OTTAWA, Canada: The Think Tank Initiative has selected 28 think tanks, or independent policy research institutions, in Latin America and South Asia to receive a total of US$35 million to strengthen their roles as influential players in national policymaking. Each think tank will receive long-term funding, enabling them to conduct research that is fundamental to the development of sound policy.

"International donors continue to invest in policy research undertaken by Western institutions and sometimes forget that it is strong local think tanks that often generate the most effective policymaking in developing countries," says David Malone, President of Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Launched by IDRC, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2008, the Think Tank Initiative is a step towards reversing this trend. It aims to support local think tanks to produce high-quality research that will improve policies and, ultimately, contribute to more equitable and prosperous societies. The US$35 million investment in Latin America and South Asia follows US$30 million in grants to 24 think tanks in East and West Africa in 2009.

Think tanks in the developing world are in a unique position to effect change in their societies. They can strengthen public policy debates and promote more objective, evidence-based decision-making. However, most never receive predictable core funding, instead depending on short-term project grants and consultancy contracts. This Initiative provides think tanks with stable funding so that they can attract, retain and build local talent, develop an independent research program, and invest in outreach to ensure that research results are used in policy debates.

The Initiative received over 300 proposals from a wide range of Latin American and South Asian think tanks that focus on broad national, social, and economic policy issues. Following a thorough and rigorous review process, 28 institutions were selected from seven countries in Latin America - Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, and Peru; and five countries in South Asia - Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

"We are convinced that the support given by the Think Tank Initiative and the collaboration with other policy centres in ours and other regions of the world will allow Grupo FARO to continue to accompany Ecuador and Latin America in the road to development" says Orazio Bellettini, Executive Director of Ecuador's Fundacion para el Avance de las Reformas y las Oportunidades (Grupo FARO), one of the think tanks selected. Dr. Rajendra P. Mamgain, Director of the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies adds " The IDRC Think Tank Initiative's core grant to the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies will be crucial to develop its research programmes in wider spheres, strategize group-specific inclusive policies, strengthen partnerships with various stakeholders, improve outreach through effective networking and develop the support system for a competent research capacity."

The Initiative's three initial funders have now been joined by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Netherlands Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS). This strengthened partnership is a concrete move toward establishing and nurturing strong local policy research institutions that ultimately help generate smart and effective policymaking. "This is an exciting and innovative initiative. It will provide a much needed support for evidence-based research and policy on global issues such as economic growth, good governance and citizen empowerment, which will help tackle poverty in South Asia and Latin America" says Michael Anderson, Director General for Policy and Global Issues at DFID.

The Initiative is envisioned as a long-term investment over at least 10 years. The five donors have committed a total of about US$110 million to the program.

For more information about the Think Tank Initiative please visit http://www.idrc.ca/thinktank.