The NRI Corporate Plan is a rolling three-year plan, which is developed after consultation with stakeholders and revised annually to forecast the work of the Institute over the following three-year period. The Corporate Plan 2006-2008 identifies the following priorities for research:

	Promoting Economic Growth and Development
	Improving Education and Human Resource Development
	Improving Governance and Law and Order
	Promoting Social Development and Sustainable Resource Developments

Divisional planning statements are organised according to standard formats which are designed to:

(a) facilitate the processes of budgeting and reporting; and

(b) place emphasis on the tangible outputs or measurable indicators of each division.

Divisional heads are responsible for producing and revising their respective divisional plans in accordance with the standard formats and in consultation with other staff members in their respective division.

Research Pathways for Government Policy Priorities

Following the launch of the revised Strategic Plan and the Corporate Plan 2006-2008, the Institute is seeking to link up with academics at research institutions for engagement in public policy research activities linked to development priorities as identified under the Government’s Medium Term Development Strategy.

The Government through the development budget has allocated funds to the National Research Institute for such purposes under a Research Development Support Program that runs from 2005 to 2010.

The Institute is currently developing coordination mechanisms with relevant research institutions in order to encourage more focused and integrated research for Government priorities under the Research Development Support Program. Click here to read more on research pathways.

Research Programs and Projects

Applied research is the Institute’s basic function. The Institute’s research divisions are required to present their research programs and projects in a standard format, to satisfy the needs of external clients and consumers. Each research division has several research programs which reflect the expertise of available, full-time research staff.

Each research program contains several projects, and each research project is described in terms of its:

	Aim and key objectives
	policy relevance
	institutional linkages
	methodology
	project outputs
	timelines, and
	resources and staffing.

Multi-Tasking for Effective Management

The Institute has many actual and potential functions which can be carried out more effectively, and explicitly integrated into, the Institute’s corporate planning process, if they are shared between small teams of research and administrative staff, rather than being the specialised functions of individual staff or formally constituted committees. Multi-tasking is especially appropriate for an organisation in which many of the staff have talents and capacities which are not utilised as part of their regular duty statements, and in which the process of training and skills transfer is given special emphasis.

Each of the tasks allocated under the multi-tasking system is held to be the joint responsibility of one research division and either the Administration Division or the Publishing Division. These tasks are listed as ‘additional functions’ in the plans of each research division. These lists are revised annually, along with other aspects of the Corporate Plan.

Corporate Structure

The Institute’s corporate structure reflects its changing research and administrative priorities. The Institute comprises six divisions:

	Economic Studies
	Educational Studies
	Political and Legal Studies
	Social and Environmental Studies
	Publishing, and
	Administration.

The Economic Studies Division focuses on macroeconomic, microeconomic, and sectoral policies that affect national development. Economic policies pertaining to human development issues and the agricultural sector are priorities.

The Educational Studies Division focuses on research into, and evaluation of, all levels of education, with a priority on critically assessing and reviewing the government’s ongoing educational initiatives and development programs.

The Political and Legal Studies Division focuses on research into governance and politics, provincial and local-level governments, developments in crime trends and crime prevention, and developments in defence policies.

The Social and Environmental Studies Division focuses on a broad range of development issues including sustainable development, forestry activities, resource development, gender and population studies, and human development indicators.

The Publishing Division contributes to all editorial and publishing activities undertaken by the Institute including internal publications, consultancy reports, contract editing and publishing, and press releases. The Division focuses on maintaining a high professional presentation of reports to an international academic standard. The Institute also houses the Institute's unique research library, the ICT facility, and the Institute's printery.

All consultancy projects and programs that are undertaken by the Institute are attached to their respective sponsoring research divisions. However, the Institute’s Administration Division provides the overall management supervision. This division also provides supervision for the Institute’s staff development and training program, and controls the Institute’s finances and general administrative procedures.

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