{"id":957791,"date":"2020-08-12T15:49:31","date_gmt":"2020-08-12T20:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/\/"},"modified":"2020-08-13T14:20:31","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T19:20:31","slug":"ott-conference-2020-the-2nd-online-event-a-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/ott-conference-2020-the-2nd-online-event-a-report\/","title":{"rendered":"OTT Conference 2020, the 2nd online event: a report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">OTT Conference 2020: the online events<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were a response to the need to postpone our 2020 conference in Berlin. In June we hosted the second online event and were joined by participants from over 30 countries across the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The event began with the first online academic session led by OTT\u2019s research director, Andrea Baertl. The session included a panel on diversity inequality and representation in think tanks, a presentation on foreign funding and transparency in the USA, and a participatory session on our research agenda. <span class=\"c-note__icon js-note\" data-note=\" If you would like to know more about our research agenda and other opportunities to engage with our research activities, &lt;\/span&gt;&lt;a href=json/_mailto_abaertl%40onthinktanks.json style=&quot;font-weight: 400;&quot;&gt;please get in touch&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: 400;&quot;&gt;.\"><span>+<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the academic session, participants were asked to head over to the main stage for a panel on funding for think tanks with Goran Buldioski (Open Society Foundations), Julie LaFrance (former member of the Think Tank Initiative team), Michael Schwarz (Stiftung Mercator), Henry Alt-Haaker (Robert Bosch Foundation), and Renata Skardziute-Kereselidze (GIP).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second day kicked off with a keynote on data and politics by Varoon Bashyakarla from Tactical Tech , followed by three parallel sessions on how change happens, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on think tank staff, and on how to do research. The third and final day opened with a keynote on the future of politics by Julia Pomares from CIPPEC, followed by three parallel sessions on state capture and think tanks, monitoring evaluation and learning, and diversity in think tanks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over 300 people registered for the event. We recorded all of the sessions and have made these available for anyone to <\/span><a href=playlista88f.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">watch and learn from the exchange<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Below you will find a brief summary of main takeaways from the sessions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DAY 1<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ACADEMIC SESSION<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The academic session is a space to present and discuss research on think tanks and evidence-informed policy. The aim of this space\u00a0 is to further promote the study of this topic, to continue building bridges across the community, and develop ideas together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panel<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Diversity, inequality and representation in think tanks<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Panelists:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Andr\u00e9anne Veillette, Fran\u00e7ois Claveau, and Marcos Gonzales Hernando<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Commentary:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Ajoy Datta<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"iframe-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Academic session: Diversity, inequality and representation\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=vptiwmjighq250f.html frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key takeaways:<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Andr\u00e9anne Veillette<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> ( (Masters student in philosophy at the University of Sherbrooke) and <\/span><b>Fran\u00e7ois Claveau <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Associate Professor at the Universit\u00e9 de Sherbrooke and Canada Research Chair in Practical Epistemology) presented their paper titled \u2018Toward an epistemic evaluation of think tank ecosystems: the case of epistemic justice\u2019 which argues that think tanks need to evaluate on their epistemic excellence (i.e. how well they serve us in our collective quest for knowledge that can improve policy) and that this needs to be done at the ecosystem label (which encompassess not only think tanks but other organisations as well).\u00a0 The paper outlines a framework for this evaluation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Marcos Gonzales Hernando<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Senior Researcher at FEPS-TASC\u00a0 and Visiting Teaching Fellow at the University of Bath) presented progress on his paper on diversity and economic inequality in think tanks. He argued that given that think tanks are often key informants on public policies to tackle issues such as poverty, inequality, and welfare provision, the social provenance of their staff can matter greatly on their views on these topics. The paper aims to understand if there are important barriers of access to the think tank world that derive from economic inequality. If these barriers exist, what effects do they have on the type of work think tanks produce?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Ajoy Datta<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Associate at OTT) offered commentary to the discussion and focused on epistemic justice and how think tanks are contributing to it (or not):<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the credibility of some sources is tarnished, how reliable are think tanks as knowledge producers? There is not one answer to this, but it rather depends on the organisation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are think tanks contributing to epistemic justice? In a way they are, but in others they perpetuate the injustice and value some voices over others. One way to positively contribute is to diversify funding sources as well as staff.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are both internal and external factors that affect epistemic justice (identified in the model presented by Veillete and Claveau). Organisations have more control over the internal ones and so they can also help counterbalance injustice. But, the barriers of entry to a think tank are high (e.g. higher education and networks) and thus a smaller group of people has access to them.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A key aspect is not only diversification but mainly interaction between groups. Diversity should not refer only to backgrounds but also to differences of opinions. Without dissident voices they cannot push forward either.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Participants also asked if there are any examples of think tanks that broadly represent a diverse set of voices and staff that reflects the people they want to help well? How can we look at how power dynamics take place in organisations, beyond the background of their staff? Put differently: how do these inequalities take place in practice? Many organisations started to endorse a gender research agenda, anti-racism and inequality, but it is not clear how they are doing internally on these issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the chatbox!<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>\u00a0Resources shared by participants:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=watchf713.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Diane Stone&#8217;s transnational epistemic networks discussion<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the global level<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4758.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The politics of evidence-based policymaking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (on The Guardian)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4759.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The &#8220;Framework Context Matters&#8221;,<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which looks at how government agencies use evidence to make decisions. Main dimensions of the framework are: macro context, relationships (\u2018ecosystem\u2019), organisational culture, organisational capacity, processes, and resources.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4760.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paul Cairney\u2019s work<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4761.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Politics of Evidence-Based Policy Making<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=watchf713.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Transnational networking and the ways in which think tanks seek to inform global policy debates<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4758.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The politics of evidence-based policymaking<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Presentation<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Foreign funding and transparency<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ben Freeman (Director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative at the Center for International Policy)<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"iframe-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Academic session: Foreign funding and transparency\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=exe3dr41ssq250f.html frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key takeaways:<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Ben <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">presented his paper \u2018<\/span><a href=index-4762.