OTT Conferences

10 August 2018

On Think Tanks and its partners collaborate in the development and nurturing of spaces for engagement between thinktankers, think tank scholars, policymakers, funders and policy entrepreneurs. These conferences offer a chance to meet future partners, share ideas and develop solutions to shared challenges.

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Find out more about these conferences:

On Think Tanks Conference 2022

During the OTT Conference 2022, On Think Tanks (OTT) welcomed 271 people from around the world to explore partnerships between think tanks and other changemakers.

Over the three days, 67 panellists from the global think tank community participated in 16 sessions — two keynote conversations, four panels and 10 fringe events hosted by our partners and friends.

Sessions covered exciting issues, ranging from think tanks and the media, private sector, social movements and political parties, to the war in Ukraine, partnerships for democratic security, think tanks and impact investing, partnerships to scale research impact, and much more!

Explore all the sessions

Learn more about the OTT Conference 2022 – Think tanks and partnerships for change.


On Think Tanks Conference 2021

We hosted the 2021 Conference online in April. This was followed by 2 OTT Local Conferences in Mexico and South Asia

Read and explore the 2021 online conference and local conferences


On Think Tanks Conference 2020: the 3rd online event

We hosted the third online conference of 2020 in November.

Read about the 3rd 2020 online conference.


On Think Tanks Conference 2020: the 2nd online event

We hosted the second online conference of 2020 in June.

Read about the 2nd 2020 online conference.

Our conference started with an academic session.

First, on diversity, inequality and representation

Then on foreign funding and transparency

And then we discussed OTT’s future research agenda

Keynote: Varoon Bashyakarla from Tactical Tech on data and politics

Parallel session: How does change happen?

Parallel session: Doing research in developing countries

Parallel session: People, people, people

Keynote: Julia Pomares from CIPPEC on the future of politics

Parallel session: State capture and think tanks

Parallel session: Beyond crisis management- adapting your impact strategy through organisational learning

Parallel session: discrimination in think tanks

Conference closing and recap


On Think Tanks Conference 2020: the 1st online event

We were unable to organise the 2020 conference in Berlin as planned. We hosted a pilot online event, instead.

Read about 1st the 2020 online conference. 

The opening panel: Think tanks and technology

Diane Stone on transnational policy networks and think tanks

A parallel session on going digital under COVID-19

A parallel session on diversity in think tanks

Dusting Gilbreath on AI and machine learning

A parallel session on responding to COVID-19

A parallel session on using technology to drive communications


On Think Tanks Conference 2019

Read about the OTT Conference 2019

Who was there?

What did they say?

And many more.


On Think Tanks Conference 2019: Washington DC

Read about the OTT Conference 2019: Washington DC 

The keynotes:


On Think Tanks Conference 2018

Read about the OTT Conference 2018

Who was there?

… and many more.


On Think Tanks Conference 2018: South Africa

Read about the OTT Conference 2018 in South Africa


On Think Tanks Conference 2017

Read about the OTT Conference 2017


OTT Conference partners