What's going on in the world of think tanks?

Dear all

I joined Nkafu Policy Institute 's Central African Think Tank Forum in Cameroon earlier this month.

➡️From Survival to Influence: Five Shifts to Unlock Central Africa’s Think Tank Potential

The 2025 Central Africa Think Tank Forum and Executive & Strategic Leadership Programme in Yaoundé made one thing clear: in volatile and resource-constrained environments, business as usual is not enough.

Here are 5 shifts that On Think Tanks advocates for and that can help Central African think tanks move from survival mode to sustained influence:

1. Fund What Think Tanks Need, Not Just What Donors Want: Short-term, project-based funding is a recipe for fragility. Institutions need core funding that covers indirect costs, invests in people and systems, and supports long-term policy engagement—especially in restrictive civic spaces.

2. Anchor Policy in Local Realities: Imported policy models often fail in practice. Think tanks must draw on African histories, norms, and priorities, pairing rigorous evidence with grounded, culturally relevant solutions. This is the surest route to public legitimacy and lasting impact.

3. Redesign the Business Model: From policy advisory services to training and data platforms, think tanks need to diversify revenue streams beyond grants. Service-oriented models can provide continuity, flexibility, and influence that survive political and funding cycles.

4. Lead with Agility in a VUCA World: Volatility demands adaptive leadership—leaders who can pivot fast, manage crises, and navigate political polarisation without losing integrity. This requires investment in leadership pipelines, scenario planning, and strong digital infrastructure.

5. INVEST IN PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS: The takeaway: Resilience is not about waiting out the storm—it’s about innovating through it. If funders and policymakers want Central African ideas to shape Central African futures, they must invest in institutions and not just projects and outputs.

The #OTTTalks series on think tanks in a changing Europe is back with this episode featuring More in Common 's Mathieu Lefevre-Marton .

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and International Development Research Centre (IDRC) have launched a call for proposals for the Artificial Intelligence for Development (AI4D) initiative.

On Think Tanks has relaunched its Best Practice series with a look at financial resilience and sustainability.

The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research , which is inspiring a lot of our thinking lately, has just published its annual report.

Citation should not be taken as a sign of success. Overton highlights the bad and the ugly of research uptake.

On Think Tanks facilitated African Education Research Funding Consortium hosted a session on co-funding.

On Think Tanks launched a new portal on evidence use in parliaments.

And do not forget to register to the School for Thinktankers fast!

Until next month!