OTT Conference 2026: Think tanks and trust

Mawazo Institute and OTT are convening a small group of 20 thinktankers at the British Embassy in Rabat to reflect on the need and co-design a new network in support of women in think tanks.

The new network - and how to join - will be announced at the OTT Conference.

Think tanks operate in a dual space, seeking public visibility while aiming to influence policy through credible, fact-based analysis. Although these goals are not mutually exclusive, prioritising popularity over policy relevance can blur the line between analysis and advocacy. When that line becomes unclear, public trust in think tanks’ independence and expertise is weakened, with direct consequences for their policy influence.

In this context, leading think tanks from across the world will delve into the evolving relationship between visibility, credibility, and policy influence. The session will provide an opportunity to reflect on current challenges and emerging practices, and to exchange perspectives on how think tanks can navigate today’s communication landscape while preserving their analytical integrity and public trust.

Karim El Aynaoui (PCNS) and Enrique Mendizabal (OTT)

Keynote by Erica Schoder, Executive Director of the R Street Institute

AI can now produce a competent policy brief. So if anyone can produce the output, what is a think tank actually for? In this keynote, Erica Schoder argues that think tanks have always produced two kinds of knowledge: the analytical work AI now does well, and constituted knowledge that only comes into being when people with real stakes work through hard problems together. Drawing on her research at Edinburgh Futures Institute and fourteen years leading R Street Institute, she offers a practical framework for identifying where your institution's constituted knowledge gets produced and making it visible to stakeholders and funders.

Networking opportunity

convened by Margarita Beneke De Sanfeliu (FUSADES), Jorge Morel (Instituto de Estudios Peruanos), and Rakesh Rajani (Just Systems).

Trust isn’t abstract or accidental; it is built through identifiable organisational mechanisms. This session introduces a research-based analytical framework and Theory of Change (ToC) for building trust — not policy influence — drawing on new research on civil society organisations. Using four core mechanisms: Accountability, Legitimacy, Connection, and Independence — participants will examine common trust gaps in think tank operations, share real-world examples of what works (and what doesn’t), and identify practical intervention points within their own organisations. Moving from principle to practice, the session will culminate in a co-created draft Theory of Change or common framework to help think tanks design a more systematic path toward credibility and sustained trust.

convened by John Schwartz, Soapbox, and Annapoorna Ravichander.

In an AI-shaped information ecosystem, think tanks can’t assume trust—they have to earn it. This interactive session explores how a clear narrative, purposeful positioning, and sustained strategic communications help think tanks build credibility with different audiences who are looking for different “signals” of trust (and sometimes demanding incompatible things).

Soapbox—one of the world's leading design, digital and communications agencies for think tanks—will open with a practical framework on trusted brands: whose trust matters, why, and what it takes to gain it. Then the room breaks into a set of mini “comms agencies” (teams of 5–6). ISS and Annapoorna Ravichander will each present a real-world brand challenge and share a written brief. Teams will rapidly develop and pitch audience-first responses—moving beyond “communicating research” towards building trust in the organisation, its experts, its ideas, and the value it offers. The strongest pitch wins a prize—and everyone leaves with tools and ideas to apply immediately.

convened by Judith Katz, M.S., C.F.R.E., Director of Advancement, Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE), UC Berkeley Law; Karen Kühlcke, Strategy, Growth and Impact Manager, Cenfri; Sharmagh Sakounts, Fundraising and Donor Relations Manager, Applied Policy Research Institute (APRI) Armenia; and Lisa Yankowski, Advancement Officer, International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

Think tanks globally are facing increasing financial challenges, particularly when it comes to raising core funding to bridge the gap of indirect costs. Many think tank leaders experience anxiety because of a perceived choice between strident case-making for the organisation’s continued existence, or adjusting research portfolios to match funder interests. “The Currency of Credibility” is about moving beyond this binary by offering a few widely applicable baseline frameworks, skills, and case studies for trust-building and relationship-based fundraising. It is geared towards think tank leaders with small or nascent fundraising operations and will provide a few takeaways that can be applied in universal contexts.

convened by Emma Woodford (COO, European Policy Centre), Sonja Stojanovic-Gajic (University of Rijeka and BCSP) and Shanaka Kulathunga (Verité Research)

