinthada University 26. Banmaw University 27. Kyaing Tong University 28. Myeik University 29. Panglong University 30. Maubin University 31. Loikaw University 32. Bago University 33. Shwebo University 34. Sagaing University

Source: Central Statistical Organization, Statistical Yearbook 2019, Nay Pyi Taw.

60 Doing Research in MYANMAR Table 4: Public Higher Education Institutions Engaged in Social Science Research Arts and Science Computer Studies Professional Universities Universities (CS) Universities University of Economics Yangon University of Yangon University of CS, Yangon University of Education Yangon Mandalay University University of CS, University of Agriculture Dagon university Mandalay University of Forestry Yadanabon University University of Veterinary Science University of East Yangon University of Public Health University of West Yangon National Management College University of Economics, Meikhtila

Source: Authors’ observations based on key informant interviews. access to computers. While many HEIs in is used to denote universities that take only Myanmar may have researchers who are the highest-scoring cohort of students committed and willing to generate research based on the higher education matriculation products, they lack the basic infrastructure examination; the majority of lower-grade and key resources to do so. Such issues students can only go to the arts and science were considered exogenous to the universities. The threshold for admission for research system – for example, the inability computer studies universities is also higher of researchers located in remote HEIs to than that of the arts and science universities produce research has little bearing on the – on par with professional universities. research cycle as a whole. Recent statistics from the Department of Following the eligibility criteria, the target Higher Education were used to allocate a population for this study was taken from sample ratio to each group, particularly data the two major cities of Myanmar, Yangon regarding research performance among and Mandalay Taw, because nearly all the faculties across the campuses. major research functions – production, According to the official data, the arts and dissemination and uptake – take place in science universities host nearly 50 percent these areas. Additionally, the universities have of higher education teaching staff or 11,767 sufficient infrastructure, such as libraries and faculty members. However, only 2 percent access to databases, to conduct research. Table 4 presents the 16 universities from of faculty members have ever produced the first stage of stratifying the sample social science research papers during their 35 population. tenure. Professional universities have smaller faculty sizes, but 10 percent of In the second stage, the research team used a weighting criteria to group the HEIs into three sub-groups: professional universities, arts and science universities and computer 35 Taken from an internal government report on research studies universities. The term ‘professional’ production among HEIs (in the authors’ possession).

Doing Research in MYANMAR 61 their members produce research papers, science universities, as well as their immediate representing the highest proportion of applicability, have helped to garner the social research production among the interest and support of the policy community. universities. Universities of Computer Science are present in nearly all states, with a total of The team then used the weighting criteria to 23 universities across the country. They are determine the final sample population for the also relatively prolific in terms of generating public HEIs (see Table 5): research – more than 16 percent of their Table 5: Sampled HEIs Researchers for Surveys teaching staff have written research papers. It must be noted that CESD did not have access Category Sample to the full database of research papers written Population by the faculty members of computer studies Professional Universities 40 universities and therefore could not verify Arts and Science Universities 40 whether their papers were purely scientific Computer Studies 20 or related to social sciences. However, The Universities University of Computer Science, Yangon (UCSY) was asked to estimate the percentage Source: Authors’ calculations of social science-related or non-technical In addition to the targeted academic papers that the faculty has produced. With researchers, as described in the stakeholder this insight, the team estimated that only 25 mapping, some non-academic researchers percent of their papers could be recognized as are very active in the research system relevant to social science. UCSY was included in Myanmar. Since the majority of these in this study for two reasons: first, it has been researchers are not formally registered, their involved in conducting social research,36 and population is unknown. Therefore, for this second, it has the highest rate of research category of researchers, the team relied on output of all the universities and institutions.37 the snowballing method to select a sample Furthermore, the growing interest in from among local and foreign researchers information technology from both secondary school graduates and the private sector has who are based in Myanmar or have helped to drive social research38 production conducted research on Myanmar. The team in computer science universities throughout surveyed and conducted in-depth interviews the country. The politically uncontroversial with 29 non-academic researchers. nature of research products from computer The second target group were the research administrators,39 of whom 14 were surveyed with a tailored questionnaire – four from each of the three public HEI categories – and then 36 Please see the Introduction for a definition of ‘social interviewed in depth. Finally, eight policy science research. community40 members from the third target 37 It must be noted that because of time constraints and the inability to contact the University of Computer group were surveyed and interviewed. It must Science, Mandalay, this university was not included in the sample. 38 For instance, Samsung Tech Institute has been training more than 600 computer studies students on mobile 39 Please see a detailed definition of this category in the application development since 2013, while hosting a Introduction chapter. competition to support the student’s research and design of mobile apps that are useful for both the private and 40 For a definition of this category, please refer to the public sector (Samsung Newsroom 2016). Introduction chapter.

62 Doing Research in MYANMAR be noted that the latter two categories for researchers on campuses was to surveys and in-depth interviews were based use the 19th Research Conference on responsiveness and availability; as such, of Myanmar Academy of Arts and these cohorts of interviewees where chosen Science as a microcosm of Myanmar’s using a non-random sampling approach. academic researcher population. The main justification for this was because it The purpose of this study is to explore and is the most established and renowned understand the environment in which research conference for national academic research is conducted and analyse the factors researchers. This conference is seen as that hinder or support each segment of an opportunity for academic researchers the research cycle. By studying groups of and professors to establish themselves in stakeholders (made up of individuals with their fields and improve their prospects a similar role or of a similar stature), the of promotion. The relevant academic conditions and factors that enable or hinder researchers were interviewed by research productivity for each of the different enumerators using a tablet containing the departments, universities and organizations digital researcher’s survey. can be compared and contrasted. That said, further efforts are required to build A different surveying process was used a systematic database on the country’s for the non-academic researchers. This research system. It is hoped that the content category of actors was contacted via of this first report will encourage the email and other digital channels. As well allocation of further resources, and change as relying on word of mouth, and CESD attitudes toward the importance of ‘research and their networks, there were two public on research’ in Myanmar. calls for participation: one was posted in a Myanmar-focused public blog41 and Implementing the Surveys the other posted in the Burmese Studies Google Forum, which caters to foreign Data Collection Strategy and Tools academics with an interest in Myanmar.42 The main tool used to collect the data The eligibility criteria for these calls for was the KoBo Toolbox, which was used to participation included experience of digitalize all three DRA surveys. Enumerators conducting research on and in Myanmar.43 with tablets containing the digital version Twenty-nine in-depth interviews were of the survey were deployed to interview Burmese-speaking academic researchers and research administrators, while for the non- academic researchers, the digital version was 41 The Blog site was called Tea Circle. It is commonly used by sent out via a link. In order to ensure approval foreign academics researching Myanmar and is also open to non-academic writers. For the full “Call for Participation” for data collection from the various heads of please see Tea Circle 2019. universities (predominantly rectors), the data 42 The Burma Studies Google Forum aims to facilitate collection and sampling strategy had to be scholarly communication among the full members and adjusted – namely the number of students associate members of the Burma Studies Group and the international community of scholars interested in Burma/ surveyed. Myanmar. (Burma Studies Group n.d.). Researchers 43 It must be noted that there was one non-academic researcher that was surveyed and interviewed that did not have first-hand experience of conducting research in A strategy to circumvent the difficulties Myanmar; however, the individual was a PhD supervisor of identifying and surveying academic for students conducting research on and in Myanmar.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 63 conducted with the non-academic 5. Dagon University researchers who expressed an interest in 6. Yezin Agriculture University discussing their perspectives and views on the research system and who were willing 7. Yangon University of Computer Studies to participate in semi-structured interviews, 8. Mandalay University of Computer Studies either in-person or via Skype. 9. Parami Liberal Arts University Research Administrators and Policy 10. The British Council Community Members 11. The Asia Foundation Implementing the sampling strategy for research administrators was challenging. As 12. The Institute of Strategy and Policy civil servants, they are required to comply 13. The Centre for Democracy and Ethnic with institutional rules and hierarchies, Studies which made arranging a formal survey and interview very difficult. Because the higher 14. Advancing Life and Regenerating education system is so fragmented, and Motherland (ALARM) there are rules in place to manage students For the interviews with members of the and professors, the team was only able to policy community, senior researchers made interview and survey those administrators several trips to Nay Pyi Taw, the administrative from the target universities who were center of the country, to participate in responsive and available. meetings with policymakers and pose For this reason, interviews with both research specific survey questions as well as explore administrators and policy community their perspectives on broader process of members were done only after the initial research uptake and the importance of feedback and insights on research system research-based policymaking. Policymakers governance from the survey of researchers were asked to identify cases of formal and had been collected. For these two categories informal collaboration with researchers in of actors a snowballing approach was terms of their participation or consultation employed to select the relevant respondents. during policy processes. The study also made This allowed us to refine the questions general observations about the level of use that we posed to the administrators and of research within government systems policymakers. Senior CESD researchers – both the instrumental and symbolic conducted the surveys, helping to encourage use of research products. A total of eight the administrators, particularly from HEIs, to policymakers from the following institutions provide further contextual details to explain were interviewed: specific responses during face-to-face • Ministry of Education interviews. Fourteen research administrators • Ministry of Labour, Immigration, and from the following institutions were Population interviewed: • Ministry of Construction 1. Yangon University • Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and 2. Mandalay University Irrigation 3. Yangon University of Economics • Ministry of Planning, Finance, and 4. Meikhtila University of Economics Industry

