The role of the board in leadership transitions, funding and independence.

La sesión se centrará en los siguientes temas: liderazgo, juntas, independencia y financiación. Exploraremos cómo funciona un grupo de expertos en Nueva York, incluido el papel relevante del director ejecutivo y la junta. También abordará la importancia de la independencia, al mismo tiempo que se asegura la financiación. El objetivo de la sesión también es tener una discusión interactiva en la que los participantes puedan aprender y compartir sus propias opiniones.

The session will focus on the following topics: leadership, boards, independence and funding. We will explore how a think tank in New York operates, including from the relevant role of the CEO and the board. It will also touch upon the importance of independence while securing funding. The aim of the session is also to have an interactive discussion in which participants can learn and share their own views.

En esta sesión, Emily Gustafsson-Wright, Senior Fellow en Brookings Institution, discutirá las estrategias que ella y sus colegas usan para maximizar el alcance, las funciones y el impacto de su trabajo. Algunas de estas estrategias incluyen asociarse con organizaciones o individuos con presencia en el terreno, realizar procesos consultivos y desarrollar herramientas concretas para desplegar la capacidad entre las partes interesadas. Estas estrategias cierran la brecha entre el aprendizaje y la práctica en un esfuerzo por informar de manera más efectiva la formulación de políticas en todo el mundo y mejorar las vidas de todos los ciudadanos.

In this session, Emily Gustafsson-Wright, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, will discuss the strategies she and her colleagues use to maximize reach, functions and impact of their work. Some of these strategies include partnering with organizations or individuals with presence on the ground, conducting consultative processes, and developing concrete tools to build capacity among stakeholders. These strategies bridge the learning and doing gap in an effort to more effectively inform policymaking around the word and improve the lives of all citizens.

Strategies and key challenges.

Esta sesión explorará las estrategias de participación en políticas de los think tanks, basándose en experiencias y ejemplos del Centre for Global Development. Los temas clave de discusión incluirán la creación de materiales accesibles para las diferentes audiencias dentro del ámbito de la formulación de políticas, el seguimiento a desarrollo de políticas y la identificación de oportunidades para informar el debate, estrategias para construir aliados, establecer investigadores como expertos de referencia y fomentar la paciencia y la perseverancia en el proceso de políticas.

This session will explore think tank policy engagement strategies, drawing on experiences and examples from the Center for Global Development. Key topics of discussion will include creating accessible materials for policymaking audiences, tracking policy developments and identifying opportunities to inform the debate, strategies for building allies, establishing researchers as go-to experts, and encouraging patience and persistence in the policy process.

¿Qué es la credibilidad? ¿Qué influencia la credibilidad de un think tank? ¿Qué factores la afectan? En esta sesión discutiremos los factores que influyen en la credibilidad de un think tank, y trabajaremos un ejercicio para reflexionar sobre la integridad del  think tank.

What is credibility? What influences the credibility of a think tank? What factors affect it?  In this session we will discuss the factors that influence the credibility of a think tank, and we will work on an exercise (the Think Tank Integrity Check) to reflect on the integrity of the think tank.

History, roles and models in differing contexts.

La sesión de este día brinda una introducción a los think tanks, su historia, roles y modelos, los cuales se desarrollan en diferentes contextos.

Today’s session provides an introduction to think tanks, their history, roles and models, which take place in different contexts.

In Module 2, the focus is on designing a MEL strategy. The trainers share concrete insights and tools to enable participants to draft their MEL strategy, including considerations on objectives, outcomes, outputs and indicators. They go over what planning for change entails and how to assess the results.

In Module 1, the trainers discuss the complexities of MEL for policy influence, highlighting what is unique about it. Next, they help participants reflect on the key questions that need to be asked to establish a successful MEL strategy: Why should you carry out MEL? How will the information be used? How much agreement is there on the value of MEL? These questions help participants gain a clearer overall understanding of how to approach MEL.

The literature on how to monitor, evaluate and learn (MEL) about policy influence is abundant. However, instructions on specific practices, particularly in developing countries, are quite scarce. This short course helps participants to sift through the key frameworks and look at benefits and challenges, in a way that is practical for their own organisation, big or small.

This is also an opportunity to think, rethink or formalise current MEL practices. Organisations should avoid seeing these as a luxury; it is not a practice that only those with large budgets or with the specific support of a donor can afford. Each organisation can trace its own unique path. MEL is an intelligent and promising investment, which will no doubt bear fruit sooner rather than later.

The second module session focuses on implementing advocacy strategies in practice. It considers: insider versus outsider approaches, defining and mapping stakeholders, identifying policy windows, developing actionable policy recommendations, and commonly used tools. The session ends with trainer sharing examples of how things can go well, as well as some common pitfalls and mistakes.