Economic Policy Institutes Network (EPIN) was initiated by the UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS in 2004. This project supports the development of economic policy institutes (EPI) in European and CIS countries in transition, with particular emphasis on low and middle income countries. The principal goal of the initiative is to develop the capacity of economic policy institutes in the target countries so as to provide these countries with independent, sophisticated voices in policy issues by:
- establishing a cooperative network between EPIs from developed countries (including EU accession states) and EPIs from CIS and CEE countries
- organizing targeted training on substantive and administrative technical issues as well as professional exchanges, including secondments and twining arrangements between the EPIs
- facilitating joint research amongst network member institutes
- facilitating networking by means of conferences, joint meetings, with particular stress on electronic information and knowledge exchange
There are two groups of EPIN members. The first group, the resource institutions, transfer knowledge and experience to the other member group, the target institutions. The core task of the project is also to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from successful transition economies to promote the socio-economic development of less successful economies (“east-east cooperation”). In this way, the project seeks to help the poorer countries in the region in achieving the Millennium Development Goals through support to research for alternative development strategies and policies, while also facilitating EU accession countries’ contribution to new forms of development partnerships.