64 Doing Research in MYANMAR Exclusions and Limitations of Higher Education, limited funding and time, the limited access to relevant data, Exclusions and the difficulties in accessing project- relevant information, the most suitable Only public HEIs are included in this study. sampling method was the snowball method. Although the number of private HEIs Moreover, while there is research being has been growing rapidly, they operate conducted in regional universities, because in a legal gray area and are not officially of these constraints, the actors surveyed and accredited by the MOE, despite the fact they interviewed were mainly located in Mandalay issue degrees.44 Although some of these and Yangon, with the exception of three non- institutions are conducting research, they academic researchers that were interviewed are not administered or regulated by any via Skype because they were based outside academic or government body. Myanmar of these two locations. recently drafted the National Higher Education Law, which relates to private HEIs, The research team also experienced difficulties but this has yet to be billed by parliament. in arranging appointments with research administrators and policymakers. Moreover, Despite the inclusion of the private sector across all actors, most notably Myanmar in the sampling strategy recommended researchers, gaining a comprehensive insight by the DRA methodology, targeting this into their perspectives on the research system group was very difficult; we only had one was a laborious process. This was largely survey respondent and interviewee from because of individuals’ hesitancy to disclose this category. Moreover, although large the challenges of the system or their lack of business consultancy firms produce social understanding of what the research system research, only a small proportion of their comprised of. The former was more common research output is publicly available. This among the HEI researchers. Given their makes it difficult to collect information on position as civil servants, they were reluctant their research production and its impact; to be critical of government policies for fear researchers from large business consultancies of repercussions for their career prospects, have therefore been excluded from the a dynamic also discussed in the contextual sampling strategy. analysis and stakeholder mapping. This is Limitations in spite of the clear ‘evidence’ that there is little infrastructure or policy to support their One of the main challenges was the research. representativeness of the sample. While the stakeholder mapping was intended to The limitations therefore relate, not so much guide the sampling strategy – determining to the study’s quantification of the research who were the main players in the Myanmar systems, but to the discrepancies between research system – because of the strict the survey data collected and the findings approval processes of the Department from the in-depth discussions carried out with the very same groups. A broader challenge, as revealed in the stakeholder mapping and the in-depth 44 The National Accreditation and Quality Assurance interviews, was capturing the reliance of Committee, a body in charge of updating the certification system, does not yet take into consideration private social researchers on informal networks in education providers (Phyu 2018c). the surveys. In order to address this issue,

Doing Research in MYANMAR 65 the research team included a question for experts and consultants who were hired by researchers on the frequency and means the international organizations to analyse the of interaction with policymakers. Another system – presumably as a result of a lack of shortcoming of the research design and exposure to other research systems. subsequent surveys was the underlying Given the limitations of perception surveys, assumption that the research system is being this study relied more on ‘in-depth’, face-to- driven by academic institutions, which as the face meetings to conduct more meaningful contextual analysis, stakeholder mapping and discussions of the survey by adding non- in-depth interviews reveal, is not the case in structured questions to follow up on the Myanmar. structured interview questions. For the Although the DRA Framework provides surveys intended for research administrators flexibility in adapting the investigation to and policymakers, face-to-face interviews the context (in this case, Myanmar), the were organized to avoid oversimplification of benchmarking of the country’s social science responses and to compile a more meaningful research system against internationally interpretation of the state of the research accepted indicators and practices did system in Myanmar. Senior team members not work particularly well in this analysis. also had to conduct these interviews to Myanmar is a very late comer to the field gain the trust of the respondents and elicit of social science, and many indicators for a more accurate picture. Confidentiality Myanmar are missing in most international was maintained in order to maximize the likelihood of a more candid response. reporting. The lack of reliable data and any internationally comparable indicators These limitations emerged and became more for Myanmar runs the risk of providing a obvious during the data collection phase. poor estimation of the current state of the This first attempt to systematically describe social science research system in Myanmar. the social science research landscape should On top of this, early feedback, particularly be used to inform the next iteration of this from the researchers, tended to skew the study, allowing researchers to adjust the results toward a more positive appreciation concepts, indicators and tools. This remains of the current performance of the system. the first systematic study of Myanmar’s Their views painted a much more favorable social science landscape (across production, view of the system than the more negative diffusion and use) and represents the seeds observations of many of the education of ‘research on research’ in the country.

66 Doing Research in MYANMAR and bottlenecks related to doing quality DRA FRAMEWORK and policy-relevant research in developing countries. The analysis draws extensively on Highlights the results from the surveys and in-depth • Women make up 75 percent of interviews, as well as other data or information researchers in Myanmar. available at the national level. Given the lack • Academic researchers spend less of access to comprehensive and accurate data time on research, as they are often in Myanmar, the analysis uses information burdened with administrative duties, from other sources, such as from international the supervision of students, or heavy organizations or donor agencies. teaching loads in their university departments. The following sections follow the three stages • While Internet access has now become of the research cycle and are divided as such: more widespread since the liberalization Production, Diffusion and Uptake. of the telecommunications sector in 2011, there is still limited legal and formal Production access to academic journals and libraries for academic papers and resources. Research Inputs • At present, there is no social research body or national research policy in According to UNESCO Institute for Statistics Myanmar. (UIS) data, there were 29 full-time equivalent • There is no formal peer review system (FTE) researchers per million inhabitants in in Myanmar, reflecting the lack of 2017 (UIS n.d). In comparison, Thailand had conversation about research quality. 1,210 FTE researchers per million inhabitants • Most local researchers find themselves in 2016, nearly 40 times the number in working as assistants to foreign Myanmar. Similarly, the ratio in Vietnam is researchers engaged by overseas about 24 times that of Myanmar, at 701 in agencies because of their limited 2017 (see Figure 2). At the national level, there knowledge of analytical methodologies is currently no estimate of the number of and data interpretation. researchers in social sciences. As mentioned • There is little or no alignment between in previous sections, the Department of research studies conducted by individual Higher Education reported that less than research institutions and national and 10 per cent of faculty members engaged in regional priorities set forth in national writing any form of research paper. planning documents such as the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan. In Myanmar, 75 percent of researchers are • Researchers are discouraged from women – unusually high among developing discussing their findings through social countries – while Thailand and Vietnam media, limiting the potential diffusion of have a ratio of 55 percent and 45 percent, research evidence through Facebook. respectively. This is in line with the results from our study, where about 70 percent of This chapter examines the overall research researchers were female. It is not surprising system in Myanmar – the three stages of the to find an unusually high ratio of female research cycle –using the DRA Framework. The researchers in Myanmar because women DRA Framework is built on well-established dominate all levels of HEIs. This stems from indicators, enabling a systematic analysis the higher ratio of female students among of the strengths, weaknesses, challenges university entrants –61 percent of first-year

Doing Research in MYANMAR 67 Figure 2. Number of Researchers Per Million Inhabitants throughout its history. Under the military (regional comparison) government, there was an attempt by the Number of Researchers Per Million Inhabitants MOE to indiscriminately award doctorates through public universities, as the majority of international educational exchange programs Vietnam 701 were suspended during these years. Similarly, about 2,000 PhD students were enrolled by Thailand 1210 the MOE in 2012, in just eight universities. Countries Myanmar 29 In addition, according to UIS data, Myanmar sent only nine scholars for PhD study abroad 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 Source: UIS n.d. in 2011, suggesting that the vast majority of PhDs are awarded by domestic universities students are female across all HEIs. This is (ADB 2013). despite the measures introduced by the government to increase the number of male Currently, there is no reported data on students entering universities. Myanmar government expenditure on research and is one of the few countries in the world to development (GERD) in Myanmar, even at the national level. The only available UIS enforce positive discrimination in favor of data showed that, in 2017, 78.75 percent of male applicants. There are different grade expenditure on research and development requirements for male and female students was allocated to the public sector, with the for entering university courses, particularly for remaining amount channeled into higher highly competitive courses like medicine and education. A further examination of the economics. In essence, for the most sought- sources of government spending reveals that after courses, female students are required about 22.5 percent is financed from abroad to score higher marks than male students (UIS n.d.). in order to enter the same course. Although sex-disaggregated university graduation In terms of sectoral allocation, social sciences rates are not available, government statistics and humanities remain low down on the list suggest that 82 percent of all graduate of government priorities at present. This is students and 80 percent of faculty members evident in the allocation of GERD; in 2017, in HEIs are female (CESR 2012). this was entirely allocated to STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) Over 30 percent of Myanmar researchers subjects, with 32.8 percent to engineering in all disciplines held a doctoral degree in and technology, 32.6 percent to agricultural 2017, representing quite a high proportion, sciences, nearly 30 percent to medical particularly compared to regional peers (UIS sciences, and 4.22 percent to natural sciences n.d.). In contrast, 23 percent of researchers in (UIS n.d.). The allocation is unsurprising, Thailand have a PhD, and just 12 percent in given the emphasis of promoting research Vietnam (ibid). This data, however, does not and development in these fields, as stated provide information about the percentage in the NESP 2016-2021. In recent years, new of PhD holders who have been properly research centers have been established in trained, in an environment where the quality universities with a focus on science and of doctoral programs and research are held to technology, which are largely regarded international standards. In fact, the Myanmar as the key drivers of Myanmar’s current government has artificially manipulated the ambition for greater economic and social number of PhD students a number of times development. This poses an interesting

