On 25 March 2014, Bambang Hudayana from the Institute for Research and Empowerment (IRE) and Riko Wahyudi from Article 33, supported by the Australian Government through the Knowledge Sector Initiative, attended a workshop as part of the On Think Tanks Exchange (or ‘The Exchange’) project in Lima, Peru. The Indonesian representatives joined eight researchers/think-tankers from Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Hungary, Georgia and Ukraine.
The Exchange is a new initiative to encourage and support exchanges between think tanks to develop new relationships and facilitate collaboration on research projects, institutional development and policy influencing efforts. Over a two-year period, The Exchange will engage ten participating think tanks to learn and share through virtual and face-to-face meetings and webinars, and to work on collaborative research projects based on their own choice.
At the workshop in Lima, two main topics were discussed: improving the quality of public policy, and policies on diversity and types of possible collaboration. The Indonesian think tanks and the rest of the participants acknowledged that addressing organizational development is a common need among research institutions/think tanks. Collaboration, in their opinion, should not be limited to research projects but should also extend to organizational development issues.
“As a follow-up to this workshop, we are keen to have more discussions, gather inputs and share ideas with KSI to seek a common language and synergy for this initiative,” Bambang said.
During the workshop, the ten participants also agreed to focus on two organizational themes for their collaborative research project discussion, namely strategic funding and communications.
Following the four-day workshop in Peru, an online forum discussion will continue to explore more innovative ideas until the end of June 2014. Another meeting in Budapest, Romania is planned to solidify the collaborative research proposal.
The Exchange is launched and co-supported by the Think Tank Initiative, the Think Tank Fund, and On Think Tanks.
For more information about The Exchange: https://onthinktanks.org/2014/03/31/the-on-think-tanks-exchange-first-meeting/