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Foreign funding and transparency<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019 (in the USA) which analyses foreign funding at fifty well-known think tanks based on criteria like the quality and reputation of the think tanks\u2019 research and the reach of its publications. The investigation showed that more than $174 million in foreign funding from over 80 countries went to these top think tanks (through more than 900 donations). The top recipients of foreign funding were the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Center for Global Development (CGD), and Brookings Institution. The top donor countries were Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most important issue was the widely varying levels of transparency about funding sources, ranging from full disclosure of all funders and exact amounts donated, to think tanks that disclose no information about foreign or domestic funding. The main conclusion and recommendation is that to increase transparency think tanks should be required by law to publicly disclose funding from foreign powers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The discussion that followed focused on the following issues:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How does foreign funding to think tanks in the USA compare to funding from the USA to think tanks in other countries?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How does foreign funding compare to corporate funding? What are the implications of both?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much influence do funders really have? What are the various ways in which funders can have influence over think tanks&#8217; agendas, arguments, etc. (other than money, obviously)? Is it possible to avoid influence and still take their money?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How should think tanks have funding conversations with potential funders in relation to the issue of influence?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these questions were still left unanswered and the discussion sparked several interesting future lines of research.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Participatory session<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An agenda for think tank research<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"iframe-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Academic session: An agenda for think tank research\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=jjlkbkukobg250f.html frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this session we presented the framework in which OTT will focus its research on:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>The (evidence-informing policy) environment. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understood as the space in which different actors engage and interact to inform policy and practice decisions, and in which decisions are made and executed. It is the space of interaction with other actors; the engagement and positioning of the organisations, how they engage with governments, businesses, civil society actors and position their research for policy uptake. It also entails understanding the different actors and their roles within the environment and how they interact with each other and policy research organisations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Policy research organisations.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The functioning, history and make up of policy of research organisations within themselves and as a sector.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Cross-cutting issues <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which affect each actor (including policy research organisations), the wider environment and how to mediate the interaction between them.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this framework we shared that our priorities for the year to come will be:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Diversity in think tanks (gender, race and economic background)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The effects of Covid-19 in policy research centres, both within them and\u00a0 in their roles and their positioning in the evidence-informed policy environment<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Participants also suggested specific lines of inquiry:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The role of think tanks in a changed policy environment (in a tech and politicised world)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Translation of policy to action- what works?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New ways to engage with stakeholders in the post COVID-19 world. What lessons can we take from this experience?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DAY 1<\/span><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panel <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Funding for think tanks: lessons from initiatives to support think tanks and implications for the future<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Panelists: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Goran Buldioski (Open Society Foundations), Julie LaFrance (former member of the Think Tank Initiative team), Michael Schwarz (Stiftung Mercator), Henry Alt-Haaker (Robert Bosch Foundation), Renata Skardziute-Kereselidze (Georgian Institute of Politics)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Moderator: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enrique Mendizabal (On Think Tanks)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to unexpected technical difficulties, we do not have a recording for the opening panel, but we\u2019ve done our best to compile key takeaways from the discussion.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A bit of background about the panelists and their work:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Henry Alt-Haaker<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> worked in policymaking before joining RBSG. Recently, RBSG started a new department to bundle all think tank co-operations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Julie LaFrance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> previously worked at the<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think Tank Initiative (TTI), which provided organisational core funding for think tanks over 10 years.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Michael Schwarz<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> talked about Mecator\u2019s dual role as a funder <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a founder of think tanks, which gives them good insights to deliver their work. As founders, Mercator founded Agora Energiewende and MERICS. As funders, they provide institutional funding to think tanks.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Goran Buldioski<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> funded think tanks in Eastern Europe and Western Europe through the Think Tank Fund.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Renata Skardziute-Kereselidze<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> described the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) as a fairly young think tank (it was funded 10 years ago) which has received funding both from OSF and RBSG.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key takeaways <span class=\"c-note__icon js-note\" data-note=\" The key takeaways from the panel on funding for think tanks were compiled thanks to notes from Claire Luzia Leifert, Head of the Policy and Innovation Lab at DGAP. DGAP is a partner of the 2020 On Think Thanks Conference. \"><span>+<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>What have you learned from funding think tanks \u2013 and what do you want to do differently in the future?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We asked Goran and Henry to reflect on lessons from their experience and Julie and Michael to comment on or add any new ideas:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Goran Buldioski, OSF<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have been most effective when we decided to fund \u2018ecosystems\u2019 or the \u2018ecosphere\u2019 rather than individual think tanks alone &#8211; even if that meant that there wasn\u2019t a specific policy decision reached .This often involves fostering proper policy conversations which may then promote good government decisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Institutional funding is important to ensure that the organisations can operate effectively in these ecosystems.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take risks \u2013 go for the potential and recognise that in other developments, think tanks come in generations or waves. Many funders go for the safe bet and fund the same organisations. We gave people and organisations opportunities to prove themselves in the future.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is important to recognise and support other necessary competencies &#8211; such as communication. If you are a good communicator, you will be effective and successful, regardless if you are an academic, a thinktanker or an activist.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fund hybrids! Think tanks that are also doing advocacy, are membership organisations, news outlets, etc. may have an advantage in specific contexts.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Henry Alt-Haaker, RBSG<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take risks \u2013 look for new and different! At RBSG we seek access to expertise that we do not have and need for our work in other fields. Therefore, we need cutting-edge and provocative research and not just what is being published in all mainstream papers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An eye-level conversation and partnership between funders and think tanks is necessary for effective support. In the past there has been a perceived hierarchy and think tanks often did not dare to tell funders if they were setting the wrong priorities. This has to change to be more beneficial for both sides.