Think tanks invest heavily in external credibility — research quality, policy influence, communications — yet far less attention is paid to what happens inside: leadership practices, staff management, lived values, and whether the organisation is one people stay committed to when pressure mounts. In a context of shrinking funding, authoritarian backsliding, and shifting workplace expectations, organisational culture has become a resilience issue rather than a soft concern. This 90-minute workshop brings together practitioners from contrasting contexts — including a government-affiliated research institute, the Brussels-based European Policy Centre, and a Verité Research from Sri Lanka — to examine real experiences in people management and culture. Participants will explore shared internal challenges, from attracting and retaining talent to navigating conflict and change management, and work through practical questions about the competences needed to build inclusive, adaptive organisations in uncertain or hostile external environments.

convened by Carlos Alvarez Pereira, Secretary General, The Club of Rome; Erica Schoder, Executive Director, R Street Institute; Chad Russell, Vice President of Operations, R Street Institute; Natallia Nenarokamava, Head of Strategy, Cast from Clay

This session will explore the challenges think tanks face today and the practical decisions they can make to start investing in the future.
It will have a workshop format and build on a systemic perspective of the evolving role of think tanks in and for society.
Critical aspects of collective knowledge, will and action will be addressed at a time when the many ongoing disruptions make it difficult to answer the "what to do?" question.

convened by Beatriz Pfeifer, Network Engagement Officer, Southern Voice

This session will explore the critical importance of Global South think tanks engaging in global policy, which directly influences national agendas. Participants will discuss key constraints preventing this prioritisation and provide input to help funders align their support for global-focused work. Guiding questions will include:
- How do you see the value in engaging in global policy debates for Global South think tanks - and how it reinforces - rather than competes with - national policy priorities?
- What resources, capacities, or operational constraints prevent Southern think tanks from prioritizing engagement in global policy and how can they be translated into targeted, actionable strategies that directly strengthen this work?
- How can funders and strategic partners address these challenges and constraints with meaningful support? How does that look in practice?
- Beyond current activities, what incentives or forms of engagement can Southern Voice implement to help Southern Voice members engage more actively in global impact initiatives?

convened by CHEN Fei, PhD Candidate, School of Information Management, Nanjing University; LIU Xiwen, Director, National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences; LI Gang, Professor, School of Information Management, Nanjing University & Director, Centre for Chinese Think Tank Research and Evaluation

Chinese think tanks are growing in number and sophistication. Still, little is known about them outside of China or specialised foreign policy circles. In this session, delegates from Nanjing University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences will provide an overview of the Chinese think tank sector, Chinese think tanks’ main strategies and current developments in the sector. The presentation will also outline opportunities for collaboration with Chinese think tanks.

The ask: How could Chinese think tanks better collaborate with their peers in other regions?

convened by Kareem Makhlouf, Chief of Staff, New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy

New Lines Institute upgraded its impact model and rolled it out last year. Some of the thinking was shaped by conversations at the OTT Conference last year, and some of it was their own. They'd love to open up a conversation about whether any participants changed their approach to MEL, and what they did differently. (They'd be happy to share what they did differently on the day, and some of the challenges they found, to kick off the conversation.)
The ask:
– Have you done anything differently following last year’s OTT conference? Why/why not?
– More practically, how do you approach data collection – how do you share the responsibility between projects and the central team? How often do you report on it internally?
– If anyone feels they've not been able to change it as they'd like, we’d love to know what’s stopped them.

Networking opportunity

A sing-along to share and present "un-popular" opinions.

Bring your own and do not be afraid to share them.

Keynote by Denis Foretia, Co-Chair, Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation & Executive Chairman, Nkafu Policy Institute

Who do think tanks truly serve, and whose trust do they seek to earn? This keynote challenges traditional notions of legitimacy by examining the competing expectations of governments, funders, and citizens in African policy spaces. Drawing from Nkafu's experience, it calls for a shift toward more locally grounded, accountable, and responsive institutions, and reframes trust as something that must be actively earned, negotiated, and sustained.

Networking opportunity

convened by Salim Kombo (Engagement Director, BUSARA), Kathleen Van Hove (Senior Policy Analyst, ECDPM and ETTG) and Stewart Nixon (Director of Research, IDEAS Malaysia).

