Supporting African think tanks and policy advice

Context

To date, economic research conducted by African institutions and experts has been given little consideration in policy-making. Less than one percent of the research on African economic issues published in renowned scientific journals stems from African institutes. Consequently, the majority of economic policy decisions within Africa and the relevant development partners are made without substantial input from local or regional providers of knowledge.

Objective

Knowledge transfer between research and policy-makers on African economic policy issues is expanded. Policy making is knowledge-based through advice from African think tanks.

Approach

The project supports dialogue between research and politics in three areas:

1. It supports the World Bank's multi-donor trust fund ‘Think Africa Partnership’. This fund promotes knowledge-based policy-making in Africa and in multilateral organisations to enhance knowledge-to-policy uptake on economic policy making.
2. The project also strengthens cooperation amongst African think tanks and research institutes in providing policy advice. In this way, the project promotes mutual learning as well as the development of joint research, especially for African decision-makers.
3. The exchange and networking between African think tanks and relevant development partners is strengthened in order to incorporate locally generated knowledge into German and international development cooperation work.

Last update: March 2023