East African Think Tanks shine in the latest global ranking of knowledge generation institutions in Africa.

By Dr Ibrahim Kasirye

The annual Global Go To Think Tank Index released last week by the University of Pennsylvania’s Think Tank and Civil Societies Program shows that institutions in East Africa continue to rank highly within the global index. The 2013 rankings show that the Nairobi based African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) remains the most highly rated think tank in the region. The AERC moved from 7th position in 2012 to the 3rd in 2013 among the top 40 think tanks in sub Saharan Africa. The Global Go To Think Tank Index was launched in 2008 and is compiled through balloting by other research institutions and journalists. The highest ranking Think Tank in the world is the US based Brookings Institution.

The AERC, which celebrated its Silver Jubilee, last year, is a research network of economists. It holds bi-annual research workshops and has been at the forefront of training economists through collaborative Doctoral and Masters programmes in Economics, and Agricultural and other applied economics programmes. Other institutions highly rated in the 2013 report in the East Africa region include:  the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) and the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) (Uganda) ranked 15th and 17th respectively. The top ranking research institutions in Africa are as shown in the table below:

Top 10 Think Tanks in East Africa

Institution
Country
Africa Rank  (Among Top 40)
1
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
Kenya
3rd
2
Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA)
Kenya
15th
3
Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC)
Uganda
17th
4
Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA)
Tanzania
19th
5
Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
Uganda
24th
6
Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)
Kenya
25th
7
Centre for Research and Technology Development (RESTECH Centre)
Kenya
30th
8
African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)
Kenya
31st
9
Rift Valley Institute
Kenya
35th
10
Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR)
Uganda
37th
Source: 2013 GLOBAL GO TO THINK THANK INDEX, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA



The 2013 Global report also shows that most of the top think thanks in Africa are located in South Africa. South Africa has 10 institutions among the top 40 think tanks on the continent. In East Africa, Kenya and Ghana follow with 6 institutions each among the top 40. On the other hand, Uganda has 3, Tanzania 1 while Rwanda and Burundi have none ranked among the top 40 leading think tanks in Africa.

In the 2013 index, the five East African Community (EAC) countries have a total of 117 think tanks (about 19.1 percent of the total number of think tanks in sub Saharan Africa). Within the EAC region, Kenya stands out as the country with the largest number of think tanks—(57 institutions) followed by Uganda (29 institutions). Kenya and Uganda account for more than 70 percent of the total number of think tanks in the EAC region.  Globally, Kenya is ranked 17th in terms of countries with the largest number of institutions. In this sense, Kenya outperformed powerhouses such as Spain (55 institutions) and Nigeria (51 institutions).

The concentration of think tanks in Kenya, in comparison to its economic muscle, may partly be linked to the significant presence of global philanthropic institutions. Philanthropic institutions are key in financing think tanks. For example, institutions such as the United Nations (UN), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC-Canada), Rockefeller Foundation and MacArthur Foundation have regional offices in Nairobi.  Such international institutions are a significant source of funding for think tanks.

In addition to location of international institutions in Nairobi, Kenya had a significant focus on international development. Unlike other countries where think tanks primarily address domestic issues, a substantial number of think tanks in Nairobi deal with Africa wide and international development challenges. As such, institutions such as the African Economic Research Consortium, African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS), and the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), although based in Nairobi work on issues far beyond the Kenyan borders.


South Africa Think Tanks Dominant In Africa
In sub Saharan Africa, South Africa has the largest number of think tanks—88 in total (about 14 percent of the total). Other African countries with more than 30 institutions are Ghana (38 institutions) and Zimbabwe (31 institutions). Despite significant progress made in sub Saharan Africa, institutions in Africa still only account for 9 percent of the global think tank population (currently numbering 6,826 institutions worldwide) although the continent accounts for 15 percent of the world human population. The leading countries in the world with the largest number of think tanks are USA and China—the two countries account for 27% and 6%, respectively of the total number of known institutions in the world.

Overall think tanks in the region remain instrumental in the formulation of public programmes. Apart from capacity building activities, think tanks in East Africa have been supporting evidence based policy making especially during the formulation of national visions and development plan. As East Africa moves towards implementing joint projects e.g. in infrastructure, think tanks in the region need to move away from address national concerns to tackling regional challenges.

END

About the Author:
Dr Ibrahim Kasirye is Principal Research Fellow at the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), Uganda

Follow him on Twitter: @nal_ug

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