The African Capacity Building Foundation’s (ACBF) long term investment in Africa’s development is paying off as most of its supported research centers have been identified as the best in Africa.
To date, 23 out of 33 Think Tanks supported by ACBF are recognized as “leading centers of excellence in public policy research” in sub-Saharan Africa according to the 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania, which ranks the performance of policy institutes worldwide.
These top ranked institutes are the ‘go-to’ centers for “sound policy proposals that address the complex policy issues” according to the TTCSP.
The recently released 2014 report which has 65 Think Tanks from sub-Saharan Africa confirms the Foundation’s role as the leader in capacity development for African institutes.
On top of the leading centre’s list in sub-Saharan- Africa is the ACBF supported research centre, Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, (KIPPRA) from Kenya.
The remaining 22 African organizations supported by ACBF are:
- Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) (Senegal) (No.4)
- Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) (Botswana) (No. 5)
- Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) (Ghana) (No. 10)
- African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) (Kenya) (No. 11)
- Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) (South Africa) (No. 13)
- Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI) (Ethiopia) (No. 15)
- Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) (Uganda) (No. 16)
- Ethiopian Economics Association (EEA) (Ethiopia) (No. 17)
- Centre Ivoirien de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (CIRES) (Cote d’Ivoire) (No. 28)
- Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) (Ghana) (No.34)
- Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF) (Tanzania) (No.42)
- Strategic Transformation and Policy Centre (STPC) (Cabo Verde) (No. 45)
- Centre d’Etudes de Politiques pour le Developpement (CEPOD) (Senegal) (No. 46)
- Programme de Troisieme Cycle Inter-universitaire en Economie (PTCI) (Burkina Faso) (No.48)
- Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR) (Kenya) (No. 54)
- Centre de Recherches, d’Etudes et d’Appui a l’Analyse Economique a Madagascar (CREAM) (Madagascar) (No. 55)
- Centre Autonome d’Etudes et de Renforcement des Capacites pour le Developpement au Togo (CADERDT) (Togo) (No.56)
- Nigerian Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER) (Nigeria) (No.57)
- Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI) (Zimbabwe) (No. 58)
- Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS) (South Africa) (No. 59)
- Swaziland Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre (SEPARC) (Swaziland) (No. 62)
- Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR) (Rwanda) (No.63)
African countries have been growing at respectable levels for over a decade, 5% on the average. However, many countries are still bedeviled by high levels of poverty. Also, growth has not created decent jobs for young men and women and it has not significantly reduced poverty and inequality across the continent. Therefore, African countries need to pay attention to the levels of growth, the sources of growth and the quality of growth as well as the inclusivity of growth.
More importantly, they need to design, implement and monitor strategies and policies that will lead to economic transformation. Structural transformation through massive industrialization and increased productivity in agricultural sector and value addition in the primary commodity sector will help African countries, grow sustainably, create millions of jobs and reduce inequality and poverty. Yet, putting the right strategies, policies and programmes in place requires translating research into policy. This is where the think tanks come into the picture.
To this end, Africa’s think tanks are critical as they provide a dynamic space of intellectual inquiry that helps refine ideas and translate academic arguments into policy-relevant recommendations; promote exchange of lessons and experiences among experts and decision-makers passionate about issues of policy; improve society’s grasp of the capacity needs associated with policy formulation; strengthen strategic partnerships to support key national/regional initiatives; and empower decision-makers and practitioners to leverage information for the effective interrogation of policy work.
The successes of these institutions reaffirm ACBF’s commitment to supporting evidence-based research and policy formulation in Africa. To date, most of the policy institutes supported by ACBF have directly contributed to national development through core research for the public and private sectors, civil society organizations, Parliaments in the respective countries and Regional Economic Communities. In addition, the think tanks have produced national poverty reduction strategies, working papers, policy briefs, and national blueprints or sector specific research. .
Since inception in 1991, ACBF has pioneered in the development of and support to think tanks across Africa. Today, the Foundation is supporting 33 think tanks which have become the first point of call for policy research products and technical advisory services by key stakeholders in the continent.
However, despite the successes of these think tanks over the years, there is still an expressed need to support the creation of think tanks and the strengthening of their capacities so that they can conduct quality policy research that will shape the policy directions and positively impact the life of African people.
