Policy Areas
City Life & Urbanism Social Policy & Equity Economic Development Politics & Democracy Public Service Delivery AI Research Policy & Data Tools Learning & Discussion Community & Well-Being Planning for the Future
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English ދިވެހި (Dhivehi) Bahasa Indonesia 中文 (Chinese) العربية (Arabic)

Policy research,
real-world consulting.

Public Policy Lab is a non-partisan think tank and consultancy firm based in the Maldives. We work to develop the policy environment in the Maldives and across Asia through original research, targeted projects, policy tools, publications, targeted advocacy and messaging, courses and seminars in partnership with other institutions, and training the next generation of policymakers.

We bring our expertise, relationships, experience, and passion for policy to our consulting work. As consultants, we specialise in providing deeply researched insights and analysis, polished publications and reports, and guided expertise for clients. Whether you’re a government agency, local or city council, NGO, private company, advocacy group, educational institution, international business, or anyone in need of policy expertise, you can find that with us.

Our work will always include not-for-profit policy development activities: whether pro bono policy and technical advisory roles, education, research and publications, or data tools for academics and journalists.

At Public Policy Lab, we operate with complete conviction and belief that a better world is possible. We’re not embarrassed about being idealistic or caring too much. If you’re on board and would like to work with us, reach out here.

See our work ↓
Public Policy Lab office

Research, analysis, and tools

Policy briefs, analytical essays, data visualizations, interactive tools, and open resources.

🌐 Our in-depth reports and interactive tools are published in English.

Public spaces, street parking, greenery, transport, and the built environment. How Malé and Hulhumale can work better as cities for the people who live in them.
6 briefs · bus route maps
/urbanism →
Economic diversification beyond tourism. Remote work visas, island office infrastructure, airport strategy, and 3D printing for local manufacturing. Briefs with implementation tools.
5 briefs · 3 operational tools
/economy →
Electoral integrity, political trust, anti-corruption, decolonization, and where global political movements meet the Maldivian context. Long-form essays on the structural conditions of democracy.
5 essays
/politics →
Knowledge management, institutional memory, digitalization, organizational efficiency, and AI tools for government. A connected narrative from dysfunction through to solutions.
8 briefs · Standard Prompter demo
/governance →
Original research on how AI models fail in professional knowledge work — the intent deficit, isomorphic mimicry, and reasoning architecture. Parallels with public-sector capacity gaps and what scaffolded AI can do about them.
4-part research series
/ai-research →
AI medical diagnostics, island data explorer, nutrition data, foresight workshop tools, data galleries, and service directories. Things people can use, not just read about.
6 live tools · 4 projects in development
/applied →
Courses, reading lists, and discussion forums for people working in or studying policy. Practical training that bridges the gap between university and the realities of policy work.
Training courses · discussion forums
/learn →
Free CV screening, venue space for artists and NGOs, community events, chapbook publishing, internships, and open data resources. What we do for the public beyond policy work.
6 free services
/community →
What the next 15 years look like and what the Maldives should prepare for. Trends, emerging risks, climate, health futures, resilience strategy, and international best practices.
7 briefs · 6 interactive planning tools
/futures →

Our approach

Working toward results
Evidence-based methods, concrete outcomes. We measure what we do against real-world change, not against the volume of paper produced.
Finding low-hanging fruit
We look for achievable changes with big impacts. If a small change can be made today, we try to make it happen even if we know more change will be needed in the future.
Starting conversations
Public discussion drives policy outcomes. We write, advocate, and engage to move ideas into practice rather than into filing cabinets.
Pushing ourselves
Hard work, high volume, high standards. If someone asked us to explain our work, we want to be able to do so proudly without embarrassment at having done too little.
Conviction over cynicism
You cannot change things if you never try. We take on hard problems because they matter, not because they are easy to publish about.
Principles and public interest
We won’t abandon our core principles and values. Our work will always include not-for-profit and public-interest activities, from pro bono support to knowledge dissemination and open tools.

We put together a team that is actively passionate about good policy and making a difference for the public interest, with practical experience across fields, sectors, and client types. We take an interdisciplinary approach without being too siloed into our own fields. We bring creative ideas and intuition from a wide range of interests outside of just technical work, including in arts and literature, media, social sciences, psychology, poetry, philosophy, and community activities. Our ethos and culture includes a focus on passion, integrity, creativity, and genuine investment in bettering lives through policy.

Who we’ve worked with

Through our consulting work, we have worked with government agencies, international development organisations, NGOs, independent bodies, private sector companies, tourism establishments, law firms, international firms seeking to invest in or bid for projects in the Maldives, political candidates, and organisations internationally with strong ties in Indonesia and Malaysia. Some organisations we’ve worked with include:

Snapshots from our work