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Foundations do not just give out money but also access to networks, partnerships and collaborations (often between their grantees).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the past we have mostly worked with Western think tanks but with a changing international order, we have to work more with Southern\/non-Western think tanks. To some extent this means we have to be transparent about values, even if we are non-partisan, and use them as a guideline for a meaningful conversation with grantees.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Julie LaFrance, TTI<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The objective of the TTI was to strengthen think tanks: so we had to counter our inclination to fund \u2018the best\u2019 and focus on those with the highest potential.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Michael Schwarz, Mercator<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes it is about creating provocation and thinking out of the box, but sometimes it is about putting a lot of resources behind a specific issue, like climate change, to understand and convince the people \u2018in the box\u2019 of its importance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Funders can help with building organisational resilience and organisational development. This might create tension, but there\u2019s a fine line between support and overstepping the line.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Renata Skardziute-Kereselidze, Georgian Institute of Politics (GPI)<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s not always easy for think tanks to admit to failures. We rarely receive feedback from donors on our reports or products, so an eye-level conversation would be useful.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What does COVID-19 and new technological developments mean for future think tank funding?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Michael Schwarz<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are likely to see less funding from the private sector \u2013 particularly if the economic crisis continues. But, at the same time, we expect more demand for funding from think tanks which will be faced with greater demand and challenges.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is in a context of greater politicisation, polarisation and societal tension. This itself calls for greater policy innovation. We therefore need non-partisan organisations to help develop policy in our societies. But, we also need to be more vocal about our values and put more energy behind specific policy proposals and ideas.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Julie LaFrance<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think tank funders have so far stayed in their comfort zone in the crisis: they are directing emergency funding to their existing grantees or limiting their responses to increasing flexibility for existing funding in the short term. So more funding will be channelled to fewer think tanks. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the<\/span><a href=index-4763.html> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">OTT COVID-19 survey<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> showed that 20-30% of think tanks surveyed were concerned about their future. Private foundations have the flexibility and should use it to help think tanks weather the storm \u2013 the money might be used towards sometimes just keeping the organisation afloat \u2013 and this should count as a success in these dire circumstances.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If funders can bring grantees to the table as they&#8217;re thinking about their long-term strategies, leverage those relationships and build on trust, that will benefit everyone<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We need to step outside our comfort zone. Requiring collaboration is a good way to bring in new players through existing relationships. Also providing more &#8216;beyond the dollar&#8217; support e.g. networks, training etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Goran Buldioski<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When dealing with a crisis, donors can be more impatient. We want the vaccine yesterday. We also need to be thinking about where the long-term investment is needed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Henry Alt-Haaker<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the challenges for funders is understanding and assessing where there are problems because of COVID-19 and where there are underlying issues.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Renata Skardziute-Kereselidze<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A burning question in many think tanks\u2019 minds is: how do you deal with polarised contexts, both in politics and within civil society and think tanks?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At GIP we&#8217;ve had some success building bridges with Western think tanks, but it&#8217;s challenging. Think tanks from developing countries have different resources, expertise and voice.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Diversity in think tanks: what can funders do?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Goran Buldioski<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is an amazing time for radical ideas \u2013 what was considered radically left just six months ago is now mainstream and published as an OpEd in the Financial Times.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think tanks are not avant garde when it comes to diversity in their ranks. #BlackLivesMatter has changed how people look at all institutions, including think tanks, and they have to step up their game.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Henry Alt-Haaker<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Funders too have to look in the mirror and address issues of structural inequality and ask questions about where their funds come from.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the chatbox!<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Poll results:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What will happen to funding for think tanks in 2021?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(17.5%) It will stay the same<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(74.6%) Down<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(7.9%) Up<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Will think tanks emerge out of this crisis &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(5.3%) Unchanged &#8211; any changes will be transitory only?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(36.8%) Somewhat the same &#8211; with a few upgrades?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(57.9%) Changed &#8211; new leaderships, business models or strategies?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Issues raised in the chat discussion included:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Could funders foster diversity in think tanks, e.g. through diversity requirements for funding, better salaries and long-term contracts in project-based funding? Or by funding minority think tanks to give a stronger voice to them, e.g. think tanks representing Roma views on policy issues?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether the activities that funders got their money from in the first place (stock market, capitalist investments, big industry, etc.) have contributed to the inequality that we are now trying to address in society.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>We also asked participants to share their own takeaways:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Communication is key to get funding. Adapt to audiences and to the media.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COVID-19 is one reason for limiting funds for think tanks, especially from the private sector. It was also an eye-opener for many funders on how some institutions work and interact (in a negative way).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Funders should always pay attention not to over impose views on communication and research agenda.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There should always be trust between funders and grantees, especially now with needed changes in projects and research as some will not happen anymore or will be refocused.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Funders also have responsibility on funding \u2018closed\u2019 research, i.e. research that is not clearly communicated, hidden in reports or that is pure political campaign and not actual research.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If think tanks keep making the same mistakes (and in part the donors are responsible), it ends up discrediting policy research as a whole.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DAY 2<\/span><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keynote 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data and politics<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Varoon Bashyakarla from Tactical Tech<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"iframe-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Keynote: Varoon Bashyakarla from Tactical Tech on data and politics\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=4eauhm-2yf0250f.html frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About Tactical Tech:<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tactical Tech works with a number of think tanks, technologists, technology researchers, journalists, civil society organizations, academics, lawyers in over three dozen countries. Considering the tech products and services that operate openly on the market, they felt there was reason to raise concern about the integrity of our democratic processes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key takeaways:<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When propaganda becomes something that is personalised to each of us based on our personal data footprint, it becomes an issue to be concerned about. Everything we share online is available for those who have the money to sift through it and make targeted campaigns. Data collected on the internet can give advertisers a very intimate understanding of your hobbies and interests and values by tracking you from one website to the other and monitoring your online behaviours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Political campaigns do a lot with the voter data available. One of the most common things they do is run experiments to see what voters are responding to (A\/B testing). A\/B testing, third-party tracking, geotargeting are not new&#8230; although the scale and sophistication has changed. For instance, the Donald Trump campaign\u00a0 ran up to 175,000 variations of its ads.