Established as a semi-autonomous institution with Council of Ministers Regulations No. 54/1999 in August 1999, the objective of the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI) was to undertake studies and research on the development of the country. Upon its establishment, the research areas EDRI used to focus on was Agriculture and Rural Development; Macroeconomic Research and Modeling; and Microeconomic and Sectoral Development. It later expanded its emphatic areas by opening additional research centers to form five research centers: Macroeconomic and Trade Research Center, Agriculture and Rural Development Research Center, Micro &Sectoral Development Research Center, Environment and Climate Research Center (ECRC), and the Ethiopian Center for Child Research (ECCR). The institute also had a full-fledged policy analysis unit, Economic Policy Analysis Unit (EPAU).
Numerous studies and research projects had been conducted by the institute. Most of these had been disseminated to stakeholders by way of publication and presentations on workshops, seminars, conferences and discussion forums. The institute had also been contributing in the policy arena. To mention few: it had played a significant role in advising government on price inflation management and on establishment and operation of the country’s commodity exchange;  it had taken an active part in the government’s endeavors to modernize the trade sector through the realization of a modern wholesale trading system; it had supported the formulation of Ethiopia’s second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II) and was supporting the implementation of its Climate Resilient Green Economy strategy (CRGE);

The Policy Study and Research Center (PSRC) was established by the Council of Ministers’ Regulation No 311/2014 in March 2014 with the primary mandate of conducting study and research and initiate policies and strategies. It was established with the mission to conduct policy studies and researches in order to formulate, propose and advise on policy and strategic issues essential for the development of the country. The center was structured along five thematic study and research areas that formed five departments: Agriculture & Bio-economy Affairs Department; Industrial Development Department; Urban Development Department; Macroeconomic Development Department; and Governance and Capacity Building (GCB) Department. Each department had thematic- and sub-thematic areas that correspond to the name of the department.
The center had undertaken several studies and researches that served to inform the government in range of policy issues. It focused on ascertaining the continuity of the on-going political, economic and democratic and good governance initiatives by improving further the policies and strategies as well as by formulating new policy ideas that enable the realization of the objectives in the country's all rounded development moves.