Think Tanks in Africa Catalysts for Ideas and Action?

Outline
I. II. III. IV. V. Panorama of Think Tanks in Africa How do African Think Tanks Catalyze Change? Illustrations and Examples Emerging Challenge for Think Tanks Think Tanks and the missing middle

By Frannie A. LEAUTIER Partner and CEO Mkoba Private Equity

I. Panorama of Think Tanks in Africa

Presence: Africa has 554 think tanks and only 4 countries have none (Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe) Evolution: think tanks have evolved into a diverse set of entities with varying influence over the last 50 years Benchmark: there are as many countries in Africa with 10 or more think tanks as they are in Western Europe

Panorama: Mediators
Private Sector External Stakeholders
Several African TTs featured in Top 80 on international development; Few in international economic policy, domestic economic policy, and public engagement

Government

Forums for debate and exchange of ideas

Public

Staff strength and convening power

Panorama: Trusted Advisors

Emerging Issues

Stubborn Challenges

Research Products

Announced Priorities

No think tank in Africa was labeled by the Upenn assessment as being affiliated with a political party. What changes will the political democratization of Africa bring?

Panorama: Transformers
Measuring CD
IDEAS PROBLEMS

Domestic revenues

Municipal leaders
POLICIES

Institutional Strengthening

Statistics and Data (CAMERCAP)

TA to Government

Tax Policy and Tax Administration (CERCAP)

Leadership Development

Fellowships, Internships and Mentorship (KIPPRA)

Panorama: Independent Thinkers

Breaking free of influence Independent opinions on critical issues Informed analysis of contested ideas Space for public debate on important themes Courses, seminars and workshops on variety of little-known issues

None of the best TTs in Africa cited for political affiliations but many dependent on external aid or single large donor

II. How do African Think Tanks Catalyze Change? Inside-out: people, products, spaces Outside-in: networks, institutions, results

&

The Change Model Inside-Out

Critical mass of talented people Network of influential contacts Alumni of training and other programs

Quality research and data inputs Effective information sharing platforms

People

Products

Physical space to bring people together Digital space to reach out Moral authority to convene

Spaces

The Change Model Outside-In

Influential Network

Strengthened Capacity to Execute & Achieve Results

Strategic Institutions

III. Illustrations and Examples

Learning from evaluation of ACBF supported think tanks:
Examples from ACBF models and efforts Demonstrated impact Overall achievements

Examples from ACBF Models & Efforts Supporting TTs

Example of Efforts
Use of TTs in own work (ACI) on agriculture (agribusiness and agroprocessing, natural resource management) PIC Forum to learn and share Linking TTs to other networks (AAU) Working in partnership with top rated TTs globally (4 out of 30) Attracting private sector financingCoca Cola and AMICAAL in Swaziland

Lessons for Founders & Funders

Concentration: only AERC made it into top 10O worldwide ranking--threat to ownership of the policy design and command of policy implementation Autonomy: independence from budgetary and political cycles allows TTs to stretch beyond issues of the moment and embrace gaps and omissions Patience: sustained support & attention to issues of capacity is key, it allows innovation and impact Local knowledge: solutions organically grown from local environment requires first rate indigenous research, analysis and design, and linking TTs to universities Space for change: processes that facilitate learning, innovation lead to original solutions role for social media On the job learning: peers learning from each other in real practical settings

Case I: ACBF Supported Think Tanks Synergies & Value for Money: Demonstrated Impact of TTs
Full service TT Focus on Institutional Strengthening
TA to Govt

Varied contribution to Government vs Others

Courses, workshops, Leaders trained Policy Studies seminars

TT

Institutions Staff Strength Strengthened

CAPOD
IDEC CAMERCAP EEA/EEPRI KIPPRA CERCAP CMAP CAPED CEPOD EPRC

12 20 7 36 54 17 13

40 3 43 25 7 38 0

3 1 0 3 24 32 0

35 8 0 0 577 174 0

13 20 5 10 81 10 11

23 5 45 20 83 21 6

12 22
5

10 18
8

6 20
5

77 10
85

10 13
40

2 14
10

TA to support skills gaps in Government

Leadership with skills and access to ideas

Regular skills updates

Case I: ACBF Supported Think Tanks Synergies & Value for Money: Overall Achievements
Indicator Total number of staff Number of institutions strengthened Number of technical assistance to government agencies Total 316 256 110 Average per Think Tank 15 12 5