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Geotargeting is another big source of data on where voters are. This technique was used during #blacklivesmatter protests to gather info of protesters to target democratic candidate ads to them. Even more invasive is Geofencing, a sub-technology of Geotargeting. This is a technology in which you can draw a virtual perimeter around a point of interest and send selected messages only to those individuals within the perimeter. This allows individuals, companies, governments or campaigns to draw a fence around specific locations \u2013 could be a neighbourhood, a building or single house or office \u2013 and target everyone inside with carefully designed advertising.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To tackle the issue of the use of our data for political purposes, we have to be sure to focus on the system that produced them and not get caught up in merely the topics of surveillance. Our personal data has become a political asset, a means for political intelligence, and also an instrument for political influence. The same technologies used to sell us shoes, smoothies, plane tickets, lifestyles are now being used to sell us political leaders (and ideas).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The internet as a democratising force has failed. Big tech has come to reinforce traditional power structures. It is now an extension of the same infrastructure in politics behind big oil and big finance. Tech companies privatise the assets, creating spaces for political campaigns to run all year long, but the cost of those dynamics, the ways in which they undermine our democratic foundations and principles, is put on the public.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This calls for think tanks to pay greater attention to the system that creates and uses new technologies \u2013 and not so much on the technologies themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Can this be used for good? Are think tanks or NGOs using these technologies as well? <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are potential democratic benefits- the matter lies in how these technologies are deployed. One of the problems now is that there is a huge informational asymmetry amongst internet users and amongst those developing and building these technologies for their own purposes. Elections should be contested on the basis of ideas, not on who has the better micro targeting strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the chatbox!<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Key questions from participants:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0Has there been any initiative on defense of civil society against the use of these strategies for smear campaigns by autocrats?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much difference do these technologies make to electoral results already? How might the answer to this question evolve over the next few years?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parallel 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How does change happen?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Facilitators:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Jessica White (The RSA), Jeff Knezovich (WHO ), Memory Kachambwa (Femnet), and Ajoy Datta (OTT)<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"iframe-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How does change happen?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=uh51eyzhkc4250f.html frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><b>Facilitators addressed these five questions:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What does change mean to you and your organisation?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How are you working toward bringing about change?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How has Covid-19 affected your approach\/work?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What other barriers and facilitators have you come across and how do you work with them?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are the implications for how thinktankers go about their work?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key takeaways:<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowledge and information can be a useful resource for agents wanting to bring about change. But they need spaces to engage in, and need to be supported by alliances and coalitions. It is useful to have spaces for ideas, people and organisations to come together and explore how they might work together to bring about change<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We need to consider the constellation of\u00a0 actors that make up a \u2018system\u2019 and the relationships they have with one another. Change agents need to be entrepreneurial in how they engage with key stakeholders. Incentives and power dynamics are key considerations.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critical Junctures\u2019 are the scandals, crises or conflicts that can throw the status quo and power relations into the air, opening the door to previously unthinkable reforms. Crises can help to retell and alter deep seated stories and narratives. The Covid-19 crisis has helped to uncover deep seated problems and\u00a0 created an opportunity for change agents to be brought into dialogue with power holders.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is important to have a close-knit team driving the influencing process with high levels of trust and varied expertise, experience and skills.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The digital divide has been a huge barrier and we have seen the reintroduction of radio programmes and school being conducted through TV, but of course it still leaves a lot of people out especially in the African context where data is expensive. This has implications on the roles that individuals, especially the most vulnerable, can play in bringing about change.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Funders need to consider a more complex story of how change happens, acknowledging multiple actors and factors are involved, that change processes are not linear, that it emerges unpredictably over time and can experience reversals. They also need to have resources to fund thinking and creation of discourse, not just action or specific outputs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think tanks all feel compelled to respond to the crisis or else they\u2019ll feel discredited. But if they do, they may well merely add to the noise. They need to think whether this is worthwhile. Visibility is not the be all and end all.\u00a0 They may well be better off spending their scarce resources on getting their head down doing important research.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>From the chatbox!<\/h3>\n<p><b>Resources shared:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More on<\/span><a href=index-4764.html> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the RSA\u2019s work with community banks in the UK<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4765.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The RSA\u2019s think like a system, act as an entrepreneur approach<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4766.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COVID-19 as a Critical Juncture &#8211; A Paper and Open Webinar<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, by Duncan Green<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4767.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A first iteration of the\u00a0 matrix for thinking about change<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (still a work in progress to be refined and improved along the way!)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4768.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Pan-African Women, Girls &amp; Activists COVID-19 Response Plan\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4769.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bumpy road to better health<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From 2008, but still incredibly powerful for people interested in think tanks:<\/span><a href=index-4770.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Learning While Doing: A 12-Step Program for Policy Change, Lawrence MacDonald and Ruth Levine<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=using-theories-of-change-to-inform-implementation-of-health-systems-research-and-innovation-experiences-of-future-health-systems-consortium-partners-in-bangladesh-india-and-ugandadcb3.html>Using theories of change to inform implementation<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parallel 2<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Doing research<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Facilitators:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Francesco Obino (GDN) with the participation of Sharim Ribeira (CERES), Jana Rue Glutting (CESD), Zaw Oo (CESD), Ngu Wah Win (CESD), Adedayo Olufunso James (NACETEM), and Abiodun Ebbetokun (NACETEM)<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"iframe-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Doing research\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=hbvw_uiumiq250f.html frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key takeaways:<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think tanks are part of national (as well as regional and international) research systems and broader political policy regimes. The practice of their work is therefore significantly influenced by the broader research practice. Drawing from the Global Development Network\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Doing Research<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> programme in Indonesia, Bolivia, Nigeria and Myanmar, this session inquired how different research systems condition the nature of think tanks and affect their development, and how the covid-19 pandemic is so far affecting them <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What are\u00a0 the boundaries of think tanks in your country? What roles do they play? And what research do they focus on?