Acronym of Organisation: 
RCSS

The Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) is an independent, non-profit and non-governmental organization for collaborative research, networking and interaction on strategic and international issues pertaining to South Asia. Set up in 1992, the RCSS is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is a South Asian forum for studies, training and multi-track dialogue and deliberation on issues of regional interest. All activities of RCSS are designed with a South Asia focus and are usually participated by experts from all South Asian countries.
The RCSS serves its South Asian and international constituency by: (a) networking programmes that promote interaction, communication and exchange between institutions and individuals within and outside the region engaged in South Asian strategic studies; (b) organizing regional workshops and seminars and sponsoring and coordinating collaborative research; and (c) disseminating output of the research through publications which include books, monographs and a quarterly newsletter. The RCSS facilitates scholars and other professionals of South Asia to address, mutually and collectively, problems and issues of topical interest for all countries of the region.

URL: 
http://www.rcss.org
Primary Headquarters (city): 
Colombo
Languages that the organisation operates in: 
English
Training Target Audiences: 
  • Policy Officers
  • SSR Practitioners
  • CSOs
  • Academic
Additional information on research capabilities/focus: 

The focus of the RCSS workshops is to provide a forum for young professionals from South Asia to mutually and collectively examine and understand the major issues of defence, national security, regional stability, confidence building, governance, human security and other such traditional and non-traditional security issues in the region. It is also expected to encourage a new generation of analysts, commentators and opinion shapers to introduce fresh ideas, perspectives and initiatives to the security debate in the region.
RCSS conducts its research work pertaining to South Asian issues by providing grants to academics in South Asian countries to undertake such research, individually and collectively.

Future Training: 

Networking

  • To set up a network of regional institutes with one or more institutes from each country with RCSS as facilitator
  • Think tanks, research centres, Universities, civil society organizations etc. to constitute the network
  • Participants would be senior academic leaders, institution directors, etc. and, altogether a number of 15 approximately.

 
Capacity building
 

  • Capacity Building Workshop workshop to be held to develop a cadre of researchers and scholars to further the objectives of the SSR project in South Asia.
  • Participants would be from research institutions, universities, civil society organizations, etc. About 20-24 in number.
  • Duration of the residential workshop will be one week
  • The focus will be to familiarize participants with the issues and teach them how to conduct research in the area of SSR.
  • They will afterwards, form the resource base to undertake research and support publications on the project.
  • The workshop to be conducted once a year by rotation in different countries in the region.
  • The convenenor would be the RCSS.
  • The facilitators, around seven, would be international and regional experts on SSR.
Contacts: 

Point of Contact : Ambassador Geetha de Silva
 
Mailing Address: 410/27 Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka
 
Email: adrcss@rcss.org
 
Tel: (0094) 11 2690913-4
 
Fax No : (0094) 11 2690769

Type of organisation

  • Think Tank/ Research Institute

Region of operation

  • East Asia

Key activities

  • Border