68 Doing Research in MYANMAR challenge for Myanmar – one which other policymakers of adjusting their reporting countries, including countries with a highly requirements to suit both the needs of sophisticated research sector, are also domestic authorities and funding agencies. dealing with: namely, how to embed the development of social sciences as part of As stated in the contextual analysis, the efforts to strengthen non-social science number of individuals using the Internet, disciplines, based on problem-solving either through a computer or mobile phone, or challenge-driven research. While this has risen dramatically since the liberalization happens in practice – for example, in the of the telecommunications sector in 2011. 25 percent of cases where ICT researchers As reported by the World Bank, the number conduct social research – it is still not of Internet users has increased from 0.25 part of the country’s policies or vision for percent of the population in 2010, to 30.68 strengthening research–policy engagement, percent as of 2017 (World Bank 2017). This or donor support to HEI sector reform. corroborates findings from the survey of researchers: an overwhelmingly high number According to the interviews with research of ‘very satisfied’ answers with regards to administrators and policymakers, not only Internet access. is research funding for HEIs and other public research institutions very low, it also As discussed in the contextual analysis and often comes with stringent budgetary stakeholder mapping, HEIs are concentrated rules, making it very difficult to manage in the two main urban areas, Mandalay and research projects. This severely constrains Yangon, which have the highest number longer-term research studies or the ability of HEIs in absolute terms (Institute of for research projects to adapt swiftly to International Education 2013; see Table changing circumstances or policy demand. 6). The distribution of HEIs in terms of Since most research projects are likely to population size in each state and region is be financed by external donors, there is the shown in Table 6 below. additional challenge for administrators and

Figure 3. Allocation of Government Expenditure on The distribution of HEIs outside of Yangon Research and Development and Mandalay does not appear to be based on current income levels or population Allocation of Government Expenditure on Research and Development size; rather, as discussed in the contextual analysis, it was determined by the decisions Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, 4.2% 0.38% of past administrations. As the last column of Table 6 illustrates, there is a relatively high concentration of HEIs in certain regions, namely Kayah and Chin states, as well as in Engineering and the Tanintharyi region. These regions not Technology, 32.8% only have sparse populations, but also low Medical and Health levels of industrial activity; the relatively Sciences, 30% high number of HEIs in per capita terms is therefore somewhat peculiar. In addition, Agricultural Sciences, research production in these regional HEIs 32.6% is significantly lower, compared to HEIs in Mandalay and Yangon, which dominate HEI Source: UIS n.d research production in Myanmar.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 69 Table 6: Geographical Distribution of HEIs Relative to Population Size (State and Regional Level) HEIs (percent) Population (percent) Ratio Ayeyarwady 7 12 0.58 Kachin 5 3.3 1.52 Kayah 2 0.6 3.33 Chin 2 0.9 2.22 Kayin 3 3.1 0.97 Mon 2 4 0.50 Rakhine 3 6.2 0.48 Shan 9 11.3 0.80 Sagaing 8 10.3 0.78 Tanintharyi 4 2.7 1.48 Bago 5 9.5 0.53 Magway 7 7.6 0.92 Mandalay 22 12 1.83 Yangon 21 14.3 1.47

Sources: MOE 2012 & MOLIP 2015

As stated in the contextual analysis and Overall, about half of the research stakeholder mapping, despite the presence respondents spend around two to three of HEIs in each state, distance-learning higher days a week doing research-related activities. education remains very popular among the Around 15 percent stated that they are youth, mainly because of the lower entry involved in research full-time. When asked requirements and higher pass rates, and if the time currently allocated for research compatibility with full-time employment. was enough, a small majority gave a positive However, as an interview with a project response. HEI-based academic researchers manager working on reform in distance reported slightly lower levels of satisfaction, education revealed, the limitations of the stating that they were often burdened with distance education sector are likely to remain administrative duties, the supervision of an issue for the foreseeable future. students, or teaching loads in their university departments. As noted by a member of Figure 4. Satisfaction with the time allocated for research one of the governing bodies in higher Is your time allocated for research sufficient? education, when a professor is promoted, 50 they are often assigned greater administrative

40 responsibilities, which does not allow them to pursue further research projects 30 or continue teaching. This is also partly 20 because academics in public universities are considered ‘civil servants’. 10 Number of respondents

0 Overall, most researchers (both academic No Yes Academics researchers Non-academic researchers and non-academic) were satisfied with the Source: DRA Researcher's Survey quality of the physical and soft research

70 Doing Research in MYANMAR Figure 5. Satisfaction with access to primary sources of prior insights on research topics or find out information and data about new developments in a discipline. In Myanmar, while Internet access is now Access to primary sources of information and data widespread, interviewees highlighted the 40.00% limited legal and formal access to academic 36.84% journals and libraries. Nonetheless, there has been an increase in the number of open- 30.00% 28.07% access research publications in Myanmar since 1996, when only 2 of the 16 articles 20.00% published on the country were open-access 12.28% 11.40% publications (SIR Methodology 2019). 10.00% 8.77% By 2017, 36.7 percent of the 566 reports 2.63 % produced were open-access (SCImago n.d.). 0.00% Very dissatisfied Somewhat satisfied When it comes to donor-funded research, Moderately dissatisfied Moderately satisfied final reports are often made available to the Somewhat dissatisfied Very satisfied general public. An interview with a donor representative revealed that public disclosure infrastructure: computers, library resources, of research is the norm, with the notable licensed research and plagiarism software, exception of certain commissioned research and electronic datasets. Moreover, over 76 to inform development programs or the percent of the respondents were satisfied programmatic agenda, or research that deals with the quality of access to primary sources with ‘politically sensitive’ subjects. of information and data. However, such findings somewhat contradict the information Finally, academic books can easily be re- gathered during in-depth interviews, where printed in Myanmar at a fraction of the some interviewees stressed that the limited original price. Although this practice is infrastructure is not conducive to research, an infringement of copyright, it allows particularly the lack of access to online students and researchers to expand their international journals, scholarly publications reading list beyond what is available in their and databases; the limited operating hours libraries. Moreover, the high level of Internet for university libraries; and the shortage of penetration and use today, has greatly library books, many of which were outdated. increased access to a wider selection of Moreover, as previously stated in the books for students, both legally and illegally. stakeholder mapping, the longstanding issue of student plagiarism in higher education Research Culture and Services has only recently been thrust into the public At present, there is no social research body in spotlight. Finally, electronic library datasets Myanmar. However, when asked if there is a are currently being developed for students, national research body mandated to oversee through eLibrary Myanmar, funded by the social research, nearly a quarter of researchers Open Society Foundations’ Higher Education responded 'yes'. When asked to give the Support Program 2013-2019 (EIFL n.d.). This name of the research body, researchers project involved 13 universities and benefited gave a variety of answers, ranging from the 205,000 students. Myanmar Academy of Arts and Science to A crucial part of a sound research system research organizations such as the Myanmar is access to scholarly knowledge, to gain Survey Research, Inya Institute or Myanmar

