Compared to other Buddhist countries in Asia, relatively little has been known to outsiders about Theravada Buddhism and its social and cultural impact at the village level (where more than 80 percent of the population resides) in Cambodia. The first American anthropologist to do field work in Cambodia was in 1959-60 and few others availed themsevles of the opportunity in the 1960s. Then, for or at least two decades, the country was effectively closed to independent scholarly inquiry until the early 1990s.

      The Center for Advanced Study (CAS), an independent Cambodian institute for social research that began operating in 1993, published five articles on "Buddhism in Cambodia" and a number of statistical tables in its 1996 (v.II, n.2) issue of Cambodia Report. The special issue was co-edited by Hean Sokhom and Peter Gyallay-Pap, KEAP's founder and exeuctive director. In that year it also prepared a proposal for research on "Buddhism and Social Renewal in Cambodia" (see below). In 1997, CAS conducted an anthropological field study, mainly in Battambang province, on Buddhist grassroots democracy and development, whose findings stand as an alternative to the western-type development being promoted in Cambodia by the international aid community. Other field research conducted in the mid to late 1990s in Kmapong Thom province revealed the  (ongoing) historical existence of Buddhist self-help principles and (below-the-radar) organiations that improve the quality of villagers' lives..

     In a country where disinterested social research by Cambodians is still in its infancy, KEAP seeks to build on these recent initiatives to promote further research in this field by aspiring Cambodian social and cultural researchers.

 
Through the Center for Advanced Study, KEAP seeks to provide research fellowships to qualified Cambodians to conduct and publish research on aspects of the general theme, "Buddhism and Social Renewal in Cambodia." In cooperation with the Buddhist Institute, Royal University of Phnom Penh, and the Cambodia office of the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient, the CAS project is designed in part to improve the research capacity and skills of Cambodian academics who teach at the University or work in the Buddhist Institute. Conducting research into their own religious as well as social, cultural, legal, and political traditions is a need for Cambodians as they attempt to recover from an unprecedented time of troubles. At CAS, senior researchers from abroad (Khmer and non-Khmer) work as advisors and trainers with local researchers and academics on policy-related research affecting the development of the country. CAS has some 20 affiliated Cambodian staff members who have over the years received on-the-job training experience as research assistants or associates. It only takes a minimum of $300 per month (depending on qualifications and experience) to provide full fellowship support for a Cambodian researcher at the Center.