The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and Doha Institute for Graduate Studies has published the 1st issue of the biannual peer-reviewed Public Administration and Public Policy journal Hikama. This issue includes: “Central Bank Independence: Theory, Legislation, and Practice with a Special Reference to Egypt's Central Bank” by Ibrahim El-Issawy; “The Challenges facing NGOs in implementing their strategic plans: a Case Study of the Qatar Red Crescent” by Ahmed Elkamali and Moosa Elayah; “Public Policy Governance from a Network Perspective: A Theoretical Approach” by Ahmed Badran; “Fighting Corruption within the Framework of Transitional Justice in Tunisia” by Adnen Nouioua; “The Civil Society Organizations and Combatting Poverty in Mauritania” by Mohamed Yahya Hasni.

The section of Reports and Policy Papers includes a report of experts’ workshop held by Hikama, entitled “Covid- 19: Public Policy Responses and Health Consequences in the Arab Region,” and two papers; “Economic and Social Implications of the Covid- 19 Pandemic in Morocco” by Brahim Elmorchid and Brahim Mansouri, “Yemen: Coronavirus in a Time of War” by Salah Yassin Almaktary, and the translation of the report of Tayseer Alkarim, Hanny Megally and Leah Zamore,“Last Refuge or Last Hour? COVID- 19 and the Humanitarian Crisis in Idlib” by Ali al-Barazi. Also included in this issue is a translation of George Candler and Georgette Dumont’s “The Price of Citizenship: Civic Responsibility as the Missing Dimension of Public Administration Theory,” by Ali al-Barazi. The issue also includes a review of the World Bank’s study “Elite Capture of Foreign Aid Evidence from Offshore Bank Accounts” by Morad Diani.

*** This edition is available for open access download at the Hikama website along with previous issues of the journal.