Doing Research in MYANMAR 71 Development Institute. While the Myanmar and research administrators to gain Association of Arts and Science is indeed a access to policymakers to present reliable national academy for the arts and science and evidence. According to lessons learned from oversees efforts to promote research, it is not international case studies, the limited use mandated with the authority and financial of research evidence to guide government resources to manage the entire research policy actions and programs is due to poor system (as in other countries). The responses dissemination of research findings. This, reflect a limited understanding among however, is not the case in Myanmar, where researchers of what constitutes a research research findings are disseminated widely body, or indeed, an overall lack of an active and made available for use by policymakers. research culture. They also indicate the lack This is particularly true for internationally of debate on the way research is organized sponsored research projects that always in Myanmar, and the limited exposure to the involve some form of dissemination and governance of research in other systems. uptake strategy. It is, therefore, not the dearth of policy inputs that limits evidence-based Similarly, there is currently no national policymaking, but the top-down nature of research policy in Myanmar. The revitalization policymaking processes, which mean that of the research culture in higher education is research studies are often neglected. still in the very early stages of reform, and the focus, at present, remains on reforming the However, there are some research findings curriculum and strengthening the capacity of that the government pays attention to and professors in HEIs. In addition, resources from makes use of. These research findings not the government and international actors only lead to policy uptake, but also produce are diverted toward helping HEIs achieve some policy changes. According to the autonomy in the near future, currently being interviews of research administrators and piloted with a selected number of universities policymakers, there are at least three reasons in Mandalay and Yangon. In the absence of a for these positive outcomes. First, strong national research policy, the current emphasis partnerships between research organizations on decentralizing HEIs may further weaken and government departments means that the the institutionalization of the research system views of all partners are incorporated, from and any capacity development initiatives, the outset, in the design of research studies. particularly with regard to social sciences. In Second, the demand for research on topics addition, a number of responses to the open- that are important for policymaking comes ended question on national research policy from the government. Third, arrangements highlighted the lack of emphasis on social with development cooperation partners for research in broader higher education policy, collaborative research projects provide for reflecting its peripheral role and the national technical and financial resources that enable emphasis on science and technology. local researchers to work together with international consultants. As such, external Responses from the research administrators consultants help to ensure that the quality of revealed that there is no close alignment research inputs is on a par with international between research studies conducted by standards, while local participation makes individual research institutions and national diffusion and uptake more efficient and and regional priorities set forth in national effective. planning documents such as the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan. On the This underscores the need for the other hand, it is also difficult for researchers establishment of a national research body

72 Doing Research in MYANMAR that will oversee, facilitate, coordinate, at their place of work, which reflects the lack support and document research activities of a conversation about research quality. conducted in Myanmar, as well as a structure Despite this, 75 percent of respondents that ensures that sufficient attention is paid rated being satisfied with the quality of to social sciences as part of the national feedback from their colleagues, suggesting research system. The Burma Research Society, somewhat conflicting accounts of the peer established in the post-independence period review culture in Myanmar. It is important in the 1950s, used to play an important role to note that journals in Myanmar are not in bridging between research and policy peer-reviewed. Across Myanmar, universities as many of its prominent scholars, experts in both the major cities, where research is and researchers had the ear of national heavily concentrated, as well as in the many leaders and their top policymakers. Having regional universities, produce their own such a body can also facilitate and develop university research journals. These journals good working relationships between and are not peer-reviewed, but rather operate as among different research organizations repositories of locally produced research, and and government research institutions, and papers are selected by senior professors for help promote crosscutting conversations publication. Further interviews and responses about research quality and ethics. Moreover, indicate a poor understanding of what a a research body could also provide peer review system is – more informal forms systematic research training, build research of feedback may be misconstrued as peer infrastructures, and provide a link between review. national plans and research data needed for evidence-based policymaking. At the same The implications of the lack of a peer review time, researchers also need to be responsive culture in Myanmar are clear, as was brought to national research needs and priorities. to light by the controversy surrounding the publication of papers in so-called ‘fake Nearly 80 percent of researchers reported journals’ in a bid by HEI faculty members having access to research mentors, and for to further their careers. In the absence of over 45 percent mentoring support was such an evaluation process by experts, there provided by a professor at their institution are no standards to ensure the quality of on an ad hoc basis. In terms of the quality research papers, or to ascertain that papers of mentorship, the responses were are methodologically sound. Based on our overwhelmingly positive, with 80 percent of own review of university journals in Myanmar, respondents reporting being satisfied with a large proportion of papers lean toward the frequency of consultations with their descriptive analyses, which offer little of value mentors. However, according to the in-depth to policymakers or society. The establishment interviews, there is no formal mentorship of a peer review system would greatly benefit system in place at the moment. This positive the nascent research system, and potentially response therefore has to be interpreted with expand its impact and reach beyond the caution, as the understanding of mentorship libraries of university campuses. Improving may not be the same as in other contexts – the quality of research papers would also both developed and developing. increase the rate of uptake and use of research outputs by policymakers and the Similarly, there is no formal peer review general public. system in Myanmar. Several responses to the open-ended question on peer review In addition, almost all research publications remarked on the lack of peer review system produced by non-governmental research

Doing Research in MYANMAR 73 organizations are not peer-reviewed. in the government budget for research Research outputs take the form of reports, capacity-building. books, conference papers or articles, and are targeted at policymakers and the general The average rating, on a scale of 1 to 6, for access to support for proposal development public. They are not intended for academic and writing was 4.29, indicating a moderate or peer-reviewed publications. Given the level of satisfaction. A further examination amount of time it takes to publish an article of the results shows that there is a in a peer-reviewed journal (often well beyond significant difference in the reported level the timeframe of funding cycles), many of satisfaction between academic and non- donors do not see this as a requirement for academic researchers. On average, academic their research funding. One area that needs researchers rated the level of support at 4.08, to be explored, in terms of the quality control compared to 4.45 for NGO/CSO researchers. of research, is the frequent use of commercial The results suggest that the quality of survey firms by international organizations research support at Myanmar universities and consultancy firms. Under outsourcing is perceived to be poorer. According to the arrangements, international organizations interviews, most professors at universities focus only on interpreting the data collected in Myanmar are often overstretched with by these outsourced local firms, many of administrative and teaching duties, with little which do not have a reputation for academic time left for doing research or training. work or research, either internationally or domestically. There is very little verification to When asked about the duration of research assure the quality of data collection. support training in the last three years, the responses were overwhelmingly poor. Over “[The research environment] is very fragmented 56 percent of researchers indicated that they and patchy. Research tends to be focused on had only received up to two weeks of training describing what is there rather than trying to over the past three years, and 21 percent understand why it is?” received between three to five weeks. SPRG Interview Surprisingly, researchers in NGOs, CSOs and the private sector received less research There have been some initiatives in this support training than academic researchers. regard led by international development On average, non-academic researchers had agencies. According to Mohinga, a database received 3.48 weeks of training over the last portal tracking development aid projects in three years, compared to 4.40 for academic Myanmar, there is currently a major project researchers. This result is somewhat puzzling working specifically on building capacity given the fact that many donor-funded in research: Knowledge for Democracy projects provide training by experts at the Myanmar, supported by Global Affairs onset of a research project to ensure that the Canada and IDRC (Mohinga n.d.). Other research process adheres to the standards set forms of capacity-building initiatives out by the funding organization. However, include scholarships for outstanding such training tends to be more short-term, Myanmar candidates to pursue a Master’s while academic researchers have more or doctoral degree at an overseas university opportunities for training on research – for example, the ‘Capacity Building for methodologies, often via in-house sessions Institutions in Myanmar Initiative’ funded led by other faculty members – though the by the Government of Norway (ibid). At a quality of the training is hard to ascertain national level, there is currently no allocation in these cases. For smaller local NGOs in

74 Doing Research in MYANMAR Myanmar, funding is often a huge constraint Figure 7. Publications written by Myanmar affiliated and likely contributed to the lower average institutions by subject area (2016-20) for research support training. Psychology Energy 2.20% 2.20% Earth and Planet Other 3.30% Research Output and Training 2.60% Agricultural and Forestry The most visible and formal outputs of 3.30% the research process are papers published Medicine in peer-reviewed international journals, 4.80% a measurement captured by Scopus and Arts and Humanities Web of Science. For this analysis, the study 5.90% used the Scopus methodology to list the number of published research papers in Business Management peer-reviewed journals and books in social 8.20% sciences from 2016 onwards. There were 119 Economics publications in the database with affiliations 9.30% linked to Myanmar institutions. The University Social Science Environmental Studies, of Yangon was the highest contributor 47.60% 10.40% of research publications, producing 18 Source: UIS n.d publications in the last five years, while the Myanmar Centre for Economic and Social the keyword 'Myanmar' yielded a total of 460 Development was the top contributor documents produced by both Myanmar and among non-HEI and non-governmental non-Myanmar affiliations. It clearly shows institutions. Most of the contributions (68 that the majority of research on Myanmar percent) are published as journal articles, was written by foreigners or international while book chapters account for 23 percent. organizations. Research related to social science subjects dominates the publications, at 48 percent, It should be noted that despite the limited while publications in economics account for number of domestic academic publications, 9.30 percent, and business and management the wider research environment has for 8.2 percent of total publications. benefited from the dramatic surge of non- academic development-focused publications For the same period, the search results for on socioeconomic, sociopolitical and

Figure 6. Top Institutions Contributing to International Peer-reviewed Journals and Books (2016-20)

