LIRNEasia is currently looking to fill the role of a Senior Researcher. The full job description is available here. The deadline for applying is 11th April 2023.
LIRNEasia conducted a study on digital platform use across six countries in South and Southeast Asia. The working paper provides insights on popular platform types, drivers of and barriers to adoption, and the impact of COVID-19.
In our blogpost with Citra Labs, we explore the role digital and data can play in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of social safety nets (social assistance) in Sri Lanka. 
At a recent event organized by the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects, LIRNEasia's chair Professor Rohan Samarajiva laid out examples of ways to address Sri Lanka's twin deficits in the path to collectively rise out of the current crisis.
Without dwelling too much on the causes, some solutions may be sketched out. They will range from actions that must be taken now (where the choices are highly constrained), to those that allow more play for creativity. Unless we are willing to live like in Afghanistan or in Jaffna during the war, we have little alternative but to take on more debt to get the economy to fire on all cylinders.
LIRNEasia is currently looking to fill the role of a Statistician and Research Manager. The full job description is available here. The deadline for applying is 28th February 2023.
An Expert Round Table discussion on "Online harms: Content moderation and models of regulation" held on the 27th of October 2022, as the third of a series of discussions under the theme of “Frontiers of Digital Economy”
LIRNEasia is currently looking to fill the role of a Junior Researcher/Researcher. The full job description is available here. The deadline for applying is 17th February 2023.
LIRNEasia is currently looking to fill the role of a Policy and Legal Researcher. The full job description is available here. The deadline for applying is 15th February 2023.
LIRNEasia’s chair Professor Rohan Samarajiva was invited to speak at the seminar ‘Power crisis and electricity tariffs’, organized by the Organization of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka (OPA), on the 11th of January 2023. His presentation was based on the role of the regulator in reforming the electricity sector, and it also broached upon related considerations when regulating the imposition of tariffs within the sector. The slides can be found here.
LIRNEasia is currently looking to fill the role of a Statistician and Researcher. The full job description is available here. The deadline for applying is 25th January 2023.
In his publication ‘International in scope and interdisciplinary in approach’, LIRNEasia’s chair Rohan Samarajiva addresses new media’s impact on societies bound by it and the policy implications that emerge as a product of the same within the three spheres of data protection, data localization and cybersecurity. He highlights the continuous need for interdisciplinary research and reflection on social implications of new media. The open access journal article can be accessed here
Today, I delivered the keynote at the 9th International Conference on multidisciplinary approaches at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Here is on story that I told. In 2008, Nokia, then a leading global telecom equipment supplier, came to LIRNEasia with a question they wanted answered: How was it that countries in South Asia, not known for the highest standards of policy and regulation, were offering the lowest prices for mobile communication to their customers? Conventional wisdom was that a stable policy environment with an independent and efficient regulatory agency was essential for good performance. Nokia provided us with comparative price data which we looked at in the context of the findings of the extensive “Teleuse at the Bottom of the Pyramid” surveys and qualitative studies we had conducted and the Telecom Policy and Regulatory Environment studies we were running in countries in South and Southeast Asia at that time.
We are saddened to hear that Nirmani Liyanage passed away suddenly over the weekend.
සමෘද්ධි දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ අධ්යක්ෂ ජනරාල්වරයා විසින් 2022 අගෝස්තු 29 වැනි දින නිකුත් කරන ලද චක්රලේඛය අනුව, ජ්යෙෂ්ඨ පුරවැසියන්, ආබාධිත පුද්ගලයන් (PWDs) සහ වකුගඩු රෝගීන් සඳහා මාසික මුදල් ආධාර ලබාදීම් 2022 සැප්තැම්බර් මාසයේ සිට සමෘද්ධි බැංකු හරහා කළ යුතුය. ප්රායෝගිකව මෙම පරිපාලනය ආරම්භ වීමට නියමිත වන්නේ ඔක්තෝබර් මාසයේ සිටයි.
This report is to evaluate the impact of interventions (written comments on the draft bill during the stakeholder consultation) by LIRNEasia on the Personal Data Protection Act, No. 9 of 2022, which was passed by the Parliament of Sri Lanka on 9th of March 2022. The report also provides details of media coverage of LIRNEasia interventions on the Act.