From Being Influential to Useful – The Evolving Role of Think Tanks

Systems Practice in International Development

Welcome to Episode 8 of Systems Practice in International Development. Our guest is Enrique Mendizabal, Founder and Executive Director of On Think Tanks (OTT). In this episode, we’re tackling some big questions: What does it take for think tanks to shape policies that make a difference? How do they balance independence while meeting funders' demands? And is there a better way to think about evidence – as just one piece of a bigger, messier puzzle? We’ll explore the evolving role of think tanks in today’s challenging landscape, with a fresh perspective and real-world examples.

This episode’s guest

Enrique is OTT’s founder and executive director. He leads the development and delivery of OTT’s mission. Enrique has over 20 years of experience in the field of evidence informed policy. Before founding OTT in 2011 he worked for the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) where he headed the Research and Policy in Development programme. At ODI he co-founded the Outcome Mapping Learning Community. Enrique has co-founded various initiatives aimed at supporting better informed policymaking including Purpose & Ideas, the Peruvian Alliance for the Use of Evidence, the Latin American Evidence Week and the Premio PODER al Think Tank Peruano del Año.

This podcast is produced and hosted by the Portfolio Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) programme in Nepal, funded by the British Embassy Kathmandu and implemented by Abt Global. Please note, the views expressed through this podcast reflect those
of the hosts and guests only.