University of Nursing 2 Yezin Agricultural University 2 Medical Action Myanmar 2 Dawei University 2 Pathein University 2 Ministry of Reglious Affairs nd Culture 3 Ministry of Health and Sports 3 Myanmar Center for Economic and Social Development 4 Yangon Technological University 5 University of Yangon 18

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Source: Scopus 2019

Doing Research in MYANMAR 75 environmental issues. While this is a positive and employability. Some stated that development, considering the scarcity of research is often confused with dissertations research in the past, the dramatic increase in for degrees or that the main purpose literature raises questions about the quality of of producing research papers is to gain the research, particularly when benchmarked promotion. Conversely, some also stated against international research standards. that this question was not relevant to them because they were government employees According to the Central Statistical and, as such, research knowledge and skills Organization, the University of Yangon and were not taken into account as part of their University of Mandalay have produced career progression. Half of the respondents most of the PhD holders in the country. reported that they are moderately or Between 2013-2017, these two universities somewhat satisfied with the financial produced as many as 618 PhD holders, rewards, social recognition, job security while Yangon University of Economics, Yezin and career opportunities that come with Agricultural University, and Yangon University pursuing a career in research. There appears of Education produced 47, 15, and 30 PhD to be no difference between perceptions holders, respectively. Most PhD holders are of career opportunities for academic and thought to be existing faculty members of non-academic researchers. This can be partly these respective universities, as there is no explained by self-selection bias and the other formal channel for external students to interpretation of attractive – many academic enroll into PhD programs. The proportion of researchers value the stability of a job in the teaching staff in HEIs that hold a PhD ranges public sector (they are essentially considered from 7 percent to 20 percent, and most of as civil servants), despite the lower wages. them hold a PhD from a university within When asked about the quality of Myanmar. Among the surveyed research incentive systems, academic researchers administrators, half stated that between consistently report much lower averages 1 and 20 percent of their staff had a PhD, in terms of the financial benefits and while only 28.57 percent had between 20 career incentives compared to their non- and 40 percent. The survey findings appear academic counterparts. However, academics to be in line with the official administrative responded more positively to the incentives figures. However, it must be noted that, for producing research, particularly in terms as extensively covered in the section on of professional competitiveness. research inputs (page 68), the figures on PhD titles for Myanmar must be interpreted with As stated in the section on research culture caution – particularly in light of the fact that and services (page 72). there is no national they are part of the civil service criteria for research body. Consequently, the responses promotion. given in relation to the evaluation capacity of the (non-existent) national research Research Opportunities and body are not representative, findings also Sustainability corroborated during the in-depth interviews with researchers (both academic and non- When asked about career opportunities, academic) and research administrators. 74 percent of surveyed researchers felt Nonetheless, 15 percent of the surveyed there were attractive research career researchers (18 respondents) gave an opinion opportunities for them, and that gaining about the supposed national body’s research research skills improved their job prospects evaluation process: 11 stated it was, to a

76 Doing Research in MYANMAR varying degree, effective, while 6 stated of funding, which is usually financed the organization was largely ineffective. separately from their donor-funded projects. Similarly, 4 out of the 14 surveyed research Although the UIS data does not provide any administrators responded to this question: information on the number of researchers two stated the body was effective (one working outside the higher education sector, very effective and the other moderately the stakeholder mapping indicates that there effective) in its capacity to evaluate, while are a large number working outside public another research administrator stated it was HEIs. moderately ineffective. Once again, such findings illustrate the lack of understanding Research Diffusion of the question or the terms used, or the over-eagerness of researchers to showcase Actors and Networks their knowledge – a cultural dynamic In terms of the diversity of research actors, described in the contextual analysis. The recent controversy surrounding PhD thesis researchers in Myanmar reported moderately plagiarism and paid-for publications in fake high levels of discussion with a broad range journals has highlighted the need to set up a of actors – university affiliates at all academic robust and functioning research evaluation levels, non-university researchers, women, mechanism in HEIs. This must also address minority groups, policymakers, community the criteria for promotion, which currently groups and associations, and individual emphasize the quantity of research output community members. The average rating 45 rather than the quality. ranged between 4 and 5 across all the different groups of actors, with the exception However, a note of caution is important of minority groups, where the rating fell here. As described in the contextual analysis below four. and stakeholder mapping, research ethics have become increasingly aligned with the As discussed in the chapter on stakeholder current political climate and benchmarked mapping, academic research is fairly isolated to the national goals outlined in the 2008 within the respective subject domains. In Constitution – a reality that could lead to addition, there is little collaboration between the institutionalization of censorship in the universities and industry in Myanmar. The research evaluation process. results from the survey of researchers appear to reflect this: just 60 percent of academic Most HEIs do not have an annual target for researchers reported that their organizations research publications, although universities had collaborated with an outside do produce university journals – often a organization, compared to 79 percent for compilation of research papers produced by non-academic researchers. professors from across different faculties – on a quarterly, biannual or annual basis. This is Academic researchers collaborated subject to the availability of funding, and predominantly with international actors determined entirely by individual universities, (84 percent); over 56 percent of academic often with no set timelines. Non-academic researchers have collaborated with think tanks, such as the Institute of Strategy international universities. This illustrates the and Policy, and some independent research organizations, such as Inya Economics, have annual targets for publications. Similarly, this is entirely dependent on the availability 45 1 is very dissatisfied and 6 is very satisfied.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 77 lack of local linkages between academia, duplicated research studies being conducted the government and industry in Myanmar. by various research organizations. Surprisingly, only one academic researcher reported that their organization had Moreover, according to some respondents, collaborated with another national university there are polarities within Myanmar’s research in Myanmar. systems: government and the higher education sector on one side, and non- In contrast, non-academic researchers governmental and independent research reported more frequent cross-sectoral institutions such as NGOs and think tanks on collaboration, with the types of organizations the other. The respondents even reported fairly equally distributed among government, some animosity between locally graduated international agencies, and international researchers, mostly from HEIs, and researchers and national NGOs. The cross-sectoral with overseas degrees who often work in collaboration is largely driven by the foreign NGOs and international organizations. proliferation of donor-funded projects Government regulations and civil service following the liberalization of the aid rules also make it very difficult for HEIs to landscape in Myanmar, providing well- employ or appoint senior researchers and established linkages between international foreign-trained scholars for senior positions agencies/NGOs, national NGOs, and the in HEIs. In the past, Western donor agencies Government of Myanmar. explicitly barred government officials from Findings from the survey of research their scholarship programs. This meant administrators also highlight the serious that only employees of local NGOs and lack of collaboration or partnership among international organizations were awarded government research institutions, public HEIs scholarships, which has led to the current and other relevant government departments. animosity between researchers in the public One of the often-cited problems is the and private sectors. difficulty of accessing reliable or up-to-date “The Physics department in Yangon University data. Even when data exists, the owners of consists of mainly female professors, a the data, often government departments or paradoxical and opposite trend to western the Central Statistical Organization, are not countries. The reason is that the husband works willing to share them with other researchers in the private sector (more lucrative) and the or research institutions. One research wives have the 'luxury' to teach.” administrator explained that “Generally, it is difficult to get data from government Charlotte Galloway departments. Although we are allowed and entitled to access them, it is a lengthy process According to UIS data, women make up …”. Another research administrator also 75 percent of researchers in Myanmar. mentioned that “Government departments In universities, women make up the assume that data they have collected is overwhelming majority of teaching staff. their department’s property and therefore This is also supported by the survey results, they are not willing to share them with in which 75 percent of academic researchers other departments, researchers or research were female. Social and cultural norms, organizations.” Data sharing is very rare among other factors, contribute significantly among government institutions, and many to the dominance of women in the higher of them keep their data for internal use only. education sector, particularly the status of As a result, there are a lot of overlapping and women as secondary household earners.

