LIRNEasia’s CEO Helani Galpaya, participated in the Canada-in-Asia 2025 (CAIC) Conference held in Singapore from February 19-21, 2025. The event, organized by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and Universities Canada, brought together over 800 participants from across Canada and the Asia-Pacific region to discuss investment opportunities and strengthen ties between the two regions.
The majority of attendees were from the private sector, though the conference also saw significant participation from Canada’s diplomatic corps in Asia, various Canadian government investment funds, and ministers from Asian countries.
During the plenary session, Helani shared insights on research funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), a Canadian Crown Corporation that has supported key initiatives by LIRNEasia in the region. Her talk highlighted the impact of Canada’s development research investments across Asia, emphasizing IDRC’s proactive approach in funding.
Helani discussed how IDRC’s funding has often been ahead of technology adoption curves, enabling LIRNEasia to shape adoption and access in the region. She also highlighted the context-sensitive nature of IDRC’s funding, which takes into account regional capacities and political contexts. Furthermore, she explained how IDRC’s ecosystem approach—where capacity building for policy actors and stakeholders is funded alongside research—has contributed to the greater impact of these investments.
The panel also included notable figures such as Jean-Louis Arcand, President of the Global Development Network (GDN), Joe Wong, Vice-President of the University of Toronto, and Kapil Kapoor, Regional Director for Asia at IDRC.
For decades Canada has been a reliable source of investment for researchers and research institutions in Asia. For example, the IDRC has, since 2016, invested C$500 million into research and innovation to understand and find solutions for problems in developing countries and regions across Asia and the Pacific. This session delved into Canadian investments into research and development across Asia and the positive impacts of these significant investments.
