The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is an independent organization which focuses primarily on issues of governance and conflict resolution.
The activities of CPA include research, advocacy, lobbying of decision-makers and the shaping of public opinion and providing consultancy services to political parties and other organizations. The Centre also organizes seminars and conferences to disseminate the findings of its research and study.
CPA programmes are implemented through 5 units:
- Legal and constitutional
- Media monitoring
- Conflict and peace analysis
- Polling
- Translation
In addition to this, CPA functions as the secretariat for the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), formed together with the Free Media Movement (FMM) and the Coalition Against Political Violence.
The work of the different units ranges from public interest litigation and constitutional reform to media reform, conflict transformation and a political solution to the ethnic conflict. The translation unit runs a programme called ‘Vibhasha’ which provides translation training and certification in translation studies.
CPA has also collaborated with a number of local and international civil society organizations. For instance, the Road Map Programme on Negotiating a Political Settlement and Promoting Conflict Transformation in Sri Lanka is a joint initiative of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and the Berghof Foundation for Conflict Studies, Sri Lanka Office.
The website includes further details about CPA and its profile, a calendar of events, research papers and list of publications. Information on the activities of each of the five units of the Institute and CMEV are also provided.
Reports of meetings, summaries of publications and the full text of selected papers, reports, studies and articles are available from the website. The Centre also has a free mailing list service for its quarterly newsletter.