African think-tanks: practical solutions to practical problems

As the table on page 20 underlines, there are now dozens of think-tanks across the continent, although many focus mainly upon their host nation.

Such organisations can play a key role by serving as catalysts for ideas and proposing practical solutions for policy problems. They can also act as bridges between governments, business and civil society.

They tend to form partnerships with global think-tanks and organisations, sharing in the experience of others and applying this to their own unique, locally focused research. The outcomes from the leading African think-tanks are often very original and practical and look at societies in the round rather than from single aspects such as economics or politics.

The Asian growth is a classic example of the efficacy of think-tanks in helping to formulate transformative policies. The Western world is course awash with think-tanks and focus-groups deployed in virtually every field requiring policy frameworks.

“Soft power is determined not only by economic strength, but also by the ability of states to produce knowledge and influence thinking. The number of think-tanks in a country is indicative of this”, writes Jakkie Cilliers of the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa.

Why think-tanks?

There is some debate over exactly what constitutes a think-tank. Nathalie Delapalme, the executive director for research and policy at the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, says that her organisation is “probably more of a fact tank for business and decision makers than a think-tank”.

The Africa Progress Panel (APP) can perhaps also be considered a think-tank. It comprises 10 individuals from the private and public sector who promote equitable and sustainable development for Africa. It is chaired by Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, and seeks to target decision-making audiences, including African and other world leaders, heads of state, leaders of industry, plus a broad range of stakeholders at the global, regional, and national levels.

As well as considering economic development and governance more broadly, the APP produces annual reports on different issues, most recently on the impact of illegal forestry and fishing operations.

The last two years have seen the publication of three long-term reports that focused on taking the continent’s economies on to the next level: the African Development Bank unveiled its long-term strategy, At the Center of Africa’s Transformation, with the goal of establishing Africa as the next global market, ACET’s 2014 Africa Transformation report, Growth with Depth and The Economic Commission for Africa’s 2013 economic report, Making the most of Africa’s commodities: Industrializing for growth, jobs and economic transformation.

All the reports detail what is needed to promote competitiveness in Africa, reduce dependence on primary commodity exports, and emerge as the new centre of global economic growth.

Each, however, does so from different viewpoints commensurate with their primary function. The AfDB, for example, is a development bank; the ECA carries out research into a wide variety of economic areas; only ACET works specifically on the transformation of African economies within a short time frame. The motto of the organisation, which is based in Accra and Washington, is ‘transformation within a generation’.

K.Y. Amoako, the founder and president of the body and a man with very extensive experience in development institutions – he was with the World Bank, headed the ECA and has been a member of several international commissions – says time is of the essence for Africa to move on to the next stage.