Networks and collective action are often seen as pathways to systems change, yet many think tank networks struggle to move beyond early enthusiasm or donor-funded beginnings. Misaligned expectations, limited resources, and underlying competition frequently undermine their long-term sustainability. This session takes a behavioural and systems-thinking lens to examine what makes networks truly effective, and what causes them to falter. Drawing on participant experience, it will explore practical strategies for building and sustaining collaboration at local, regional, and global levels, balancing cooperation with competition, and designing the formal and informal rules that enable policy research networks to endure.

convened by Florencia Rubiolo (Director, Insight21, Universidad Siglo 21), Donna Tonini (Associate Director, Center for Global Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Bob Wekesa (Director, African Centre for the Study of the US, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa), Karim El Aynaoui (Executive President,Policy Center for the New South)

Think tanks and universities are facing parallel pressures: think tanks must diversify funding and demonstrate policy relevance, while universities are pushed to show real-world impact beyond academia. This session explores whether deeper collaboration — particularly through university-based think tanks — offers a credible and sustainable path forward. Drawing on different institutional models, from academically anchored research centres to more autonomous hybrid structures, the discussion will examine the benefits and trade-offs of these partnerships. Participants will consider how universities can contribute credibility, intellectual diversity, and relative funding stability, while think tanks bring agility, policy relevance, and knowledge translation, alongside the tensions these collaborations create around autonomy, governance, and responsiveness. The session aims to identify practical models that balance excellence, relevance, sustainability, and trust in policy research.

convened by Joy Chatterjee, OTT; WINGS; Guilherme Sylos, Prospection Director, Institute for the Development of Social Investment (IDIS); Evans Okinyi, CEO, East Africa Philanthropy Network.

Across low- and middle-income countries, think tanks consistently report that domestic funding cannot yet replace shrinking foreign aid. While this challenge is real, this session shifts the focus from diagnosis to action. If think tanks are trusted actors in shaping policy frameworks that unlock investment and enable tax reform, why not apply that same policy expertise to the funding of policy research itself? Drawing on a joint review by WINGS and OTT of case studies where policy change has helped mobilise domestic philanthropy, the session will explore how national frameworks can incentivise local giving, corporate social responsibility, and impact investing. Participants will share additional examples and consider how similar reforms can be advanced in their own contexts to strengthen long-term financial sustainability for think tanks.

convened by Nick Shereikis (Head of Communications, C4ADS), and Catherine McCarron (Business Development Associate, C4ADS).

Change requires multiple sectors to work toward the same objectives. But how often do NGOs, corporations, governments, social movements, political parties and others come together and cooperate? Can think tanks leverage these diverse sectors’ expertise and ability to take action? In this session, we will examine how think tanks can build trust across and between sectors, proposing strategic communication and bridge building as a solution to this challenge. Participants will co-create a collection of ideas, examining how: (1) think tank analysis can be communicated across different audiences without compromising rigour and independence, and (2) think tanks can promote strategic cross-sector communication and collaboration. Together, let us consider how we can redefine think tanks – not just as centres for thought, but as bodies working to unite diverse actors for change.

convened by Toby Green, Publisher, Policy Commons, and Nick Cleveland-Stout, Research Associate, Quincy Institute.

Many think tanks produce rigorous research, but it can be difficult to know which to trust. This leads policymakers and AI systems to favour established think tanks, leaving smaller or less visible organisations struggling for attention despite producing high-quality work. In this workshop we'll share two perspectives on what a trust infrastructure for think tanks — one that could level the playing field — might look like, from funding transparency to content trust marks. Join us, we'd like to hear what you think about trust too.

Come together to reflect on the day's discussions

convened by Sonja Stojanovic-Gajic (University of Rijeka and BCSP) and Goran Buldioski (Senior Advisor, OTT).

Join Conference participants in central Rabat to share stories of failures, learn from them and have a laugh.

Don't miss it.

Reflect on the lessons learned and the contacts made on Day 1

Keynote by Rosa Balfour, Director, Carnegie Europe

Sweeping global changes are upending international and domestic politics, fostering new patterns of ideological politicization and challenging open societies. Artificial Intelligence and a contested information ecosystem are ushering in a revolution in how people relate to knowledge. Security imperatives are looming large over public and private budgets, reshaping the priorities of independent research. In the face of unpredictable turmoil and declining trust in expertise, asking whether think tanks matter is not a rhetorical question. The talk will explore the challenges to think tanks and make a case for their relevance. 

Networking opportunity

convened by Racheal Makokha (OTT), Adwoa Banful (African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET)), Dominique Dryding (Afrobarometer), Bruno Ittia Achuo (Nkafu Policy Institute), Chepa Twatasha Lesa (AUDA-NEPAD), Mahao Leuta Mahao (AUDA-NEPAD), Chibuikem Agbaegbu (Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI)).

