IPS announces Policy Pitch Competition for University Undergraduates 2021

The Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) has announced the inaugural Policy Pitch Competition for University Undergraduates, aimed at encouraging youth to present practical solutions to the contemporary problems in Sri Lanka. 

The winner will be awarded a cash prize  and have their policy idea featured on the IPS’ official blogsite Talking Economics. Additionally, other highly commended ideas will also be published on the platform. 

IPS Executive Director Dr. Dushni Weerakoon commented, “As Sri Lanka emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, policy priorities for sustained economic development will necessarily be reshaped. Sri Lankan youth have a key role in advocating for policies that will determine their future and this competition aims to give them that opportunity to be heard.”

The Policy Pitch competition is open to all Sri Lankan undergraduates, who are enrolled at a local or foreign university. Entries can be submitted in Sinhala, Tamil or English, under any one of the following six themes, which are the main focal areas of the IPS’ annual flagship publication ‘Sri Lanka: State of the Economy’: (1) macro-economics, trade and competitiveness, (2) health, education and labour (3) migration and urbanisation, (4) poverty and social welfare, (5) agriculture and agribusiness development and (6) environment, natural resources and climate change. 

Participants are expected to critically analyse an existing policy, explain why the status quo is not working and present a practical solution to address the issue. Each policy idea would be judged by a panel of three senior IPS researchers. 

Entries can be emailed to: [email protected], from August 2, 2021 until August 30, 2021. The winner and other highly commended ideas will be notified by mid-September. Every participant is encouraged to read the rules carefully before starting to work on their idea. 

Competition details are available at https://www.ips.lk/events-2/. 
For more information, contact: Haaziq Reza (email: [email protected]).