Session purpose
This session introduced the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) and its work supporting locally led economic analysis and policy advice across the Global South. It explored how PEP helps researchers and think tanks strengthen their research capacity, engage policymakers and contribute more directly to evidence-informed policy processes.
The session focused on PEP’s role as a bridge between Southern researchers, governments, development partners and global research communities. It also invited participants to consider how PEP’s services could support local think tanks, where additional capacity gaps remain, and how new partnerships could expand the reach and relevance of Southern-led policy research.
Main conveners and contributors
The session was convened by Jane Mariara, Executive Director of the Partnership for Economic Policy. The session was designed to help participants understand PEP’s approach and services for think tanks, and to identify how Conference participants might engage with or contribute to PEP’s mission.
The discussion included contributions from PEP representatives and participants interested in research capacity, policy engagement, institutional strengthening, evidence synthesis, behavioural science, and possible collaborations in countries and regions including Africa, Papua New Guinea, South Africa and Morocco.
Main presentation and framing
The session presented PEP as an organisation with more than 20 years of experience strengthening Southern research capacity. It has trained more than 1,400 local researchers across 70 countries, with an emphasis on gender parity, local expertise and policy relevance.
The core problem PEP addresses is the structural imbalance in development research. The notes highlighted that 73% of articles in top development journals come from Northern researchers, only 10% of leading development conferences involve Southern institutions, and fewer than 10% of flagship projects by the World Bank and UNDP include contributions from developing country researchers. PEP’s work responds to this imbalance by supporting Southern researchers to lead, publish, engage policymakers and shape development policy debates.
PEP’s model combines research grants, scientific mentoring, policy mentoring, peer review, training, access to software, global networks and direct engagement with policymakers. This integrated approach aims to build both research quality and policy influence.
Main debates
1. Southern research capacity is still structurally constrained
A central theme was that Southern researchers face persistent barriers to visibility, funding, data access, publication and participation in global policy debates. These barriers are not only individual skills gaps; they are structural features of the global research system.
PEP’s model seeks to shift knowledge generation closer to the countries and communities affected by development policy. This means supporting local researchers not only to collect data, but to define questions, conduct analysis, engage policymakers and influence decisions.
2. Capacity building must be embedded in real research
The session emphasised that PEP’s training is not mainly classroom-based. It is embedded in active research projects. Researchers receive grants and mentoring while working on policy-relevant questions with real stakeholders.
This makes capacity building more practical and more likely to influence policy. Scientific mentors support research quality, while policy mentors help teams navigate stakeholder engagement, dissemination and uptake.
3. Policy engagement starts at project design
PEP’s approach involves policymakers from the beginning of research projects, not only at the dissemination stage. This co-production model helps ensure that research questions are relevant, that policymakers understand the evidence, and that findings are more likely to be used.
Examples from Cameroon showed how PEP-supported research on climate change and rural development contributed to collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and further work on macroeconomic modelling for policy decisions.
4. Institutional capacity matters more than individual training alone
Participants discussed the challenge of researcher turnover. Researchers may move into administrative roles, leave projects, or reduce their active research output as their careers progress. This can weaken continuity if capacity building is focused only on individuals.
PEP therefore increasingly works with institutions, including think tanks that are directly engaged with the government. This helps retain capacity within organisations and supports more durable evidence-informed policymaking systems.
5. Capacity building is never finished
The session challenged the idea that capacity building can be completed through one-off training. Policy problems evolve, research methods change, staff move on, and new areas of expertise emerge.
PEP argued for continuous investment in research capacity, mentoring and peer networks. This is especially important in specialised areas where Southern research capacity may still be thin, such as behavioural science.
6. PEP’s role is engagement, not traditional advocacy
Participants raised the need for support after research is completed, especially around policy influence and advocacy. Moroccan think tanks, for example, highlighted gaps in support for post-research engagement.
PEP clarified that its role is closer to stakeholder engagement than formal advocacy. It supports researchers and think tanks in connecting evidence with policy actors, including diverse voices, and improving uptake, while maintaining a focus on research quality and policy relevance.
7. Open access supports institutional memory
The session highlighted that PEP makes its research outputs publicly available through its online portal. This helps new researchers, policymakers, and partners access previous work, even when individual researchers move on.
Open access was presented as part of the solution to knowledge loss and institutional memory challenges. Documentation, continuity requirements and team-based research help ensure that insights are not lost when people transition.
8. Partnerships can extend reach and expertise
PEP works with organisations such as the African Union, the World Bank, the Economic Research Forum, and other research bodies. These partnerships allow PEP to participate in multi-country projects, pool expertise, and focus on the areas where it adds the most value: capacity development, policy engagement, and Southern-led research.
The discussion also surfaced interest in expanding PEP’s network to underrepresented regions and potential partners, including Papua New Guinea and South Africa.
Main takeaways
- PEP offers a model for shifting development research closer to the Global South by supporting local researchers, institutions and policy engagement.
- Research capacity building is most effective when embedded in real projects, not delivered as isolated training.
- Policy influence improves when policymakers are involved from the design stage, not only invited to a final dissemination event.
- Southern researchers face structural barriers in publishing, funding, conference participation and access to global research infrastructure.
- Institutional strengthening is essential. Training individuals is valuable, but think tanks and research organisations need systems that retain capacity over time.
- Capacity building must be continuous because researchers move, methods evolve, and policy challenges change.
- PEP’s dual mentoring model — scientific and policy mentoring — helps combine research rigour with policy relevance.
- Open access to research outputs helps protect institutional memory and supports future use of evidence.
- There is strong potential for collaboration between PEP and think tanks that need support with research methods, evidence synthesis, stakeholder engagement and policy uptake.
- The strongest message of the session was that locally led research does not happen automatically. It requires long-term investment, mentoring, networks, institutional support and deliberate efforts to connect evidence with policy demand.
Relevant resources
- Partnership for Economic Policy website
- PEP research portal and publications database
- PEP capacity-building model
- Resources on Southern-led development research:
- IDRC Think Tank Initiative
- 3iE Training Initiative for Evidence-Informed Policy
- OTT resources on research capacity and evidence-informed policy: