Championing science, evidence, and strategic insight in policy & decision-making.
StratSearch Foundation, Inc. is an independent policy research and strategic development think tank supporting public institutions, private organizations, and regional development actors through science-based research, program evaluations, and expert policy analysis.
SEC Standard Legacy
Continuous policymaking contribution in Asia-Pacific since 1993.
About StratSearch Foundation
Providing evidence-based research to private and public entities involved in national policymaking.
Originally SEC-registered in 1993 as the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies (CENAPSIS), StratSearch Foundation, Inc. (SSFI) has matured from regional academic exploration into a focal policy development institute. We operate actively at the complex vertical integration where government agenda-setting, administrative policy development, and civil service execution intersect.
Through our historical advisory partnerships with executive agencies, law-drafting committees in legislative houses, private conglomerates, and regional security structures, SSFI supplies precise empirical data, socio-economic calculations, and non-partisan academic integrity.
Cross-Collaborative Charter
"SSFI disseminates research studies in cooperation with the private sector, government agencies, international non-government development actors, and local academic institutions."
Strategic Core Focus
Our approach bypasses short-term political convenience. We establish multi-decade research panels dedicated to foundational policy hurdles, tracking regional institutional challenges in Southeast Asia with academic rigour.
Original SEC Heritage
Established 1993 as the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies.
Policy-Focused Framework
Addressing executive, legislative, and judicial concerns.
National Reach
Headquartered in Quezon City with linkages across institutions.
Mission & Core Objectives
Evidence-Based Policy Research
To initiate, structure, and deliver high-integrity scientific and socio-economic research studies covering developmental issues, governance bottlenecks, regional integration limits, and community vulnerabilities. We focus on providing precise evidence, removing biased speculation, and identifying strategic policy avenues.
- Broad socio-demographic tracking
- Transnational cooperation analyses
Supporting Policymaking Entities
To proactively assist public offices, legislative commissions, departments of state, and municipal administrations in crafting, vetting, validating, and implementing policies. By bridging theoretical science with administrative feasibility, we help translate policy guidelines into effective local public actions.
- Government curriculum coordination
- Structural project execution audits
Executive Charter Conviction
"Our fundamental objective is to deepen the quality, accountability, and reach of public action by grounding policy directions and evaluation in rigorous research and strategic foresight."
SSFI Board of Trustees & Academic Panel
Our Core Services
SSFI offers seven interconnected service domains aiding state departments, corporate sectors, and multilateral developmental teams.
Evidence-Based Research
Rigorous scholarly design and qualitative-quantitative studies conducted by eminent scientists and policy specialists.
Continuing Education & Seminars
Strengthening administrative capital via interactive seminars, professional certification, and tailored civil service training.
Strategic Planning & Evaluation
Empirical research, program assessments, impact audits, and rigorous monitoring for private, public, and NGO sectors.
Symposia & Roundtable Discussions
Targeted policy dialogue, elite consultations, and public-private workshops addressing national and global policy choke-points.
Feasibility & Management Studies
High-level business plans, regional vulnerability audits, project mapping, and organization reform feasibility.
Academic & Trust Publication
Publishing academic logs, policy white-papers, and empirical books, advancing high-quality research dissemination.
Strategic Research Themes
Primary areas of investigative query, field analysis, and publication conducted in coordination with academic panels.
Governance and Institutional Reform
Assessing democratic checks, programmatic political development, and structural systemic loopholes.
Defense, Security, and Foreign Policy
Analyzing geo-political developments, maritime claims, deterrence frameworks, and Southeast Asian policy vectors.
Development Policy
Empirical studies of social demographics, elderly protection schemes, housing, and structural poverty relief.
Electoral and Bureaucratic Reform
Historical lessons, campaign finance policies, and civil service performance optimizations.
ASEAN and Regional Cooperation
Legislative integration, economic agreements, and shared initiatives bridging regional borders.
Disaster Management and Resilience
Climate adaptation analysis, regional triage protocols, vulnerability mapping, and relief planning.
Labor, Social Protection, & Domestic Work
Examining informal contract structures, child protection safeguards, and legal guarantees for domestic personnel.
Public Sector Capacity Building
Bridging technical gaps in civil service leadership with structured curriculum design.
Executive Committee & Trustees
Our directors combine academic credentials with years of administrative, legislative, and international project execution expertise.
Dr. Clarita R. Carlos
Executive Director
Former National Security Adviser (NEA) • UP Professor
Dr. Clarita R. Carlos serves as the principal intellectual director of StratSearch Foundation. A globally respected scholar and public thinker, she is a distinguished retired Professor of Political Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman, an authority on defense strategy and deep foreign policy alignment, and an active geopolitical analyst.
She has authored seminal analytical publications assessing electoral, legislative, security, and administrative bureaucracy structures within local and ASEAN polities.
