Dilani Hirimuthugodage

Dilani Hirimuthugodage is a Research Economist at the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) with research interests in Agriculture and Agribusiness Development, Trade & Industry, and Intellectual Property Rights.

Dilani has 20 years of research experience at IPS. She has worked as a consultant to several international organisations, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the British Council, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Agence Française de Développement (French Development Agency-AFD), and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

She has provided consultancy services to several government ministries, including the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Plantation Industry and Community Infrastructure. She has also served on national committees on intellectual property and the implementation of geographical indication (GI) systems in Sri Lanka, including the committee responsible for drafting the National Intellectual Property Policy. Her research findings have been disseminated through peer-reviewed national and international journals, magazines, and book chapters.

Dilani is a recipient of the Fellowship Programme on Intellectual Property, Transfer of Technology and Licensing awarded by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and held in France in 2017. She holds a BA in Economics with a Second Class (Upper) and a Master’s in Economics (Distinction Pass) from the University of Colombo. In addition, she is a part-qualified candidate of CIMA-UK.