This session will explore the unique challenges and opportunities faced by think tanks attempting to work and influence policy at the regional level. The session will explore how think tanks define their audiences and objectives, the research and communication strategies that make the most sense to them and the competencies and skills they need to develop to operate at the regional level.

convened by Jorge Morel (Instituto de Estudios Peruanos), Liliana Alvarado (Ethos), Anthea Haryoko (CIPS Indonesia), and Margarita Beneke De Sanfeliu (FUSADES).

While core funding remains the benchmark for institutional stability, today’s competitive and constrained funding landscape makes it increasingly difficult to secure. This session explores how think tanks can strengthen financial resilience by moving beyond traditional grants and developing alternative income streams that can work alongside a think tank's autonomy, credibility, and long-term relevance — particularly in politically complex democracies. Drawing on concrete examples and emerging models, participants will examine options such as membership programmes, public opinion polling services, consulting, event sponsorships, and training activities, with a focus on designing and managing these revenue streams without compromising independence or mission integrity.

convened by Fiorella Bianchi (Director of Finance and Strategy, OTT), Bryan Schwartz (Center for Global Development), Gabriela Suárez (FARO), and Anne von Au (GIZ, German Society for International Cooperation).

Understanding funder conditions is essential for sustainable budgeting, financial planning, and long-term strategy. To support this, OTT has been developing a shared, community-led resource that maps the conditions funders apply to think tanks — across funding models, contracting, budgeting, and reporting. Yet transparency alone is not enough. This session moves from information to action, inviting participants to share and discuss practical strategies for navigating funder restrictions, designing smarter project budgets, and strengthening organisational resilience in the process.

convened by Sonia Jalfin, Sociopúblico and Noel Gruber (CIGI).

Think tanks exist to produce credible, independent knowledge. But in a world where trust is eroding, and AI is accelerating that erosion, the question is no longer whether to engage with AI, but how to do it without compromising what makes you credible in the first place. In this hands-on workshop, we'll move beyond the debate and into the design. We will prototype AI agents tailored to think tank operations, stress-test them against real governance and trust criteria, and leave with concrete ideas we can actually take back to our organisations.

convened by Ingmar Juergens, Co-founder, Climate & Company

Anyone who has wrestled with the challenge of working (and funding work) across borders, across sectors, or across the upstream-downstream divide on sustainability issues – or any issue; and who is ready to be honest about what has worked, what has not, and what it would take to do better, should join this session.

Ingmar Juergens, co-founder of Climate & Company, is struggling with these challenges. But he sees a significant opportunity to mobilise private funding – if only think tanks found better ways to collaborate.

Asks:
- How do we build and sustain cross-regional collaboration along specific, sustainability-critical value chains — and how do we get it funded? What models work for combining upstream and downstream perspectives? What are the governance structures, the partnership dynamics, the fundraising strategies? What have we tried and what have we learned?
- How do we work with business in ways that deliver for society, not just for the companies involved? What are the safeguards, the conditions, the red lines? How do think tanks and civil society organisations maintain their independence and credibility while generating the pilots and proof points that markets and policymakers actually need?

convened by Jane Mariara, Executive Director , Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP)

Learn about the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) and its role facilitating locally-led economic analysis and policy advice. This session, led by Jane Mariara, Executive Director, will offer participants the opportunity to learn how PEP works with research centres and think tanks to develop their research and policy engagement competencies and skills. Jane will present PEP’s approach and services for think tanks and explain how Conference participants can benefit from them.

The ask:
- What additional services would make a difference to local think tanks in your region?
- Who would like to engage with PEP – and how could you contribute to our mission?

convened by Donna Tonini (Associate Director, Center for Global Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)

The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign has a new Master's of Science in Global Studies, which has 3 tracks focusing on global governance, global security, and gender and public policy. All 3 tracks combine theory with policy and practice, as the degree prepares students for professional careers in think tanks, non-profits, domestic or international governments, and the private sector. Their specific challenge is how to efficiently and effectively work with think tanks to develop internship opportunities that benefit their students, faculty, and the hosting think tanks. They would also like to know if any think tanks in the community are interested in exploring possible partnerships!

convened by Atif Ahmed Choudhury, Founder and CEO, US-Bangladesh NextGen Policy Fellowship

The U.S.–Bangladesh NextGen Fellowship and Policy Institute is developing a hybrid model that combines policy research and public engagement with scholarships, mentorship and fellowship opportunities for students interested in Bangladesh and South Asia.

