Is foreign policy sexy? If one would ask this question in a survey in Switzerland, the vast majority would most probably answer with a clear “No”. The response wouldn’t be any different asking people if the foreign policy of their country is democratically legitimated. Nevertheless, in... Read full article

On 14th December 2016, Casa Africa hosted a dialogue between African and Spanish think tanks. The meeting, which followed from a similar gathering in 2015 of European and African think tanks, was intended to strengthen relationships between policy researchers, to help inform the Spanish research... Read full article

The UK government is spending increasing amounts on aid (£11.7 billion in 2014). In 2015, it passed a bill that enshrined in law its commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of its gross national income (GNI) on aid every year. But a renewed commitment to deliver aid in the national interest, a... Read full article

  This blog responds to that posted by Andrea Ordónez regarding challenges that southern think tanks face when engaging in international policy debates, specifically those seeking to engage in the post-2015 negotiation.  Illustrate the argument: As noted in Andrea’s post, the... Read full article

Think tanks in the global south have accumulated relevant experience and knowledge that could be significant for the international debates on such diverse issues as development, trade or the environment. Nonetheless, few are the centres that can take their research to such international... Read full article

The program “Spaces for Engagement: using knowledge to improve public decisions” (SFE) is a joint initiative between GDNet and CIPPEC, that encompasses six years of intense work (2008-2013) aimed at creating different spaces for engagement with the participation of researchers and... Read full article

The Southern Voice Initiative, which seeks to link southern think tanks with the global development debate, is based on the idea that strengthening this relationship can be beneficial both ways:  the global debate on international development can be enriched by locally grounded research,... Read full article

I often write that we have to stop funding foreign researchers to helicopter over developing countries to undertake what can only, at its best, be mediocre (and irrelevant to domestic dynamics) research. This approach does not contribute to the development of sustainable and robust domestic... Read full article

Last month took place the 2012 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG). Within an extensive agenda of topics, the Program of Seminars joint a wide range of leaders to discuss global issues such as the current crisis, the management of natural... Read full article

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are one of the “UN ideas that have changed the world.” The state of actual delivery on MDG promises, however, remains a matter of intense debate.  Nonetheless, with the 2015 deadline drawing near, the international development community... Read full article

During the last couple of months we have been compiling a list of think tanks dedicated to foreign policy in developing nations. The idea behind this project was to get a better sense of the kind of topics that command the attention of researchers and policy makers when it comes to these... Read full article

More than 40 representatives of Latin American think tanks met in Lima between the 11-12th August to share new research and experiences. The event was sponsored by the EBPDN, the Think Tank Initiative; and GDNet; and co-organised by ODI, CIES, Grupo FARO, CIPPEC, and... Read full article

Simon Maxwell, former director of the Overseas Development Institute, is now a Senior Research Associate of the ODI, he chairs the Climate Change and Development Knowledge Network and leads the European Development Cooperation Strengthening Programme. He is also currently Chair the World... Read full article