Research & Development
Facilitating R&D across diverse disciplines in Sri Lanka and beyond.
Centre for Research and Innovation Services
CRIS is a non-profit company limited by guarantee, dedicated to advancing multidisciplinary research and innovation spanning science, technology, social sciences and beyond through partnerships at home and abroad.
Co-host & Organising Partner
CRIS is proud to co-host and organise the next edition of NEW2AN — a long-running international conference on Next Generation Wired/Wireless Networking and Smart Spaces. For 2026, the conference comes to Colombo, Sri Lanka, bringing global researchers together with our regional innovation community.
About
The Centre for Research and Innovation Services was incorporated in 2018 as a guarantee-limited company under the Companies Act of Sri Lanka. Originally focused on science and technology, our portfolio has since expanded to include a broad spectrum of disciplines including arts, humanities and social sciences bringing researchers together to share expertise, accelerate knowledge transfer, and create solutions with real social impact.
CRIS facilitates partnerships, secures funding pathways, and provides advisory and project management services that help ideas mature into deployable outcomes. We also offer research ethics review & training while we pursue formal accreditation locally and globally.
Objectives
Facilitating R&D across diverse disciplines in Sri Lanka and beyond.
Promoting innovation through research to drive new inventions and ideas.
A space for researchers from every field to interact and share expertise.
Advancing knowledge with a clear commitment to the public good.
Building local and international R&D partnerships and funding channels.
Securing investment and funding opportunities for innovative ventures.
Specialist advisory services across emerging research and technology domains.
Developing new product ideas and strategising prototyping pathways.
Targeted market research into products, services and social outcomes.
End-to-end management of research and product development projects.
Capacity building across the scientific, technological and social ecosystem.
Services
From early-stage ideation to full project execution, CRIS supports academia, industry, government and civil society with end-to-end research services.
Cross-disciplinary teams assembled around real-world problems.
Linking local teams with global institutions and collaborators.
Connecting researchers and ventures to grants, donors and capital.
Disciplined delivery of research and product development programs.
Pathways from concept to validated, working prototype.
Advisory IRB-style review and guidance for Sri Lankan researchers, while CRIS pursues formal accreditation locally and globally.
Specialist guidance across science, engineering and applied research domains.
Targeted research into technology products, services and emerging sectors.
Workshops, training and ecosystem development for researchers.
Membership
CRIS membership opens access to a multidisciplinary network of researchers, institutions and industry with opportunities to collaborate, learn and lead.
Become a member →Operational Team
Our operational leadership drives execution across research, ethics, finance, partnerships and innovation translating CRIS's mandate into delivered outcomes.
View Board of Directors & Founders →Academic Affairs & Ethics Lead
Dr. Saisanthani Sridharan
Project Execution & Finance Lead
Umanda Wijesundara
Senior Research & Innovation Manager
Anushka Panawenna
Ecosystem and Alliances Lead
Dinusha Kornkaduwa
Senior Operations Manager
Manodya Nabadawewa
Collaborators
CRIS works alongside TRACE Expert City, Colombo's hub for technology, research and innovation enterprises as a key collaborator and host.

Contact
Whether you're a researcher, institution or industry partner we'd like to hear from you.