Previous
As a representative of a student think tank from the United Kingdom, I was given the valuable opportunity to attend the OTT Conference 2024 in Barcelona.
My student think tank, The Wilberforce Society, has been collaborating with OTT this year on the Building for the Future Initiative.
This initiative encourages student thinktankers to reframe policy issues from an interregional perspective and to make connections with a global network of think tanks.
Connecting with think tanks is crucial for understanding what this career entails and what the emerging trends in the field are, which made this conference such a valuable experience
In this article, I’m going share my key conference takeaways as a student thinktanker.
Making a difference
Seeing that think tanks are making a difference in their national policy environments gave me the motivation to return to my student society and encourage our members to develop their interest in public policy and to care about their research area.
Among the many inspiring examples of policy and advocacy work, I was especially taken by the keynote address of Tricia Yeoh, the Executive Director of the Malaysian think tank IDEAS (Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs).
Tricia described how their organisation advocates for compromise across ethnic and religious divides, and for democratic accountability. This shows the enormous positive influence that think tanks can have in both designing policy and supporting respectful political discourse.
Additionally, given the location of the Wilberforce Society, the insights of David Tripepi-Lewis (the Institute for Government) about designing non-partisan policy solutions were also intriguing.
As a think tank, we strive to produce non-partisan research that persuades by evidence-based recommendations, which the Institute for Government achieves daily, advising whichever party is in government.
Producing and sharing research
In addition to enabling us to connect with organisations that share our students’ research interests, the conference also revealed new strategies for producing and sharing research.
It was enriching to discuss the different ways that research can be shared, from classic papers to more innovative media such as podcasts.
Interestingly, I found that several of the new initiatives that we’re considering within our organisation, such as recording a podcast or posting more on social media, are also on other think tankers’ minds.
It’s always good to assess the pros and cons of an approach, such as producing short-form content from your research, with others who share similar objectives and concerns.
Exploring different think tank models
It was interesting to see that there is no single model for a think tank. The professional community embraces those focused on grassroots and community work as well as those who communicate directly with politicians and design bespoke policies for their government.
While most think tanks will fall somewhere in between these two poles, there is a common thread of evidence-based and rigorous recommendations.
At the Wilberforce Society, this has reinforced our motivation to maintain a high standard of expertise and non-partisanship, which is the source of a think tank’s potential to make a difference.
Growing through participating
At our student think tank, we aim to promote intelligent debate about public policy at the university.
We strive to help university students build essential industry skills, through devising policy recommendations and writing advisory papers.
Overall, the conference provided me – and, by extension, the other student thinktankers in my society – with insights into the research and strategies of professional think tanks and gave us the opportunity to connect with professionals.
This has helped us to advance our research and motivated us to consider our future careers in the industry.