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bolivia.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Think tanks are considered research institutions above all. They can be government institutions, non-for-profit organisations, consultancies, applied research institutions or advocacy organisations that do research, and\u00a0 categories are often\u00a0 overlapping. These organisations are considered to play an important role in research and advise and suggest decision making processes. They can play different roles, from advocating for certain policies, monitoring the implementation of others, and even setting the policy agenda. The main topics vary, but mainly they focus on: development, poverty, inequality, economic growth, democracy, social needs, health and education.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Myanmar<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Think tanks in Myanmar are quite young. Most were founded in 2012 when the country went through reforms and liberalisation. Many of those initial ones ceased to function and there was a new surge in 2016 (with IDRC support). They are mostly dependent on external funding, so their agenda is guided by external donors, and they focus on issues like peace, conflict, governance and human rights, as well as socio-economic issues. Think tanks are not yet considered strong enough to do technical research.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nigeria<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In Nigeria, the term think tank can refer to:\u00a0 publicly owned research institutes, functioning under ministries; private consultancies who do social and economic research along with other work; and\u00a0 think tanks , which are privately-owned for-profit organisations that do social and economic research. These organisations typically research only in response to contractual requests from their clients (politicians, donors, government, businesses), and produce quality research, but do not pursue their own agenda. These organisations do research on many things; employment, democracy, education, climate change etc. They produce and disseminate research results and promote uptake. Their focus depends on the political atmosphere<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Is there a visible research agenda around COVID taking shape in your country? What does it focus on? Who is leading it?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nigeria.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Huge body of research emerging. The top questions are: the economic impacts of the pandemic at a macro and micro level; inequality\u00a0 and how the pandemic is deepening existing inequalities; the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable populations (children, women, displaced people); how people are coping with the pandemic (personally, school and education). The government is asking for answers to these questions, and think tanks are being commissioned to do research and come up with plans to solve the issues.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Myanmar.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The private sector is interested in understanding the impact of the pandemic and they are asking think tanks to do surveys and impact assessments, and come up with recovery plans. International populations are interested in helping the population, for example understanding how COVID-19 is impacting workers and what can be done to protect them. Think tanks are using the research they have done in the past to help and support the government and private sector to make sense of things and help make decisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bolivia<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. There is not a national unified research agenda, research is\u00a0 mainly generated by the efforts and interests of individual institutions. Government and private sector are consuming\/demanding this research. They are focusing on: how to face the crisis, how the economy, health and education systems were before and what were the weaknesses and strengths, and how to look forward based on that. The main topics of discussion are:\u00a0 evaluation of economic impact, response of political instances on the expansion of the pandemic, social prevention measures, others: challenges of the healthcare systems, local economic reactivation plans, democracy, food security.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>How has the pandemic affected think tanks as a sector and on the way they operate?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bolivia. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main role of think tanks in the response of the pandemic has been validation and contextualisation of the evidence and passing it on to the public. And even though many think tanks don&#8217;t have direct contact with the government, they provide analysis and monitor their response. The main challenges the crisis has brought are around carrying out research, dealing with remote work, and the use of ICTs. Funding has also been affected: delays, shrinking of available funds, and the agenda shifting to COVID-19 topics (limiting funding on other issues). But there has been an increased connection at the international level.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Myanmar<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Local sector has had to step up, as many international actors have had to leave or stop operations due to the pandemic. This has been an interesting change in the landscape, and an opportunity for Myanmar to reclaim this space. Ongoing activities have been postponed. Finances have been affected, as the\u00a0 international priorities have changed, and funding has stalled.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nigeria.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> There is more competition for funds amongst organisations, and there have been no new organisations. The existing ones\u00a0 are fighting for existing funds, and the crisis will be a test of survival of the fittest.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the chatbox!<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><b>Poll results:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Is having a political agenda a &#8216;bad&#8217; think for a think tank in your country?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(50%) Yes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(50%) No<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Are think tanks in your country open about the data they access and the methodology they use in their research?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(43%) Yes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(57%) No<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Key questions from participants:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are think tanks replacing the role of non-higher education research institutions?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How is generally the connection or cooperation that exists between think tanks and HEIs? Do they cooperate, compete with each other for funds or recognition?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where can I access the Doing Research Assessment reports? Which ones are available?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is GDN planning to implement this research in any other countries?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parallel 3<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People, people, people<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><b>Facilitators:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Sulamba Shaban (STIPRO), Wailea Zuelch (foraus), and Milena Gait\u00e1n (Fundaci\u00f3n Ideas para la Paz)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"iframe-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"People, people, people\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=iqhcqdsimz0250f.html frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key takeaways:<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Different think tanks have faced the crisis differently. foraus is more like a platform for &#8216;bright minds&#8217; to bring and develop ideas \u2013 it has a small workforce as most are volunteers and the pandemic has not been felt as harshly in Switzerland as it has in Colombia. FIP, on the other hand, is a more traditional think tank with a permanent workforce. And STIPRO is a relatively small organisation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Associate-based think tanks (or volunteer-based think tanks) like foraus might be slow in responding to the challenges and opportunities presented by the crisis. Their associates and volunteers also wear other hats which may be more important for them. This demands additional attention to<\/span><a href=index-4771.html> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">foraus\u2019 engagement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with them.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The crisis highlighted the fragility of FIP&#8217;s project-based approach: short-term and unstable. It also reduces the impact necessary for FIP&#8217;s main goal, which is peace building. The crisis has led to a serious rethink about its business model and is now exploring longer term partnerships with international organisations to ensure a long-term agenda.