78 Doing Research in MYANMAR University staff in Myanmar are civil servants from Myanmar is listed in the ranking hired by the government. Given the low (SCImago n.d.). salaries of university staff, men, as the primary earners, are less likely to work in the higher While Burmese is the official language in education sector, and tend to look for better- Myanmar, it is important to note that English paying opportunities elsewhere. is the official language of instruction in higher education. Textbooks and course On average, researchers surveyed during materials are all in English, and university the project attended 1.41 communications students write their examinations and training sessions over the last three years, less theses in English. As a result, journal papers than 0.5 sessions a year. Capacity-building produced in Myanmar are usually published training conducted in Myanmar by specialists in English, with a small number in Burmese. focuses mainly on research production – building up skills in research methodology, Currently, the majority of national rather than the diffusion of research products. journals in the country are produced by These training sessions are predominantly universities, with funding provided by conducted by international actors, such the Department of Higher Education as foreign universities and international under the MOE. An analysis of the donor agencies, but are often short-term literature in one of the libraries of Yangon programs. Universities have resident trainers University of Economics found that at who work for at least half a year on teaching least 40 universities with a focus on methodology and curriculum design. social science have produced their own research journals. The vast majority of There are only eight HEIs offering doctoral papers in these journals are written in studies in social sciences, and most of these English, though there are also a number are located in Yangon and Mandalay; the of Burmese papers. These findings are exceptions are the Universities of Economics supported by the results from the survey in Monywa, Sagaing Region and in Meiktila, of research administrators: the majority of Mandalay region. Most of the non-academic responses indicated that 80 to 100 percent research organizations are headquartered of academic papers are written in English. in Yangon although they conduct research in various parts of the country. Outside of academia, journals produced by The concentration of research centers in think tanks and other research organizations metropolitan areas is largely because of the are largely self-funded. These initiatives availability of inputs – researchers, research are motivated by the desire to promote infrastructure and communication outlets – and revitalize academic scholarship. For rather than research interests or demands. example, the bilingual Inya Economic Journal (produced by Inya Economics, an Research Communication independent think tank founded in 2017) is Practices funded largely by independent sources. The Independent Journal of Burmese Scholarship, Based on the SCImago Journal and Country which focuses on the humanities and social Rank, there are a total of 198 social science sciences, raised funds from Yale University, journals in the Asiatic region, with the the Open Society Foundation and the Henry highest-ranking journals dominated by the Luce Foundation to support its publication developed economies of Taiwan, Japan, (Independent Journal of Burmese Scholarship South Korea, China and Singapore. No journal n.d.).

Doing Research in MYANMAR 79 According to Webometrics, which ranks Another noteworthy finding was that universities based on their website presence academic researchers holding a national and impact, the top five universities in Master’s degree or PhD are less likely to be Myanmar (represented in their overall world involved in international research projects, ranking) are the University of Yangon (ranked compared to those who have received their 7,221st), the University of Mandalay (ranked Master’s degrees or PhD from a foreign 11,257th), the University of Computer Studies institution. Over 76 percent of academic Yangon (ranked 12,233rd), Yezin Agricultural researchers holding a national Master’s University (ranked 15,216th) and the Yangon degrees or PhD have not collaborated in University of Economics (ranked 19,972nd) international research projects in the past (Webometrics n.d.). three years, compared to just 30 percent for those with foreign qualifications. The ranking mirrors the relative prestige of This reflects the current state of higher these universities in Myanmar, especially education in Myanmar, with its outdated in social sciences, where they are fairly research methodologies and curriculum well-regarded at the national level for their – a major constraint on international expertise in their respective disciplines. engagement with other researchers. As stated in the context analysis and In terms of membership in thematic stakeholder mapping, the websites of all five research networks and international universities boast well-developed Open- professional affiliations, only 18 percent of Access Repository platforms that provide all respondents answered “yes” when asked access for both students and academics if they were a member of a professional to published academic work and archives research network. In the subsequent of Master’s and PhD theses – with the sub-questions, 11 researchers identified overall aim of promoting opportunities for themselves as members of a national collaboration. network, four as members of a regional The mean score for the number of network, and eight as members of an international projects that surveyed international network. researchers were involved in or collaborated with in the past three years was just 0.93. Research Communication Currently, the general capacity of researchers Products in Myanmar is fairly low, which significantly None of the surveyed researchers have hinders opportunities for them to engage produced peer-reviewed research for in international research projects. While conference proceedings. There is also opportunities for collaboration with a stark divide between academic and international researchers have increased in non-academic researchers, with the recent years following Myanmar’s democratic latter experiencing more exposure to and economic reforms – with researchers knowledge exchange opportunities, reporting new collaborative projects with both in country and abroad. Among the foreign universities or agencies – these are research administrators surveyed, 12 of predominantly as part of commissioned the 14 reported that their universities projects (with a focus on Myanmar). Given had organized at least one research the poor level of research skills in Myanmar, conference within the last three years. researchers tend to be engaged as research However, as various interviews stressed, assistants. opportunities and platforms for public

80 Doing Research in MYANMAR debate are rare in Myanmar, with few had far greater incentives to disseminate conducted fully in the local language. and publicize their research products among Public debate or a culture of dialog would stakeholders and the wider public, either allow for more inclusive development and because this was part of the conditions of the greater social cohesion. research proposal or because of the nature of the research organization and the research However, as mentioned in the contextual topic. analysis, freedom of speech and criticism of the establishment is increasingly censored Popularization of Science or repressed. Nonetheless, it must be noted that a number of NGO-based researchers While Myanmar society holds its scholars stated that research conferences allowed in high regard, this is mainly for their role them to build professional networks, as teachers, not because of their research update their existing knowledge, and learn achievements. As previously stated, while many about potential project opportunities and perceive a career in research as an attractive partnerships – particularly important for proposition, this is largely driven by the fact the interviewed researchers from ethnic that most academic researchers work as nationality areas such as Chin and Kachin teaching staff in HEIs and enjoy the perks that States. come with being a civil servant. With regards to the popularization of research, the findings In terms of communicating and presenting from the survey of non-academic researchers research outputs, in-country research differ significantly from those of their academic conferences were by far the most common counterparts: 71 percent have published their means of showcasing the respondents’ work (compared to only 11 percent of HEI research. Recently, there has been an researchers). For this group, the most popular increasing level of engagement between medium of communication is through social public universities and other foreign media, namely Facebook. In addition, it appears universities – for example, the recent that non-academic researchers are encouraged conference organized on 5-6 July 2019, to publish their research outcomes on their ‘Managing Challenges During Myanmar's organizations’ websites (on an individual basis), Transition’, which was co-presented by despite receiving less communication training the University of Yangon, The Myanmar than their counterparts. Research Centre at the Australian National University, and Yunnan University’s Institute Finally, most of the respondents, both of Myanmar Studies. It is important to note academics and non-academics, stated they that 11.4 percent and 39.47 percent of the were moderately satisfied with the quality surveyed researchers were conducting advocacy and policy research, respectively. For these groups of researchers, research findings were communicated to the wider public predominantly via newspaper 46 The question asked respondents to provide numerical articles or presentations at in-country values and answers to open-ended questions. The number of newspapers articles and in-country conferences, while radio and books conferences attended and published in the past three were the least common channels of years averaged 1.08 and 1.64, respectively. The lowest dissemination.46 averages were for radio (0.05) and books (ranging from 0.20-0.65). The latter includes chapters in a book, chapters Researchers from non-academic sectors written by an editor, and books written by one author or co-authors.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 81 of non-academic media coverage of their surveys, to stakeholder engagement and research findings – in newspapers, and on diffusion of research products. Moreover, television, websites and social media. It because of limited institutional research appears that respondents are not familiar capacity, these informal relationships are with radio as medium for communicating also used to commission research outside their findings: 27 percent of academics and of formal structures. The downside of such 31 percent of non-academics chose “no a system is that it strongly favors previously answer/I don’t know” for the question on established relationships rather than radio coverage. institutionalizing good practice among researchers. In contrast to the findings from the researcher surveys – which reported high Research Uptake levels of satisfaction in terms of the financial rewards and social status that come with Policy-friendly Research a research career – the interviews with researchers stressed the lack of monetary or Since Myanmar started liberalizing its societal incentives for young graduates to research system in 2012, there has been a pursue a career in social research. For them, growing recognition among researchers research per se is seen as a requirement that it is not enough to just produce good for undergraduate degree programs at research, but that it also needs to be applied public universities. However, social research, for the benefit of society. The donors including market and business intelligence who funded nascent research initiatives, research, is seen as a lucrative technical skill to improve the quality and integrity of that increases their employability. As stated research production during earlier phases by a national research consultant, “At present of liberalization, are now trying to improve [academic] research is only understood and research communication and engagement appreciated among medical students, but with users. As the reforms have deepened, not in other disciplines.” the donors have begun to focus on policy- friendly research, to support and inform Despite the barriers and limited incentives, decision-making and to influence policies social research is still being commissioned, and the actions of government. In this regard, produced and diffused. Although there is policy research uptake involves a wide range a lack of a formal research culture within of activities including: (a) the production wider society, there are informal dynamics of quality research (ensuring that research and established relationships between topics are relevant through continued various actors that are worth examining. engagement with policymakers); (b) the As extensively discussed in the contextual effective communication of research findings analysis, during the socialist regime and the to all relevant stakeholders (that incorporates SLORC period, most research studies were broader inputs and support for translating conducted through informal networks, which evidence into policy); and (c) the facilitation hinged on a high degree of trust between of access to policymakers in order to provide the researchers and the communities being evidence-based research for their decision- researched. The interviews with leading making. researchers in the country, suggest that these dynamics are still largely at play across the To achieve effective research uptake, it is research system – from bidding for research important to first set the right research projects, access to data and facilitating agenda, which, in turn, will frame the process

