As someone new to the think tank community, OTT conferences, and the African continent, I arrived in Johannesburg with much anticipation and few expectations. Following in the footsteps of IDEAS Malaysia’s former CEO Tricia Yeoh, whose 2024 keynote still echoes favourably among returnees, I wondered what would be made of my Australian-cum-Malaysian participation.
Across two days that were long in hours but somehow kept the jet-lagged masses in high spirits, the conference provided the perfect setting for learning from collective experience. The generosity with which participants shared their experiences stimulated critical thinking on pressing issues for the sector and encouraged camaraderie among think tankers from richly diverse backgrounds.
I couldn’t help but recognise much commonality among diversity. From both formal sessions and casual conversations during breaks, it’s clear that research and organisational leaders face strikingly similar challenges in vastly different contexts. Perspectives from Africa to South America, developing and developed countries, and from starry-eyed newcomers to seasoned veterans, that resonated with my rapidly forming raison d’être as IDEAS’ research lead.
Among the many points of resonance, four are worth specific highlight:
- Opportunities for ‘co-creation’ — when Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi spoke of the potential for think tanks across Africa to work together, each harnessing individual strengths to support collective ‘co-creation’ towards evidence-based advocacy, I drew an immediate parallel with the Malaysian think tank landscape. While still learning the particulars of this landscape, forging closer cooperation with other think tanks around shared research and advocacy interests would appear likely to broaden opportunities for all involved. Mavis’ words inspired a sense of action to support simmering intent.
- Communicating research with purpose — a common theme that emerged in many parallel sessions was the challenge of research communication. Think tank leaders want researchers who understand the contemporary relevance of their studies and who can persuasively contribute to evolving debate. Many researchers struggle with this task across some or all communications mediums, which presents organisations with a choice to either upskill or rehire researchers, or to engage communications experts to lend support. The latter then opens a new frontier, needing to synchronise research and communications. One parallel session suggested a need to elevate communications in the organisational hierarchy, a second identified and proposed university curriculum changes to support the development of communications skills among future researchers, while a third saw an equal need to create a receptive ecosystem for expert voices by tackling misinformation.
- Influencing different policymakers and shapers — Damien King spoke with impact and purpose in delivering a keynote on policy influence. He persuasively identified a need to adapt research and policy communications to three key audiences with distinct motivations: politicians, bureaucrats, and the general population. His thoughts rippled through a parallel session on ‘getting policy unstuck’ and inspired me to facilitate a further conversation offering insights from my and others’ experiences as former civil servants. Establishing a joint mission that aligns the think tank, policymaker and public interests should be at the heart of policy influence.
- The adoption of tools and technologies, including AI — when prompted to describe ‘AI and I’, what sprang to mind was ‘AI and I are occasional bedfellows with trust issues’. While perspectives on AI and technological change vary greatly, it seemed almost all fellow attendees were grappling with the threats and opportunities AI poses. Can AI be relied upon to automate labour-intensive activities like literature reviews, or as a shortcut to expanded outreach? Should early career aspirants fear AI replacing entry-level jobs, or see it as an accelerator to complementary high-skilled jobs? And does adoption of AI for research create opportunities for early movers to increase productivity, or does it risk denigrating a think tank brand based on rigour and expertise? There appear to be no clear-cut answers, but an imperative for think tank leaders to be actively considering these questions.
Along with these thoughts, I offer my sincerest thanks to everyone in the OTT team and the wider community who contributed to a memorable and meaningful conference. I can only hope (and plot) to be part of next year’s conference in Morocco!