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Without core funding or long-term funding in some countries, think tanks may benefit from partnerships with organisations with access to longer term funding. This, however, reduces their own autonomy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alongside this reflection they have had to respond to the challenges faced by staff. This includes support to working from home, creating opportunities for open discussions and securing staff salaries in the medium-term.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For STIPRO, greater collaboration with larger think tanks is also on the table. But they face an additional challenge of securing their staff employment in the short-term. Support for \u2018keeping the think tank afloat\u2019 has not materialised from their usual (or new) funders.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has been important, in all cases, to think strategically and develop short, medium and long-term scenarios. This enables the think tanks to consider, in advance, what challenges individual team members may face and respond to them in a timely manner.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DAY 3<\/span><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keynote 2<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The future of politics<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0Julia Pomares from CIPPEC<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"iframe-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Keynote: Julia Pomares from CIPPEC on the future of politics\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=gllirtjbgmo250f.html frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key takeaways:<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What do politics look like in 2030?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are two questions Julia has for the future: Was COVID-19 the first in a series of intermittent pandemics that we became used to? (this question is for epidemiologists) Which of the many traits that seem unique to this pandemic will survive after we discover the vaccine?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a political-scientist, Julia tries to answer the second question:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This pandemic coincides with a historic moment of global capitalism. 2020 will mark the end of the transition to this intangible economy of big data and artificial intelligence (Silicon Valley model). We\u2019ve been in this process for some decades and we know a lot about the future of work. But we know too little about the future of politics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The move will be accelerated by COVID-19 for two reasons: 1) it has proved that we can work remotely, and 2) it has increasing digital consumption from our homes. So, if this transition is going to be accelerated, the big question now is what the impact will be on political institutions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Digital transformation is exponential, and it can lead us to think that these exponential changes will also be exponential for institutions. But this is the big question: are we going to follow the mantra of \u2018crisis as an opportunity\u2019, or are we going to have a more modest mantra of \u2018not every crisis is a turning point\u2019?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because it is very difficult to make predictions, it is best to look at the trends that were existing before the first infection and consider if these will be accelerated, stopped, or have a change in course. She looks at four trends:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who rules the world? The U.S. power is deteriorating but will this mark the definite rise of China and will they take the place of the U.S.? This will affect the shape of the multilateral space. While there has not been coordination between governments there has been cooperation at the scientific and corporate level. The pandemic will shape global governance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have seen firms get larger and the pandemic is likely to accelerate the growth of tech companies. In years to come governments will have to negotiate with very large and very powerful private actors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are the social inequalities that we see today will increase? Yes! Among countries and within countries. This acceleration will be evidence in access to services that now have to be delivered remotely. Local leaders will have to respond cleverly in how they invest to fight these inequalities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A deterioration of liberal democracies due to a toxic combination of low trust in politics and low voter turnout. In the short-term, populists may lose ground but in the medium-term the causes of populism may be reinforced and bring them back to power.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The role of AI is very important, and we should not be focusing on how to improve the provision of services (we know that that is going to happen), but rather on what the role of AI is to promote accountability and transparency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The great challenge we are facing is how to build a hybrid democracy: this means an augmented democracy and not less less or a deteriorated democracy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And what will think tanks like CIPPEC look like in 2030? Thinktankers will also be hybrids, using both AI applications and old-school research methods. Teams will certainly be more multi-disciplinary.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greater global collaboration will be a common feature of think tanks and think tanks will have a greater ability to influence policy globally.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the chatbox!<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>\u00a0<\/b><b>Resources shared by participants:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=index-4772.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Julia&#8217;s article on the future of politics (in spanish)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4773.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have a chat with CIPPEC\u2019s bot on the future of politics<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Comments and questions from participants:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To Julia: You mentioned that there will be or is an increased acceleration of inequalities and this will affect Africa possibly even more. And since you mentioned that the major players are East and the West, what can think tanks in Africa do to mitigate these inequalities? How can Africa find its footing for the future?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When technology is disrupting the very fundamental mechanisms of democracies, rendering the very governments who uphold these fundamental values dysfunctional (government shutdowns), the very capitalistic systems are incentivised by capital and profit, which drive the influence industries. Does that mean that our political systems should also adapt to these technological changes? Do we need to come together to build \u2018Democracy 2.0\u2019?,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&#8217;s also look at how complex something like the COVID-19 tracing apps are. These technologies can be clever, but they also can really fall over in everyday experience. How do you distinguish between a driver and a passenger looking at the phone?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parallel 4<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State capture and think tanks\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Facilitator: <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sonja Stojanovic Gajic (former director of the\u00a0 Belgrade Centre for Security Policy)<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"iframe-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"State capture and think tanks\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=d795m2tuah8250f.html frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key takeaways:<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The best way to describe state capture is through a story:<\/span><\/span>The Belgrade Waterfront project was designed as a project of modernisation in the banks of the river Sava, in downtown Belgrade.<\/p>\n<p>What was worrying about this project was that, in order to build it, they needed to destroy a number of old buildings and warehouses and change the urban plan for the city. To be able to take the project forward, they adopted a special law that put this project above the country\u2019s constitution and all other documents on legislation related to urban planning, environment, traffic, etc. It was justified as a project of strategic interest for a country. They thought this would make everything go smoothly, but it didn\u2019t, because the property in this area had owners and they didn\u2019t want to sell it.On election night, in the Spring of 2016, a group of masked men arrived with bulldozers and destroyed private property, warehouses, etc in the area. People living in the neighborhood called the police, but they only arrived the morning after. There is evidence that they had an order to not show up while the night operation was going on. Also, the electricity was turned off in the area during the night to avoid fires. This is all proof that the violence and destruction was state-sponsored.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is an example of state capture because it shows all the elements: you can take public goods (part of the city) for private benefit, it\u2019s done through legislative \/ institutional means, and it uses different branches of power for it to happen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State capture has three distinctive characteristics: 1) It is about the capture of the rules of the game (i.e. changing the legislation) for the benefits of the private interest, 2) the capture of political \/ narrative ideology to legimitise a new system, and 3) the capture of political competition to be able to select the who is allowed to play and eliminate the competitors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What\u2019s important to highlight is that this context is not the consequence of lack of development or lack of resources, knowledge or capacity. It\u2019s actually an intentional and well-designed process of well-connected groups of people who change the rules of the game so they can benefit.