A recipient of numerous scholarships, she was a Fulbright Visiting Fellow researching Political Psychology at Cornell University and a Senior Fulbright scholar analyzing Comparative Foreign Policy Analysis at UCLA.
Dennis M. Lalata
Project & Program Manager
Senior Program Evaluator • UP Journalism Alumnus
Mr. Dennis M. Lalata manages active operations, coordination, and inter-organizational contracts. Across two decades, he has successfully directed and mapped projects spanning the Philippine state landscape, including departments across the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary branches.
His work extends to coordinating research parameters with domestic corporations, international developmental groups, and NGO collectives, ensuring timelines, empirical metrics, and publication standards are meticulously met.
He completed his A.B. Communication degree, Major in Journalism, Cum Laude from the University of the Philippines Diliman, focusing his early writing on political trends and electoral records.
Foundational Research Library
Search and filter SSFI's academic publications from 1996 to present. Access to full text can be requested via our secure educational copy request portal.
Disaster Management in the Philippines
Author/Convener: StratSearch Foundation Core Research Panel
An exhaustive assessment of vulnerability indices, regional response logistics, and recommendations for community-based adaptation mechanisms.
Rapid Situational Analysis on Child Domestic Work
Author/Convener: StratSearch Social Policy Division
A rapid situational audit analyzing employment conditions, domestic work vulnerabilities, and legal enforcement caps across national urban spaces.
Qualitative Research on Employment Arrangements, Practices and Working Conditions in Domestic Work in the Philippines
Author/Convener: SSFI Research Workgroup on Labor Dynamics
A deep-dive research framework documenting informal protocols, welfare access, and institutional shortcomings of domestic helpers.
Towards an ASEAN Parliament: Challenges and Prospects
Author/Convener: Dr. Clarita R. Carlos et al.
A comprehensive feasibility review considering legislative integration, transnational sovereignty constraints, and comparative parliamentary structures.
Population Ageing in the Philippines: Issues and Challenges
Author/Convener: StratSearch Commission on Social Demographics
Analyzing demographic trajectories, financial security in older cohorts, and pension infrastructure limits to build adaptive policies.
Democratic Deficits in the Philippines: What is to be done?
Author/Convener: Dr. Clarita R. Carlos
Analyzing bureaucratic clientelism, structural institutional flaws, and clear strategic roadmaps for public accountability in local spaces.
Towards Bureaucratic Reform: Issues and Challenges
Author/Convener: Dr. Clarita R. Carlos
Identifying structural issues, career path reforms, and performance-based reward paradigms inside Philippine Civil Service organs.
History of Electoral Reforms in the Philippines: Pre-Spanish to 1998
Author/Convener: SSFI Electoral Policy Panel
An authoritative historical compendium detailing legal frameworks, franchise development, and voting mechanisms since the pre-colonial era.
Selected Election Cases in the Philippines: From the Supreme Court and Electoral Tribunals
Author/Convener: StratSearch Legal & Jurisprudential Division
An organized selection of foundational legal doctrines, election challenges, and judicial decisions forming electoral precedent.
Elections in the Philippines from Pre-colonial Period to the Present
Author/Convener: Dr. Clarita R. Carlos & SSFI Scholars
Examining political agency, shifting social movements, patronage networks, and structural shifts from initial voting to electronic transition.
The Philippines in ASEAN: An Assessment of 27 Years of Cooperation in Selected Functional Areas
Author/Convener: StratSearch Research Team on South East Asian Polity
Evaluating trade policies, defense cooperation, and diplomatic milestones across three decades of Philippine membership in the bloc.
Political Parties in the Philippines from 1900 to the Present
Author/Convener: Dr. Clarita R. Carlos
An in-depth empirical work outlining party system instability, programmatic party design deficits, and recommendations to strengthen democracy.
Chronicle of the 1998 Elections in the Philippines
Author/Convener: Dennis M. Lalata & Historical Team
A structural snapshot of campaign financing, party switching, candidates, and media narratives shaping the seminal 1998 nationwide ballot.
Activities & Events
SSFI convenes stakeholder consultations, elite roundtables, and regional forums uniting experts across governmental, civil, and corporate sectors.
Stakeholder Engagement
Our forums establish open channels for evidence-based science distribution, resolving operational questions before administrative policies are written.
Topics are selected proactively based on upcoming national legislative drafts, strategic defense adjustments, or regional economic pact deadlines.
Upcoming Events Planning
Third Quarter, Academic Year 2026Connect With SSFI Secretariat
Please use our contact pathways for strategic advisory bids, curriculum collaboration initiatives, or program audit tenders.
Official Secretariat
Central Head Office
12 Makadios St., Sikatuna Village,
Quezon City, Philippines 1101
Electronic Mail
stratsearchfoundation@gmail.com
Response within 48 operations hours.Proximity parameters: Neighboring University of the Philippines Diliman and central governmental agency offices.
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