The Centre for Advanced Studies (CAS), Cambodia is an independent not-for profit social science research institute. The Centre for Advanced Study (CAS) was founded in 1996 as an independent, non-governmental Cambodian institution devoted to research, education and public debate on issues affecting the development of the Cambodian society. The Centre uses an integrative, problem-oriented approach, and seeks to work with Cambodian and international scholars. CAS conducts research programs designed to help clarify public policy options and develop priorities from a humane, people-centred perspective. CAS’ research orientation is, at the same time, educational. Research projects carried out by CAS provide training opportunities for junior scholars, who work in teams mentored by senior scholars. It has substantial experience with both qualitative studies and large-scale household questionnaire surveys. In the past two year CAS has engaged in health research. It is part of the POVILL (Protecting the rural poor against the economic consequences of major illness: A major challenge for Asian transitional economies) consortium, undertaking two work packages: household survey and policy process. CAS has established good professional relationships with both the local and international partner institutions, especially with the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp.
Researchers
Por Ir (irpor@yahoo.com)
Por Ir, MD, PhD, worked for six years with Médecins sans Frontières in Cambodia, first in health district development and STD/HIV-related programmes, then as a deputy medical coordinator. From 2004 to 2006, he worked with the Belgian Technical Cooperation in Cambodia on health system strengthening, mainly on 'Health Equity Funds', and 'Contracting'. Since 2006, he has been a PhD candidate at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium. His dissertation will focus on 'Financing Health Care for the Poor', more in particular on Health Equity Funds and similar schemes.
Chean R. Men (cheanmen@gmail.com)
Chean R. Men is a Ph.D. candidate trained in the field of Medical Anthropology, strong in qualitative research. Chean Men has undertaken several consultancies with the World Health Organization, working closely with the Ministry of Health in setting up injection safety and infection control program in the country. Chean Men is currently managing the POVILL project and also in charge of the evaluation of the Urban Health Equity Fund project of the Urban Sector Group. He is also involved in an on-going evaluation of MoPoTsyo’s Peer Education intervention on chronic diseases in both urban and rural area.
Hean Sokhom (sokhom9@online.com.kh)
Dr. Sokhom is the director of CAS and has extensive experience in large field surveys using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. He has been in charge of the National Opinion Poll surveys since 2000 to 2007. He is also an expert in ethnic minority studies in Cambodia.
Selected publications
Men, C.R., The role of health equity funds in meeting health-related needs of the poor and very poor in urban area in Cambodia, Conference proceedings, " What Works for the Poorest: Knowledge, Policies and Practices " Dec 3-5, 2006, Rajendrapur, Dhaka, Bangladesh (in press).