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Africa is the first country that has officially been named a captured state. There has been a lot of work by think tanks to educate both the national and international audience on the concept. They have developed the phrase \u2018repurposing institutions\u2019, which means that institutions stay, but they serve a purpose different to their formal mandates. Rather, they exist to fulfill four functions: limit competition, enable extraction of resources, decrease checks and balances (i.e. with the civil society and the media, who are often the target in captured states), and to maintain impunity. This is why judiciary, law-enforcement and intelligence services are key for state capture to survive.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Narratives and political processes are important for state capture. State capture is always a political process\u2026 There are varieties of state capture, which are often masked under other \u2018intentions\u2019: revolution, modernization, privatization, fight against corruption, social justice, nationalism, security, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What does state capture mean for think tanks? This speaks to their role and their resilience and impact.\u00a0 Think tanks in captured states have to consider who they want to influence and if\u00a0 the policymakers should remain their primary targets.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>From the chatbox!<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Poll results:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you live in or work with the organisations in a captured state?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(18.2%) I&#8217;m not sure<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(27.3%) No<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(54.5%) Yes<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How does state capture affect your work?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(33.3%) Other<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(33.3%) We have been a target of pressure or attacks<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(11.1%) We have directly engaged with the topic of state capture<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(22.2%) We have not yet been affected<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(0.0%) We are not seriously affected<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you want to join the community of practice on think tanks and captured states? <a href=json/_mailto_info%40onthinktanks5ed7.json>Drop us an email<\/a>!<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parallel 5<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beyond crisis management: adapting your impact strategy through organisational learning\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Facilitators:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Dena Lomosfky (Southern Hemisphere) and Claire Luzia Leifert (German Council on Foreign Relations \u2013 DGAP)<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"iframe-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Beyond crisis management- adapting your impact strategy through organisational learning\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=jj5df0sw7a8250f.html frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learning is a muscle to be developed- people in think tanks have to be comfortable with discussing learning, failure and improvement.<br \/>\nDena Lomofsky<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key takeaways:<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think tanks have had to adapt their work considerably due to the pandemic and lockdowns. Going digital has offered new opportunities but also challenges with regards to our impact and what impact we are having on our audiences. How can we know what our audiences need from us now, and how can we know what impact we are having on policy\u2026 now that we are all working remotely?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn despite the crisis. Don\u2019t put it on hold because it&#8217;s critical for your organisation\u2019s survival. political processes are always complex, but during a crisis our environment is changing quickly and more profoundly.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A static annual strategy offers little flexibility- and might not be applicable during a crisis. However, if you just focus on crisis management, you are merely reacting to short-term needs instead of agenda-setting. How can you find a balance between these two? Constant organisational reflection process enables agile management- with or without a crisis.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dena Lomofsky<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A learning organisation has many definitions, but one that resonates most is from the Harvard Business Review, which states that a learning organisation is an organisation which is skilled at creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge. And then <\/span><b>modifying its behavior <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to reflect new knowledge and insights.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">M&amp;E has typically been about accountability, and increasingly about learning. However, often you end up using your M&amp;E to prove that you are doing what you have committed to do. Learning, however, is about using information that you have to improve. How do we make sure that we are implementing appropriate strategies?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, a learning organisation will be asking if their impact strategy still makes sense, and if they should be doing something differently.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think to yourselves: can you actually be truly accountable without learning? Learning and accountability need each other. If you are not learning, you are just setting yourself to make the same mistakes and setting yourself up to make the same mistakes over and over again. As think tanks, we need to learn to respond to uncertainty.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evaluative thinking is a way of thinking that is underpinned by dialogue, reflection, learning and improving. Evaluation is not seen purely as an assessment, inquiry or accountability mechanism. It\u2019s an opportunity to learn and improve, and part of our organisational culture.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learning organizations need three things: framework, evidence and opportunity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everything is possible, but it\u2019s really important to bear in mind that we are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. Not everyone has the same access, experience or lives in contexts with the same internet connectivity. During a crisis, personal contexts are really relevant. Consider diversity and avoid privileging those that have access.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Claire Luzia Leifert (on the experience of DGAP on adjusting to the COVID-19 crisis and trying to learn from it):<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think about the needs of your audiences: recognise that what they were working on before might have changed. What do they need from you now and how do they want to communicate with you?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For their mid-year review (which had to take place online), they opened with a guiding question: How has COVID-19 changed the conditions and impact of our work? To answer this, they used a collective reflection process.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What did they learn from a three-hour strategy workshop with 50+ people online?\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not everyone is a digital native, so acknowledge this and be empathetic.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make people feel comfortable with the tech. Use it during preparation, do a briefing call, prepare a tech info sheet.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Build distributed ownership for process and outcome in the organisation. Let people from all departments sign up for different roles in the workshop.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find a co-facilitator. It\u2019s easier and more fun- for you and the participants.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enable self-organised cross-departmental exchange.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On adapting impact tactics during COVID-19 they\u2019ve learned that:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Purpose: learning despite and from the crisis<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask your target group:how have their environment and needs changed?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review your theory of change (see it as a living document!)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set priorities: what can be achieved under these new circumstances?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hans Gutbrod then joined the discussion:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s useful to think about how other organisations think about quality in other sectors. We broadly understand what has happened, but from what he reads on think tank papers, the mistakes are always the same ones. These are easily avoidable: it\u2019s researchers who think through a deductive structure mentally and then push that deductive structure out onto an audience which ideally should include ministers or deputy ministers, and they\u2019re never going to read this thing&#8230; Because it was a blog post that was extended into a paper.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is about really understanding quality control: we know what works and it is constant iteration cycles.