Linking Think Tank Performance, Decisions, and Context

With the rise of independent policy research institutions in low- and middle-income countries, there has been an increase in research around the role of context factors in the effectiveness of think tanks in countries across the globe. However, there remains a limited understanding of the specific and nuanced relationships between context and impact.  Further there has been limited translation of research to actionable lessons for strengthening the voice and influence of policy research organizations.

Rather than passively allowing political, geographic, and social factors to affect their influence, think tanks are developing strategies, research and communications decisions based on these factors to the extent that they are identifiable. This presents an opportunity for think tanks and donors to leverage ‘positive’ context factors and mitigate ‘negative’ factors through their decisions. In order to do so, a more nuanced understanding of context, designed to unearth the categories, relationships, and behaviors of think tanks within the local contexts is required to shift from discussion to concrete, evidence-based action that think tanks and donors alike can take to define and mitigate the confounding role that context may play.

The Linking Think Tank Performance, Decisions, and Context project aims to explore the strategic behavior of think tanks in response to the political, economic and social systems in which they operate, in an effort to further understand the unique interrelationships that exist between context factors and a think tank’s ability to influence change in the developing world. R4D, in partnership with Mary Kay Gugerty and Steve Kosack from the University of Washington, sets out to achieve these goals through the completion of expert interviews, literature review, comparative case studies, and an extensive survey of think tanks. In so doing, we aim to identify ways in which think tanks can better position themselves in relation to these context factors, so as to perform more effectively and achieve desired goals, which will be translated into actionable, accessible and useful results for think tanks and donors.