SO Hengvotey

Program Manager

With eight years of experience in research, Votey has built a strong foundation in policy analysis through evidence-based approaches. Her expertise encompasses both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, with a focus on the digital economy, digital trade and e-commerce, gender and inclusive development, good governance, and skills development. She holds a Master’s degree in Development and Sustainability from the Asian Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s degree in Economic Development. Votey has previously worked as the policy researcher for the Digital Economy and Business Committee and Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI), and various development organizations, where she contributed to national policy formulation and international research projects. She is particularly interested in advancing digital transformation through the use of data analytics to support evidence-based policymaking, especially in response to economic shocks, crises, and broader development challenges.

Email : hengvotey.so@cdri.org.kh


SO Hengvotey


International Publications

Drawing on 203 quantitative surveys with women workers in Cambodia and a further set of semi-structured interviews with 60 original participants, this paper is one of the very first to present empirically grounded research from garment workers on the financial challenges of navigating the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We show how in the maki...

Working Papers 116

Youth make up one-third of the Cambodian population. This generation was born after the Khmer Rouge years and has grown up with the idea of regular competitive elections in a multi-party system. The youth cohort forms an increasingly significant proportion of the national electorate. This report analyses the results from a nationally representa...


Over the past two decades, Cambodia has made significant economic progress, with growth being over 7%. The opportunity exists to underpin this progress towards an inclusive and equitable social contract by strengthening social capital, expanding trust among social groups and between groups and the government, establishing and improving access to pa...


COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe disruption of the global garment industry such as manufacturing shutdowns, consumer lockdowns, order cancellation of suppliers, and lack of raw materials. However, social protection in Cambodia remains limited coverage to address livelihoods as a result of factory suspension and layoffs.This study focuses on unde...


This study aims to fill this gap in research by conducting a Gender and Inclusive Development Analysis (GIDA) combining qualitative and quantitative approaches. The GIDA is intended to inform USAID’s work plans regarding the Cambodia Country Development Strategy (CDCS) for 2020-2025 by providing a rationale, data and recommendations of which gender...


A five-year project called ‘Education Research for Effective Policy Reforms’ with a total funding of USD446,713 aims to produce independent, objective, high quality policy-relevant higher education research, and to maximise the accessibility of this knowledge to policymakers, influencers and stakeholders, and its policy impact. This project also wo...