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On Think Tanks OTT is a global consultancy and platform for change. The page of www.onthinktanks.org will republish posts and other announcements from the blog.

14/10/2026

The School for Thinktankers isn't a typical training programme — and the people who teach it will tell you that.

Sonja Stojanovic-Gajic, senior researcher at the University of Rijeka and former director of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, has been part of the School for Thinktankers faculty for 5+ years.

Across ten editions, the School has brought together 300+ professionals from 70+ countries. The 11th edition opens 1–5 February 2027 in Barcelona.

If you're ready to take your think tank leadership to the next level, this is your programme.

📅 1–5 February 2027 | 📍Equitat.org Barcelona

Apply now! Link in our bio.

We’re entering the last quarter of the year — and if strengthening your think tank leadership is on your agenda for 2027...
29/09/2026

We’re entering the last quarter of the year — and if strengthening your think tank leadership is on your agenda for 2027, now is the time to act.

New trainers have joined the School for Thinktankers 2027 lineup, and we couldn’t be more excited to introduce them alongside our full roster of experts. Swipe through to see them all 👉

The 11th edition of the School brings together practitioners from some of the world’s leading think tanks and policy organisations:
🔹 Alice Vulliamy, David Watson & John Schwartz – Soapbox
🔹 Áurea Moltó – Elcano Royal Institute
🔹 Camila Ulloa Torres, Enrique Mendizabal, Fiorella Bianchi Lahoud & Goran Buldioski – OTT
🔹 Erica Schoder – R Street Institute
🔹 Krizna Gomez – Rogue Union
🔹 Lídia Climent Martínez, Marc Garriga Segarra & Mònica Nadal Anmella – Equitat.org
🔹 Natalia Kiryttopoulou – Center for Effective Philanthropy
🔹 Nick Scott – Co-founder, WonkComms
🔹 Pol Bargues & Pol Morillas Bassedas – CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs)
🔹 Sonja Stojanovic Gajic, PhD – Public Engagement

Together, they bring decades of experience leading, advising, funding, and communicating for think tanks and policy organisations across the world.

Over five days in Barcelona, they’ll guide participants through strategic leadership, governance, fundraising, communications, policy influence, and AI & foresight, with site visits, peer exchange, and CPD certification included.

Places are limited!

🗓️ 1–5 February 2027 | 📍 Equitat.org, Barcelona
🔗 Apply now! Link in bio.

📊 What does it really take for a think tank to survive and stay independent in 2026? We surveyed organisations across 94...
18/09/2026

📊 What does it really take for a think tank to survive and stay independent in 2026? We surveyed organisations across 94 countries to find out.

From funding structures and staff retention to AI adoption and what really drives independence, SOS2026 captures a sector navigating real pressure, and adapting faster than expected in some areas.

Swipe through for this year’s top 10 findings 👆

📖 Read the full report: onthinktanks.org/sos2026 (link in bio)

StateoftheSector2026

🚀 It's here: the State of the Sector 2026 report is live!'Strength comes from within: People as pillars of resilience' d...
17/09/2026

🚀 It's here: the State of the Sector 2026 report is live!

'Strength comes from within: People as pillars of resilience' draws on responses from think tanks across 94 countries, the most comprehensive picture we've built yet of how the sector is really doing.

A few of this year's headline findings:

📉 Only 18.7% of think tanks expect their sector to grow this year, while 34.4% expect it to shrink, and pessimism is concentrated in the wealthiest regions, not the aid-dependent ones facing the deepest funding cuts.

💰 Just 18.4% of organisations are predominantly core-funded. Most rely on project grants, a structural reality that shapes financial stability far more than total funding.

🤖 AI adoption jumped to 83.9% in 2026, up from 71% in 2025, closing the "AI divide" across size, region, and income.

📡 A receptive media environment, not money or organisational size, is the strongest driver of feeling both effective and independent.

This report wouldn't exist without our 26 partner organisations worldwide, who shaped the survey, expanded its reach, and grounded the findings in local context. Thank you for being part of this.

📖 Read and download the full report: onthinktanks.org/sos2026

17/09/2026

🔷 Liderar un think tank hoy significa navegar un entorno en constante transformación.

👁‍🗨 Durante una sesión organizada por On Think Tanks , nuestra directora Liliana Alvarado compartió con Enrique Mendizabal algunas de las claves que han marcado su trayectoria al frente de Ethos.

➡️Destacó la importancia de mantener una visión estratégica, fortalecer las alianzas, diversificar las fuentes de financiamiento, innovar en la forma de comunicar e incidir, y adaptarse a los cambios sin perder de vista la misión institucional.

📖 Te invitamos a conocer sus reflexiones en esta nota. 👇
🔗https://bit.ly/3RPcmiA

08/09/2026

🎉 Save the date: the OTT Conference is back for its 11th edition!

At the close of this year's conference, we turned the mic around and asked everyone in the room: what should we cover next? Partnerships, collaboration, inequalities, resilience — the answers varied, but they kept circling back to the same thing: the people behind the think tanks.

Now it's official. OTT Conference 2027 heads to in Barcelona next May, with the theme: Think Tanks and People. In an age where AI is reshaping how our sector works, we're spotlighting the people at the centre of it.

📅 12–13 May 2027 | 📍 Barcelona, Spain

👉 Apply to attend: link in bio!

27/06/2026

When think tanks work in silos, the research suffers. So does the policy.

Funda Tekin, Director of , on what fragmentation is costing the sector — from the Democracy Under Pressure convening in Brussels, hosted by the European Policy Centre and .

25/06/2026

Good work at a small scale isn’t enough anymore.

Ruslan Stefanov, Program Director at .eu, on why scaling impact is the defining challenge for think tanks in Europe right now — from the Democracy Under Pressure convening in Brussels, hosted by the European Policy Centre and .

23/06/2026

It’s not a shortage of good ideas. It’s an avalanche of them — and AI is accelerating it.

The real question is: how do you make your work matter when everything is competing for attention?

Ditte Brasso, Deputy Director of Think Tank Europa, on what she sees as the defining challenge for the sector — from the Democracy Under Pressure convening in Brussels, hosted by European Policy Centre and .

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