Liliana Alvarado, Executive Director of Ethos innovación en Políticas Públicas in Mexico delivered this keynote address at the OTT Conference 2024, at Fundacio Bofill, Barcelona, Spain.
Traditionally, think tanks have focused on delivering evidence-based recommendations to decision-makers. Due to unstable government relationships, shifting donor priorities and new development approaches, think tanks are diversifying and evolving – engaging with new actors, methodologies and ways of measuring their impact.
Are we prepared for think tank evolution away from their traditional role? How can think tanks engage more with their communities, while preserving their core identity? And when it comes to influencing policy change, how effective are think tank strategies that seek to empower communities to advocate for change versus influencing decision-makers directly?