OTT Conference 2022 – Think tanks and partnerships for change

Organised by On Think Tanks
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Event type Conference
Location Kualalumpur
Start date 20 April 2023
End date 22 April 2023
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OTT welcomed 271 people from around the world to explore think tank partnerships with other changemakers.

 

Think tanks play an important role in shaping evidence-informed change in the world. But they can’t do it alone. Increasingly, think tanks are convening, connecting and collaborating with different types of organisations – such as political parties, the media, social movements and the private sector.

Are think tanks prepared for these partnerships? Are they governed and managed in the right way? Do they have the right teams, skills, experiences? What are the risks and challenges of collaborating with other actors?

OTT conference 2022 is supported by the Hewlett Foundation, Universidad del Pacífico and Mercator.

Watch sessions

Agenda

Day 1

14:00 - 14:10
Welcome
14:10 - 15:00
Keynote conversation and Q&A

Joseph Asunka, CEO of Afrobarometer discusses the importance of partnerships and collaboration to bring about change.

15:00 - 16:10
Think tanks and political parties

Leandro Echt (Argentina); Aira Azhari from IDEAS (Malaysia); and Sonja Schiffers from the Heinrich Böll Foundation exchange partisan and non-partisan think tank experiences of working with political parties.

16:10 - 16:20
Break
16:20 - 17:00
Think tanks and the media.

Stuart Coles, Chatam House (UK); Maurice Otieno , Baraza media lab (Kenya); and Holly Shulman, Center for Global Development (USA). Think tanks have traditionally relied on the media to share their research, and the media on think tanks for expert opinion on current affairs. But with the rise of social media, this relationship is shifting. Thinktankers from Kenya, USA and UK share their experiences of engaging with the media and the evolving nature of think tank-media partnerships.

17:00 - 17:30
Closing Plenary

Day 2

14:00 - 14:10
Welcome
14:10 - 15:00
Keynote conversation:What neuroscience can tell us about collaboration and knowledge communication

Joaquín Navajas, PhD in Neuroscience and Sonia Jalfin, Director of Sociopúblico discuss what new neuroscience research can tell us about collaboration and knowledge communication, and the implications for think tanks.

15:00 - 16:10
Think tanks and social movements.

Anna Taylor, Food Foundation (UK) Donald Deya (Stop the bleeding consortium); Laurie Laybourn-Langton , IPPR (UK). Are think tank-social movement partnerships an ideal way to bring about progressive change? Speakers share their stories and perspectives from different sides of the partnership and unpick challenges and strategies for working together t0 bring about progressive change.

16:10 - 16:20
Break
16:20 - 17:00
Think tanks and the private sector

Chris Richards, ICE (UK); Jai Asundi, CSTEP (India), Btirina Diyamett, Stipro ( Tanzania). Think tank-private sector partnerships are becoming more common. But there’s little written about them. Speakers from Mexico, India and the UK exchange their perspectives on the benefits and challenges of, and strategies for, collaborating with the private sector.

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