An independent think-tank

MoUs & collaborations

Since its inception, PIPS has been in a continuous process of developing formal and informal linkages and collaborations with research and academic institutions that have a common thematic focus. The objective has been to share mutual experiences, enhance the empirical and objective knowledge base of the issues related to conflict, insecurity and violence, etc., and to explore viable policy options for achieving peace and preventing/de-escalating conflicts in Pakistan and the wider region. Another underlying objective of this exercise has been to strengthen the institutional capacity at PIPS.
The Institute has entered into collaborations and signed memoranda of understanding with various organisations and institutions in one or more of the following areas.

  • Joint publications;
  • Capacity building initiatives and mutual internships;
  • Exchange of scholars and fellowships;
  • Research collaborations;
  • Holding of joint events such as conferences and seminars, etc.;
  • Exchange of periodic and other publications; and
  • Regular consultations with organisations and institutions with a common thematic focus in order to share experiences on research, policy advocacy and other programmatic areas.

Some of the key institutional collaborations that PIPS has been part of are listed below:

  • In 2006, PIPS became a member of the Council of Asian Terrorism Research (CATR), a consortium of academic and research institutions which was renamed as the Council for Asian Transnational Threat Research in 2011.
  • PIPS and a Beijing-based research centre, the Ethnic Minority Groups Development Research Institute of Research Development Center (EMGDRI-RDC), signed a memorandum of understanding in 2006 to start a scholars’ exchange programme and joint research projects on South and Central Asia.
  • In the same year, PIPS signed another memorandum of understanding with the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR), a specialised centre of the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, for a scholars’ exchange program.
  • In October 2007, PIPS entered into collaboration with the Department of Political Science at Lund University, Sweden. The department’s Asian Studies Programme is headed by Catrina Kinnvall, an experienced researcher working on several projects related to India, Pakistan and China, who leads the university’s joint research programmes with PIPS.
  • PIPS became an affiliate institution of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence (ICSR) at King’s College, London, in June 2009. The collaboration aimed to facilitate participation in collaborative research programmes, exchange of scholars, cross-participation in events and conferences, and sharing of knowledge and expertise.
  • PIPS and Observatório Político—or Political Observatory—a Portuguese non-profit independent scientific research centre—entered into a memorandum of understanding in the last quarter of 2011 with a view to establish an institutional collaboration to develop a mechanism of publication exchange and create a program exchange vehicle between the two organizations.
  • In 2011, PIPS became a member of the International Practitioner Network (IPN) of casualty recording organizations—a network facilitated and supported by everycasualty programme at Oxford Research Group. The network connects the organizations working to collect, record, and properly memorialize the individual victims of armed violence around the world.
  • In 2012 PIPS signed memorandum of understanding with Yayasan Prasasti Perdamaian (Institute for International Peacebuilding), Indonesia–a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that deals with peacebuilding, conflict resolution and rehabilitation issues–with a view to establish an institutional collaboration to develop experience-sharing, exchange of scholars and holding joint events.
  • In 2015, the Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Center (NOREF) offered PIPS the framework award in the portfolio of “trends”.
  • In October 2019, Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) entered into collaborative agreement with the United Nations-supported Global Council for Tolerance and Peace (GCTP), Malta, for fostering tolerance and peace in the world. President of GCTP, H.E. Dr Ahmed Mohamed Al-Jarwan, and PIPS director Muhammad Amir Rana signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on October 9, 2019 in Malta in that regard. According to the agreement, both GCTP and PIPS will initiate institutional cooperation in areas of peace and tolerance including through organizing regional and international conferences, conducting collaborative research projects, collaborating on academic projects, and contributing to the development of postgraduate programs as well as students’ activities.
  • On March 2nd 2021, the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) inked an MoU with the University of Sargodha (UoS) for collaboration in areas of mutual interest including the following:
    1. Promotion of research collaboration
    2. Joint publications
    3. Exchange of scholars, faculty, and fellowships
    4. Initiatives for capacity building and mutual internships
    5. Holding joint events such as conferences, seminars, and training workshops etc.
    6. Exchange of periodic and other publications
    7. Mutual consultations with focus to share experiences about research and other programmatic areas.
  • Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies and China West Normal University’s Pakistan Study Centre signed a memorandum of understanding in October 2021 to collaborate for promoting outreach and research. As per the MoU, the broad areas of cooperation included mutual benefits derived from scholarly interaction, cooperative research, and other forms of academic collaboration.
  • On October 20, 2021, Pak Institute for Peace Studies signed an agreement with Columbia University Press (CUP) according to which PIPS publications, e.g. reports and policy briefings, were permitted to be included in CUP’s subscription product, Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO). CIAO is a full-text online database of mostly aggregated content, encompassing think tank reports, journal articles, department papers, and e-books in the field of international affairs.
  • In September 2022, PIPS signed an MoU with Saint Pierre Center for International Security (SPCIS), based in Guang Dong, China. The overall purpose of the cooperation between SPCIS and PIPS is to improve the scholastic and academic enterprises and levels of the two Institutes, promote and intensify the relationship and the mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries, in general, and the two Institutes, in particular.
    That purpose shall be achieved through promoting and reinforcing cooperation, mutual exchange of information, improvement of research and academic programs, and also exchanges of experts and researchers.