Rethinking communications: How ‘ideas of scale’ could be the next leap for research groups
Key takeaways ‘Ideas of scale’ are evidence-backed conceptual insights into governance. An ‘idea of scale’ can spark small but consequential actions by...
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Operationalising public engagement: four reflections for think tanks
In a previous article, I reflected on how citizen voice and public engagement can increase the quality of research, as well as the credibility, relevance and perception of...
Citizen voice and think tanks: a Nigerian case study
There’s a common perception that top-down development approaches have failed. And public agency is playing a bigger role in policy discussions and in politics, as Stuti...
Public engagement: three considerations for think tanks
How does your think tank visualise ‘the public’? Is it an amorphous sea of faces, where you know they are there but you can’t make out any defining features – much...
What happens when expert and public opinion clash?
Something that has always interested me is this: should policy priorities be based on evidence promoted by policy support organisations (like think tanks) or public opinion? And what happens...
Think tanks and new ways of producing knowledge
Over the last few decades, the ways think tanks produce and communicate knowledge has changed. For think tanks, this is an opportunity to hear more voices and to engage with society in new...
Communications M&E: overcoming its complexity
Monitoring and evaluating (M&E) communications is an important, but sometimes intimidating, task. At my Lima-based think tank Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE), we recently...
Think tanks: are we asking the right communications questions?
This scene might be familiar: A meeting is held to plan a project’s communications. Both the research and communications teams are eager to maximise the impact of the...
Towards a gender equal think tank
Concepts like gender analysis, gender mainstreaming, gender budgeting and intersectionality are often bandied about. But how often do think tanks look within to assess their gender equality,...
Helping SDG implementation through communications: lessons from Nigeria and Peru
Southern Voice’s State of the SDG’s Initiative (SVSS) provided a unique platform for six selected teams from the Global South to explore global factors affecting the...
Seven tips for a thinktanker combining work and a PhD
For many young researchers working in a think tank, completing a PhD is an important career step and may win you the scientific credibility of your peers. But do you need...
Awareness- Advocacy-Action: the PAC research strategy
Introduction If a research programme wants to be successful it must ensure that it has impact. It should also ensure that all stakeholders take ownership of the action...