Addis Ababa — With all the research and knowledge think tanks conduct and amass, it would be fair to assume they have great influence on policy. But this is not the case for all, heard the over 100 delegates at the 2ndAfrica Think Tank Summit currently taking place in Addis Ababa.
"How have you as think tanks exploited private public partnerships to influence policy?" Mr. Stephen Karingi, Director for Regional Integration and Trade at the ECA, posed the question to the 65 African think tanks represented. He gave examples of successes, failures and missed opportunities highlighting "getting African leadership to be committed to intra Africa trade" as one of the think tanks' greatest achievements in impacting policy.
Despite missing opportunities to influence policy during the beginnings of the post-colonial era, where the continent suffered "a hang-over of geopolitical divide," witnessed by placing national interests before regional or continental concerns, Mr. Karingi praised African think tanks for making leaders aware that "the potential for intra African trade is huge."
The capability to influence exists in many forms, however, Mr. Karingi advised think tanks to avoid distraction offered by emerging problems and concentrate on research and policy shaping for long-term development. He also encouraged think tanks to form coalitions across nations to have more resonance.
Cross-border and regional collaborations; strong partnerships and networks not only aid the influence level of think tanks; they also enhance their sustainability, according to Mr. John Omiti, Executive Director at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis. He pointed out sustainability is further affected by funding, quality of think tank personnel and impartiality.
On funding, Ms. Eugenia Kayites, the Executive Director of the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research, urged think tanks to balance between resource mobilization and their own mandate. Her think tank talked directly with policy makers and came up with a strong marketing strategy to raise their own funds through, for example, training other organisations. Loosing government funding can be blessing in disguise as it pushes think tanks to "focus on core competencies," she said.
Getting money into the coffers of a think tank is a road filled with difficulties and traps but it does not need to be so, Ms. Josephine Ngure of the African Development Bank told delegates. Like all organisations who take pride in their work, think tanks fear loosing their autonomy and operational independence because of influence from donors.
Although it is difficult to achieve both intellectual and financial autonomy, "autonomy has to be backed by intellectual power and think tanks must strive to have intellectual autonomy that can be used to leverage credibility," advised Ms. Ngure.
Referring to partnerships between think tanks and the private sector, delegates stressed, "Africans have to see value in the think tanks" in order to donate to them. Think tanks are encouraged to demonstrate continued value addition and seek out policy makers' discourse if they want to want to attract funding.
In other discussions, think tank representatives were urged to adopt technologies due to their impact and potential to exert greater influence. Technologies are getting smaller, faster and more powerful and that's the competition that think tanks face, stated Mr. Jim McGann from the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Other participants also stressed the need to embrace marketing technics and do more to understand the realities on the ground.
"Think tanks must be willing to adapt to a changing world; they must understand the realities of the African people in order to sustain their relevance, especially in critical areas such as terrorism and economic development," said Mr. Abdalla Hamdok, Deputy Executive Secretary, ECA.