As a newly launched organisation, USBNFPI seeks practical advice on how emerging think tanks can fund and manage this kind of work to achieve several objectives, including:
- balance research and educational programming, and
- design fellowships with limited capacity, place fellows with partner organisations, and build meaningful partnerships with universities, think tanks, NGOs, diaspora groups and funders.

The conversation will be relevant to other emerging organisations exploring how to combine policy engagement, youth development, community-building and public-facing research in a challenging funding environment.

Networking opportunity

After almost 2 days of community building this is a great time to share what is new and newsworthy in the community.

A moment to callout the good ideas and practice we have learned about.

Keep and eye out for nominations to the 2026 100 Think Tanks to Watch list!

Keynote by Héctor Cárdenas, President at the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales (COMEXI)

In an age of polarisation, information overload, and declining trust, think tanks face a fundamental challenge: evidence alone no longer shapes policy. Influence increasingly depends on the ability to frame issues, shape narratives, and engage strategically in contested debates.

Drawing on examples from Mexico, North America, Europe, and the global development community, this keynote explores how think tanks can evolve from knowledge producers into true strategic actors. It examines why strong evidence often fails, how compelling narratives redefine fields, and what it takes to tell stories that are both persuasive and grounded in fact—so that ideas do not just exist, but matter.

Networking opportunity

convened by Sheila Tolentino (IPEA), Dianna H. English (Centre for International Governance Innovation).

This session distils practical lessons from how the T20 and T7 have been organised by focusing on what has made these processes work: how hosts structure task forces, coordinate diverse institutions, manage comms between participants, and hand over knowledge year-to-year to the next hosts. Participants will map the elements that could be copied, adapted, or avoided in future editions. The session will offer future T7 and T20 hosts and participants a shortlist of design choices (governance, rhythm, outputs, convening formats) that strengthen coordination and trust between think tanks, enhance the credibility of the think tank body, and drive real-world uptake and impact of their proposals.

convened by Antonia Wünscher (Student Network for Open Science), Elizaveta Barabanova (European Student Think Tank), Oscar Bradshaw (Leeds Policy Institute), Sonja Grünbauer (EPIS Thinktank).

Student-led think tanks play an important role in shaping the next generation of policy professionals, offering a space for peers to engage with complex issues while building research, leadership, and policy engagement skills. Yet they face distinct challenges — high turnover, limited institutional memory, and the need to balance academic commitments with organisational responsibilities — which can affect continuity, research quality, and long-term strategy. This session explores how student-led think tanks can strengthen their impact and sustainability through more structured organisational models and innovative forms of collaboration. Drawing on approaches such as hybrid and dual-entity models, as well as peer-to-peer engagement strategies, participants will examine how these organisations can be adapted across contexts and how stronger links with established think tanks can support their growth and long-term relevance.

convened by Camila Ulloa (Research Officer, On Think Tanks), Gabriela Suárez (FARO), Tlegen Kuandykov (CAPS Unlock), and Stewart Nixon (IDEAS Malaysia), and Wessam El Beih (IDRC).

The State of the Sector Report survey gathers insights from hundreds of think tanks worldwide. In 2026, OTT will invite Conference participants to engage directly with the latest data and emerging findings to help shape the final report. This participatory session will focus on prioritising key trends, assessing their relevance across regional and national contexts, and co-developing explanations and implications for think tanks and their supporters — turning sector-wide data into shared analysis and practical insight.

convened by Corinna Reichenberg, DGAP/Think Tank Lab, Veranika Shykhutsina MERICS/ Think Tank Lab, Lobna Jeribi, and members of the Mercator Globe Delegation.

Across regions, public trust in institutions is under strain, shaped by misinformation, weak transparency, and limited accountability, with different implications across contexts. In this environment, think tanks and research organisations can play a role beyond analysis — helping create the conditions for trust through shared understanding, credible data, transparent processes, and spaces for collaboration. This session explores how trust is built in practice, starting with a case study on how data can support alignment and collective action, and expanding to other “trust drivers” such as strategic communication, accountability, and inclusive participation. Participants will identify the levers most relevant to their contexts and work together to translate them into practical, actionable steps.

Share what you learned and the connections to you made with everyone!

Nominate your peers to the 100 Think Tanks to Watch list!

Join the entire OTT Community as we celebrate 15 years of On Think Tanks and 10 years of the OTT Conference.

Afterwards, we will head into central Rabat to continue the fun!

Participants are invited to host team meetings, network meetings, workshops or other events.