On 28–29 August 2026, the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) and the Skills Development Fund (SDF) began Phase 1, the Foundation Track, of their Joint Capacity Building Program at the SDF Office, bringing together a young group of SDF researchers and staff for the first phase of in-person training. The training is designed and tailored to institutional and individual needs to strengthen SDF's research capacity, guided by a pre-training assessment.

Day 1 opened with a joint SDF–CDRI session to set expectations and agree on how the group would work together. Prof. Dr. Matthew McCartney, Chief Economist at CDRI, then walked participants through how to build a strong policy brief and how to spot real labor market problems worth studying. Mr. Soy Kimsan followed with a session on writing research proposals, closing the day with a workshop where each participant confirmed their research topic.

Day 2 began with Prof. Dr. Matthew McCartney led a session on research design, using real data from Cambodia, Pakistan, and Kenya to show how researchers turn to everyday questions, like child labor, women's work, manufacturing jobs, and literacy, helping participants shape a clear approach for their own topic. Dr. Chhorn Dina then led two sessions using a real, live example: a national skills survey covering over 2,000 firms across all 25 provinces. Participants learned how to design good survey questions, code responses consistently as well as find and check trusted data sources. The day wrapped up with Mr. Soy Kimsan helped participants to write more effectively, guiding them to turn their topics into clear, step-by-step outlines that build a strong, well-supported argument and persuasive writing.

This is part of CDRI and SDF's shared effort to build SDF's internal research capacity for evidence-based skills investment, helping staff move from an idea to a finished, evidence-based policy brief on Cambodia's priority sectors, so that decisions are backed by real data.

Onward, participants will move into Phase 2, the Incubation Phase. Over the coming months, they will continue drafting their research outlines with mentoring and reviewing support from CDRI senior researchers.