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Understanding policy problems and their implications in your research decisions
In our previous articles we have covered different aspects of the design, validation and development of a research agenda. One may have broad topics and focus areas in your agenda to guide the organisation in the middle and long term, but within this agenda, how can one choose a specific... Read full article -
Drafting and validating your research agenda
In the second article of this series we put forward seven principles for policy relevant research identified in existing literature and through practice. In this article we focus on the second principle: a policy relevant research agenda should be internally and externally validated. Once... Read full article -
Do not dumb down you audience –or rather, how should think tanks affect policy chance?
How should think tanks influence policy? In a manner that strengthens other institutions and does not weaken them. Read full article -
Using digital communications to connect at a human level for maximum impact
In this post, Florencia Durón, from Mexican think tank CIEP, offers sounds advice on how to introduce a human touch to a think tank's digital communications strategy. Her advice is based on CIEP's experience -and the have numbers to back it up. Read full article -
Insights into the relationship between think tanks and policymakers
CSTEP, in India, has published the 4th edition of their Aditi Bulletin. Aditi deals with a number of interesting issues related to think tanks from the perspective of the South Asian region. It also offers an interesting effort from a research centre in a developing country to study think tanks and their environment -something that On Think Tanks has always advocated for. Read full article -
Audience Development: Can we have a meeting to discuss the dissemination of my research report?
Clair Grant-Salmon, at IIED, writes about audience development, what it is and what it can do for a think tank. It highlights that rather than focusing on frameworks and tools to make decisions, centres need conversations between people to make the best possible decision. Read full article -
The challenge of communicating with different actors: is segmentation a good investment for think tanks?
Vanesa Weyrauch writes about segmenting audiences: if think tanks audiences are different should think tanks not have different communication approaches for each one of them? She reports on a study conducted with ASIES, in Guatemala, and provides some conceptual and practical advice. Read full article -
How to influence difficult publics? Lessons from the Chilean media
In any planning process, a significant proportion of the effort is dedicated towards developing influencing strategies for the most difficult publics. If you were using a tool like the Alignment, Interest and Influence Matrix (AIIM), this would be the actors in the Not Aligned but Interested... Read full article