Number of leaders trained Number of policy studies, research completed

Number of policy studies, research commissioned by Government Number of publications disseminated Number of short courses organized Number of workshops/seminars organized

973 321
152 206 92 202

45 15
7 10 5 10

Source: Extracted from ACIR, 2013

IV. Emerging Challenges for Think Tanks

Autonomy and independence: political context in Africa is changing and influencing the creation, development, influence and impact of think tanks Competition: amongst think tanks, with universities and with the private sector on policy research and advice to government Shifting aid paradigm: impact investing, social entrepreneurs, individual philanthropy Results versus impact debate: delivering measurable goals or transforming society in the long term and related trade offs

Autonomy & Independence: Share of Government Commissioned Work

E E A / E E P R I

K I P P R A

C E R C A P

C E P O D

C A M E R C A P

10% 38% 70% 85% 100%

Balancing Relevance & Autonomy: TA vs. Government Commissioned Work

Low on Advisory High on Commissioned

100
100 85

High on Advisory High on Commissioned

70
38 0 20 32 24 3 TA to Govt %Govt Commissioned 10
Low on Advisory Low on Commissioned

50 0

Competition: Rise of the Educonsulting Business

The African Challengers: Global Competitors Emerge from the Overlooked Continent Lions on the Move: The Progress and Potential of African Economies Building bridges: Ernst & Youngs 2012 Attractiveness Survey on Africa African Development (by country and topics)

Shifting Aid Paradigm: New Modalities

Impact Investing Rockefeller Foundation and JP Morgan: Impact InvestmentsAn Emerging Asset Class The Rockefeller Foundation and the Tony Elumelu Foundation Launch the Impact Economy Innovation Fund in Cape Town in April 2013 PPP and Think Tanks
PEInternational Think Tank and its feature of Jacana Partners, a pan-African PE form with $75 million in new funds for SMEs EUACC, the EU Africa Chamber of Commerce which aims to share added value information on business practices in Africa and organize conferences and workshops on various topics

Results Versus Impact: Bridging the Difference

Catalytic role: increase in the rate of a reaction to an idea due to the participation of a catalyst (think tank) Path dependency: the path of change since intervention of the agent (think tank) Change agent: changed focus by debate, behavior by role modeling, systems and processes by training and technical assistance

V. African Think Tanks and the missing middle

Missing Middle
Rosy projections hide challenges: Huge pent up demand --more than 85% of SMEs need finance Higher capital deployment (cumulative investments to cumulative fundraising for PE) Significantly underserved PE environment, less efficient than other emerging markets PE markets make up less than 0.1% of SSAs aggregate GDP. India and Brazil 4-7 times PE could provide SMEs with capital, advisory services, knowledge transfer Very few think tanks in Africa work in this space SME Think Tank on Twitter available to Africa China-Africa TTs Forum put a lot of attention on supporting SMEs

Opportunity Space

Role of Think Tanks

Policy role for Think Tanks in PE for SMEs

Types of Policies

Nature of Engagement
Complexity and change: seek policies for long-term shifts in behavior, skills, attitudes & motivations, processes & practices, rules & norms (formal & informal) Interactions: adjust policy design & implementation to accommodate interactions with new products & services, technology & change Context: relevance of starting points and role of history and aspirations and expectations. Highly local research but dependent on long-distance (global) effects

Policies for domestic revenue mobilization, fiscal & monetary management, and financial sector policies to prepare for increased global exposure Policies to bridge skill gaps in banking, finance, accounting, legal structuring, and investment management Policies to enhance regulatory environment that underpins good performance of SMEs Trade finance policies to create markets for SME produced products Public spending policies to to channel investments to top priorities (cities, transport, energy, health and education) Policies to enhance regional labour markets for local talent to move across countries

Lessons from Experience: Choices for Think Tanks

Differentiate

Collaborate

Areas to focus on for research, analysis and study

Critical interfaces like gender, private sector, parliaments, regional integration

Dialogue and implementation arrangements

Policies for regional public goods sustainability

Policies for effective transformation and change

Policies for risk management, uncertainty, recovery and resilience