82 Doing Research in MYANMAR for collecting, analyzing and interpreting In contrast, the majority of HEI researchers data. In the past, Myanmar research publish their research in journals that are organizations set their research agenda specific to individual universities, which are to fit the needs of particular individuals not organized thematically or by discipline. or groups. However, democratic reforms These publications contain papers authored in recent years have encouraged them to by professors from across all faculties and produce research studies that deal with wider disciplines, and are only circulated within societal problems and that collect the best the libraries of universities, significantly available evidence to support the popularly diminishing broader outreach. These HEI elected government in addressing these journals largely serve as a platform for career issues. A number of researchers and research advancement for aspiring professors – administrators reported in their interviews policy relevance is not the main objective that they wanted to be more aware of which of authoring and publishing a paper. It is research topics were relevant to policymakers hoped that with the new promotion policy in to allow them to initiate the production of HEIs, and the renewed interest in promoting policy-friendly research. One administrator academic research, plans to restructure responded that the government was rather these university journals will materialize, slow in communicating its policy positions; strengthening their research-to-policy even development partners and the donor linkages. community were not sure how to support the government in terms of their needs for In 2012, as Myanmar stepped out of external evidence from systematic research. isolation and re-engaged with international development partners and multilateral The isolation of HEIs within the social institutions, the U Thein Sein government research landscape in Myanmar was established the National Economic and discussed in great detail in the stakeholder Social Advisory Council (NESAC). The mapping. Unfortunately, because of the council, comprised of distinguished absence of a formalized structure to peer scholars and renowned experts, was set review academic journals, there is no up to advise government ministries and accurate measure to estimate the share of their development partners on reform academic and non-academic publications priorities. The NESAC later set up a research that are relevant to policymaking. However, wing to develop on-demand research as previous chapters revealed, the majority products – such as comparative lessons of policy-relevant research is produced by learned on aid coordination for the white non-academic researchers. Given that the paper on agriculture diversification strategy. distinction between academic and non- Subsequently, many members of the NESAC academic research is still poorly understood supported the development of policymaking (and often conflated) in Myanmar, academic processes in various parts of the transition researchers have to compete with other government, establishing a strong research- non-academic researchers for government- to-policy nexus. As a consultant with commissioned projects. According to the experience of providing research skills in-depth interviews, they are often awarded training to the General Administration to non-academic researchers because of Department (GAD) stated, investments their greater capacity for research and their in longer-term, institutionalized capacity- longstanding reputation and professional building efforts are needed, rather than the networks. current structure of providing short training

Doing Research in MYANMAR 83 courses. The consultant also acknowledged such, the notion of grants, or a more formal that there has been a tangible increase in manner of commissioning work, is less the demand for research skills among GAD prevalent in Myanmar – which is still largely staff members since the establishment of characterized by high levels of informality. a new research department within GAD. Similarly, Panna Institute – a local NGO that Research-based Policymaking focuses on building capacity within civil The link between research and policy is society and regional government – reported stronger when the government uses the best during an interview that while interest available research and information to guide in developing research skills exists at the decisions at all stages of the policy process ministerial level, research departments within and in each of the government ministries. regional governments still require essential Research-based policymaking can identify institutional capacity to strengthen the solutions for use with scarce resources, and research-to-policy nexus. highlight gaps where interventions should Moreover, results from the survey of focus. This is particularly relevant for Myanmar researchers indicate a very low level of as such an approach can help reduce engagement with policymakers in research wasteful spending on projects in country projects: out of a total of 114 researchers, with limited resources and, more importantly, only 18 percent have worked on at least it can prioritize reform initiatives to change one research project commissioned by the country’s course of development away policymakers in the past three years. There from the legacy of its past. is also a significant disparity between Formal researcher participation in academic and non-academic researchers. For policymaking is measured by the share academic researchers, only 11 percent have of membership in advisory bodies for been engaged in research commissioned by policymakers. The findings on this continue policymakers in the past three years, while to illustrate the poor linkages between this figure is three times higher (34 percent) HEIs and policymakers: just 3.5 percent for non-academic researchers. When asked of academic researchers are members of about the frequency of such engagements, a policy advisory body, compared to 17 three-quarters of academic researchers percent for non-academic researchers. responded “I don’t know”, once again Furthermore, the majority of non-academic highlighting the poor linkages between researchers represented in policy advisory HEIs and policymakers. More surprisingly, bodies were from NGOs and CSOs. Due to of the small percentage of researchers who the well-established relationships with and have engaged in research commissioned by support from international donors, these policymakers, only 38 percent had received types of organizations enjoy stronger formal any funding for the research. This can be collaborations with policymakers. attributed to the informality prevalent in the linkages between researchers and Although the formal participation of policymakers. Often, work commissioned by researchers in policymaking processes is still the government is conducted in a relatively an emerging trend in Myanmar, informal informal manner, and is undertaken by consultations with researchers on key researchers or organizations as a means national decisions are already well underway. of developing or maintaining the trust of An example of this is illustrated by the setting or a strong rapport with policymakers. As of the national minimum wage in Myanmar

84 Doing Research in MYANMAR since 2015, when the country began, major challenge, and funds are often pooled for the first time, enforcing international from private donors. As the nascent interest labor standards across the country. When in scholarly work and journals is largely the government set up the new tripartite unprofitable and self-funded, the sustained minimum wage committee in 2017 – made production of these journals is at risk. up of government representatives, employers Another way of measuring informal and workers – it also invited five economists, collaboration is the frequency of interaction of whom three were active researchers, to with policymakers. ‘No contact with join the committee. Although the committee policymakers’ was the most reported answer has not undertaken any research work related among the surveyed researchers (accounting to the setting of the minimum wage, the for 42 percent of total responses); for those researchers are able to access labor force researchers who have interacted with survey data owned by the Ministry of Labour policymakers, most of these interactions and provide valuable inputs to relevant appear to be occasional. This is directly stakeholders when the minimum wage is associated with the limited amount of time adjusted every two years. researchers spend on research – based on There is no quantifiable information on the survey results, the majority spend 2 to 3 the share of academic and non-academic days a week on research. Despite the informal publications on Myanmar. As discussed in nature of the working relationships between the previous section, the academic output researchers and policymakers, the channels published in HEI journals does not leave through which they communicate remain the confines of academia. The research for largely formal. Most respondents who have policy-relevant journals is predominantly interacted with policymakers noted that produced and published by non-academic these interactions were established through researchers. Moreover, the vast majority scheduled meetings, or through formal of journals produced by these actors are written requests or emails. largely self-funded. Plagued by a lack of interest and low readership, many of these Research-based Policy journals are typically intermittently produced Products or short-lived. For example, the Quarterly Although the number of research citations Journal of the Institute for Strategy and in policy documents is not readily available, Policy Myanmar was first launched in 2017, there are examples of recent policy documents focusing on the key thematic areas of politics, that refer to a number of research studies federalism, civil society and social justice. undertaken by HEIs and other independent While three issues were published in 2017, research organizations whose findings are the fourth and most current issue was only used to inform policy decisions. For instance, published in June 2019. Similarly, the Inya the Agriculture Development Strategy and Economic Journal, an open-access journal to Investment Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture, encourage and promote interest in the field Livestock and Irrigation (the Ministry’s flagship policy document), cites 15 other research of economics as well as inform policymakers studies undertaken by various international on macroeconomic management, is organizations and individual researchers. The independently produced and fully self- National Aquaculture Development Plan of the funded by Inya Economics. Speaking to Department of Fisheries also contains several a researcher at Inya Economics, securing citations of research studies conducted by funding for the production of their journal is a international and local researchers.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 85 However, there is no symbolic use of research policymakers emphasize the importance evidence by policymakers in their policy of research in HEIs, this does not mean speeches or ministerial press releases. From that research would necessarily shape 2014 onward, every ministry is required policymaking. to report the progress and achievements Perceptions of the level of research of their policy implementations to senior independence vary from high to satisfactory, officials and the public, often led by the particularly – as most administrators and ministers themselves. While they provide policymakers pointed out – in comparison information and statistics on policy to practices in the past. Survey results from outcomes, they have never cited a third party research administrators were overwhelmingly or independent research evidence to validate positive for all indicators, from independent these outcomes. The Office of the Auditor production of research to open discussions General undertakes formal monitoring of research results without undue influence. and evaluation of the performance and However, a researcher in an in-depth progress of project implementations for all interview pointed out that the value of government ministries but, to date, there research evidence in recent years may has never been an independent third-party have been undermined by the opinions review of these results. of popular political leaders whom the Research Utilization for public tend to believe without checking the facts and evidence. In fact, Myanmar Informed Policymaking has been swinging between opinion- Several research administrators shared based policymaking and evidence-based their perception that the level of research policymaking. Ironically, under the previous use has been improving in recent years. government, which was less popular with According to responses from the survey, the public and barely legitimate in the eyes of some foreign governments, policymakers half of the research administrators believe were anxious to consult researchers and use that their institutions’ products are used to research evidence to convince the public that inform policy decisions. They are particularly they were undertaking serious reforms. The encouraged by the convening of a research new government came to power following conference by the MOE. Senior and junior a landslide election victory, despite the researchers will be able to submit their economic concerns raised by the private papers and compete for an invitation to the sector. As such, the government seems national conference in Yangon. However, to care more about public opinion than those who do not get selected, will be still the evidence of growing issues within the be able to present their papers to peers economy. and students at conferences in their own universities. In many ways, research As several scholars (Sutcliffe & Court 2005; administrators and policymakers alike, see Du Toit 2012; Mendizabal 2014) have pointed these new opportunities to write research out, because of the fluid dynamics of papers and share them among their peers as policymaking in the real world, one should a positive development. Several policymakers not be surprised that the political value of also expressed their appreciation for the State research may also vary with political regimes Counsellor’s advocacy on promoting research that are in charge of policymaking in a given in HEIs. However, one administrator noted period. This means that even if research is that while most of the policy guidelines from of high quality, is relevant to policymakers