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First thing to ask is what is the lessons learned process- one that is truly inclusive and led by the head or lead acknowledging their own mistakes. This way, learning has to be broken down into the normal work-flow.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the chatbox!<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Poll results:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For learning in your organisation, are you doing &#8220;lessons learned&#8221; reviews after every (research) project?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(37.5%) Not yet<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(56.3%) Sometimes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(0.0%) Yes, often<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(6.3%) Yes, always<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In terms of organisational learning, COVID-19 has:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1 (5.9%) Not changed much<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7 (41.2%) Reduced opportunities to reflect about our work<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9 (52.9%) Allowed us to reflect about our work and its impact<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Resources shared by participants:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mural.co for virtual workshops<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Menti as a mobile app for voting (the 2&#215;2 matrix voting feature on www.menti.com is great)<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Otter.ai for auto-transcription<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4774.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thinking pairs<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4775.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learning questions<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Key questions from participants:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You have described how you adapted your internal formats, what about external formats? Did you shift your policy advice from group meetings\/formats to bi-laterals?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There&#8217;s an interesting tension in a crisis where learning and reflecting becomes almost more essential in organisations. But there is often an even greater lack of time to dedicate to this, when people are trying to practically respond to the crisis itself. Any innovative suggestions on how to overcome this challenge?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you want to join the community of practice on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for think tanks? <a href=json/_mailto_info%40onthinktanks3af8.json>Drop us an email<\/a>!<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parallel 6<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discrimination in think tanks<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Facilitator:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Ajoy Datta (On Think Tanks)<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"iframe-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Discrimination in think tanks\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=dodqujjpy1o250f.html frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key takeaways:<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People who are visibly different from the majority in a group tend to draw the group\u2019s attention, which can have several different effects. One of these is to disproportionately be on the receiving end of passive and active (and often subtle) acts of aggression (especially if they are seen as having less power\/authority). This might range from receiving jibes, having proposals and suggestions met with bewilderment and hostility, having authority undermined, through to being passed over for promotion, being paid less than people with comparable experience\/knowhow as well as suffering from constructive dismissal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is the reason for this treatment some sort of discrimination? It\u2019s\u00a0 hard to know the reasons for such treatment, especially when those who are experiencing this are somewhat isolated. Organisations can be traumatic places, whoever you are and all of us by virtue of being human can be pretty difficult at times. In organisations, early attachment patterns with parents or early care givers can play out. We can find ourselves replicating family dynamics and relational patterns \u2013 as families are usually the first \u2018group\u2019 we are a part of. This dynamic is known as transference. Moreover, someone from a minority group may well have views and perspectives that differ from those from the majority group. Minority views are not often listened to and embraced but met with intense feelings such as anger.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But from a psychological perspective, people often find it socially acceptable to project difficult feelings\u00a0 onto an \u2018out group\u2019, a marginalised group.\u00a0 It\u2019s more socially acceptable to do so. They&#8217;re seen as weaker and less likely to come back and are likely to have fewer allies to lean on. They might be women, in a male dominated environment, people of colour in a mainly white environment. There\u2019s often no clear way of telling that this is happening and whether this is to do with race, class gender, or other forms of identity (both visible or invisible). Sometimes it is hard to disentangle one form of discrimination from another. And when those who are experiencing this do call out such treatment, they may well be \u2018gaslighted\u2019.\u00a0 For people who are discriminated against, this ultimately takes its toll leading to trauma and suffering.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People talk about the need to gather robust evidence before we can have a discussion about how big a problem this is and what we can do about. But this sort of evidence is very hard to gather on an issue such as this (partly due to denial). At the same time,\u00a0 we\u00a0 tend to give privilege to certain types of evidence &#8211; quantitative data, published in peer reviewed academic journals, but less to stories. Stories\/testimonies provide a more bottom up, personal perspective, which can accommodate contradictions and are sensitive to context. OTT aims to collect stories of think tankers from around the world who have experienced or are experiencing some form of discrimination in a bid to raise awareness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Issues that emerged during the discussion included:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some think tankers often inflict suffering on others unconsciously<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The lack of role models to inspire younger BAME groups (or people of colour) to consider a career in a think tank<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The continued prevalence of racial stereotypes that dominate many people\u2019s thinking which prevent BAME groups from being hired and promoted<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think tanks tend to draw from elite universities which are themselves often shaped by racial hierarchies<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think Tanks often put on a good impression to external audiences but internally can be traumatic places to work<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s often no safe space within the life of a think tank for people who are experiencing discrimination to share their difficulties. Pubs and sports teams might be seen as informal safe spaces, but they can also be exclusionary. Open plan offices can prevent people from having private conversations. Digital spaces may have created spaces for these sorts of conversations to take place<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think tank managers need to muster the courage and allocate resources to carve out space in daily routines to bring people together and bring to the surface the trauma and discrimination people are experiencing.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think tank managers may not have the capacity to conduct a good hiring process that results in diverse candidates.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the chatbox!<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Poll results:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is there a discrimination problem in think tanks?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(72.7%) Yes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(27.3%) No<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Resource shared by participants:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=index-4776.html><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sam Friedman and Daniel Laurison&#8217;s The Class Ceiling<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The OTT Conference 2020: the online events were a response to the need to postpone our 2020 conference in Berlin. In June we hosted the second online event and were joined by participants from over 30 countries across the world. The event began with the first online academic session led by OTT\u2019s research director, Andrea [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[220,2636,2640,2641,235,868,2634],"class_list":["post-957791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-communication","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-crisis","tag-digital","tag-technology","tag-think-tanks-and-technology","article-types-opinion","people-ajoy-datta","people-andrea-baertl","people-enrique-mendizabal","theme-communications","theme-funding-and-support-think-tanks","theme-governance-and-management","theme-research","theme-understanding-think-tanks"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=957791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957791\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=957791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=957791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}