86 Doing Research in MYANMAR Figure 8. Dynamics of policymaking of outright fake evidence have become amplified in unprecedented ways through the popular use of social networks. The Opinion-based Policy resulting bombardment of unverifiable Evidence-based Policy facts and information feeding into poorly informed public opinion poses the greatest challenge to the nascent research culture Increasing Pressure Time in Myanmar. Increasingly, public figures and policymakers are using Facebook Source: Sutcliffe & Court 2005 and reacting to what is ‘hot’ on social media rather than looking at evidence and has been disseminated widely for and information that could provide a public consultation, policy uptake cannot more realistic picture of the situation. be guaranteed. This fluid state of evidence- Worse still, researchers who have put up based policymaking can also be seen in credible evidence, produced through a developed countries where, despite the rapid rigorous process of systematic research, are increase in the availability of statistics and open to widespread denunciation if their information, evidence is often not factored findings go against popular opinion or the into policymaking. The use of evidence prevailing political narrative of the time. may become political, even though using Many researchers are now discouraged to evidence to inform policymaking is not a discuss their findings through social media, partisan matter – it is a basic requirement for limiting the potential diffusion of research good government. evidence through Facebook. Under these circumstances, an effective research system A particularly troubling observation shared – which encourages the uptake of quality by a respondent is the emergence of social research by politicians and policymakers – is media, where ‘alternative interpretations’ still a long way off.

Doing Research in MYANMAR 87 empowering its higher education institutions CONCLUSIONS with the adequate provision of resources, enhanced quality control, broader Highlights collaborative partnerships and effective • Myanmar needs to overhaul its national policy uptake. Research capacity needs to be research system to enable the production strengthened, with regular collaboration with and dissemination of evidence that can other international scholars and the adoption be used to inform policymakers, who, in of universally recognized benchmarks to turn, can then promote actions that are measure the progress of the research system truly viable and attainable. within the broader framework of higher • Local ownership of research projects education reforms (Chinlone 2018). Local needs to be encouraged in order to ownership of research projects needs to leverage the expertise of Myanmar be encouraged in order to leverage the scholars for better-informed expertise of Myanmar scholars for better- policymaking, along with stronger informed policymaking, along with stronger partnerships between researchers and partnerships between researchers and policymakers. policymakers. The key messages of this report • The government should acknowledge can be summarized as follows: the importance of research in building a knowledge-based society that values Higher education institutions can meet researchers as important links between the growing demand for evidence-based citizens and the government. policy research. Demand for evidence- • Myanmar should invest in boosting based research is increasing and changing research capacity, infrastructure and from more narrowly defined scientific funding for HEIs as a priority goal of the research to broader social science research HEI reform agenda so that HEIs can meet that assesses the fundamental mechanisms the growing demand for evidence-based of policymaking, outcomes and impacts. policy research. Demands are made not just by central government planners but also a myriad of In August 2018, Myanmar adopted the other policy actors: regional governments, Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan parliamentarians, political parties, private (MSDP) 2018-30, an ambitious program sector associations and international to implement 251 action plans under organizations. The government needs 28 strategies for achieving a peaceful, to invest in boosting research capacity, prosperous and democratic Myanmar – in infrastructure and funding for higher line with the global sustainable development education institutions as a priority goal of the agenda. To implement these proposed action HEI reform agenda. plans and achieve the ambitions of the MSDP, Myanmar needs to address the persistent Local researchers can be empowered to knowledge deficit. It needs to invest in and provide relevant and timely technical overhaul its national research system to assistance to policymakers. The choice enable the production and dissemination of policy options are context-specific, and of evidence that can be used to inform local researchers are best placed to choose policymaking. the most appropriate course of action from among the different policy options To foster an enabling environment provided by outside experts. Whenever for research, Myanmar can start with possible, local researchers can be seconded

88 Doing Research in MYANMAR to commissioned research undertaken by experts to research, assess and advise on international organizations or foreign experts policy inputs for the government. Thus, local on behalf of the Government of Myanmar. knowledge and research is often overlooked by Interaction with local research will not only international organizations and, consequently, stimulate joint policy learning but also build in many instances research is not properly local capacity to effectively develop public contextualized and produces inappropriate policies in the future. operational recommendations. Collaboration between local researchers and international It is not only important to increase consultants should be encouraged. The the budget for doing research but government could also request that donors also improve the flexibility of research consider investing in local research systems, funding. The Ministry of Education budget and involving local organizations and service almost tripled between 2012/13 and providers in their projects. 2019/20, of which the Department of Higher Education received 15-16 percent. Although International support can boost quality, there are some allocations for undertaking ethics and equity in the research research, projects need to follow annual system. While many important initiatives budgetary rules, as well as provide evidence are being undertaken at the ministerial for auditing purposes, which makes it difficult level by key bodies such as the National to undertake multi-year research projects. In Education Policy Commission, the Rectors’ addition, doing research involves a great deal Committee and the Department of Higher of trial and error, particularly when applied Education, international funding remains the to complex policy processes. The current main source of research funding. Beyond allocations for doing research should be commissioning research and increasing the increased and exempt from rules that limit share of research commissioned to local the carry-over of research funds. researchers, these funds can support debates and processes that strengthen quality, Governance for doing research needs ethics and equity in Myanmar’s research to be developed and institutionalized. landscape. This will entail routing funding There is an urgent need to develop a system to and through universities with the aim of of governance to ensure an enabling strengthening the operational capacity of environment for doing research in Myanmar. research support services and research ethics The government must acknowledge review boards; increasing exposure to how the importance of research in building research is managed at an institutional level a knowledge-based society that values in neighboring countries and globally; and researchers as important links between strengthening linkages between research citizens and the government. It should and other aspects of academic life, including develop appropriate policies, long-term teaching and career advancement. This will endowments and functional institutions to require coordination with national bodies that oversee research activities and organizations. are engaged in debates on how to strengthen International funds for doing research the research system in Myanmar, and with in Myanmar need to be effectively those setting the financial management rules coordinated. Technical assistance is a key for the use of research. Given the current level component of international aid for national of funding to research-related activities, this development. A large chunk of donor is well within the reach of Myanmar and its assistance is commissioned to international development partners.

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Doing Research in MYANMAR 99 BIBLIOGRAPHY Aung Khin Myint. (2018, April 8). Extension programs to develop educational opportunities for students in higher education and increase the number of scholarships awarded. University of Kyaukse. Kyaukse, Myanmar. Cemmell, J. (2009). Academic Freedom International Study: Burma, Colombia, Israel, Palestine and Zimbabwe. University and College Union & Education International Hong, M. S. (2020). Being and becoming ‘dropouts’: contextualizing dropout experiences of youth migrant workers in transitional Myanmar. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 1-18. MAAS. (2019, October, 3). Time-Table for Research Paper Reading Sessions. 19th Myanmar Academy of Arts and Science Research Conference. MoE. (n.d). Request for Proposals: Feasibility Study to establish a Centre for Research and innovation (CRl). Department of Monitoring and Evaluation (Research), Ministry of Education (MOE), Myanmar Aung, S & Arnold M. (2018, May). Managing Change: Executive Policymaking in Myanmar. The Asia Foundation. Conference Secretariat Office (2020, May 23-25). Myanmar Universities’ Research Conference. University of Computer Studies Yangon (UCSY) World Bank. (2019) Myanmar Economic Transition Amid Conflict. Washington, D.C: World Bank Group.

100 Doing Research in MYANMAR Notes

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102 Doing Research in MYANMAR

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