Establishing a Policy Review think tank right now is not just an institutional priority but an urgent necessity. In a complex world where states are on the verge of World War III, the never-ending war in Eastern Europe and the global energy crisis are burning questions. How has the world become so chaotic again after two World Wars? These questions must be answered. Policy review think tanks are the structures that will reassess policies—what went wrong and what can be done better.
Sovereignty has become a complex issue. States and governments have become complex too, and their operations have reached unprecedented levels of complexity. The way economic systems are interconnected means that a problem ten thousand miles away can affect the entire system of another country. Climate change, global market volatility, technological disruption, supply chain fragility, cybersecurity threats, and pandemics have made everything less predictable. Static policy analysis cannot answer the questions that arise from these challenges; rather, policymakers need dedicated intellectual capacity to understand them.
Policy frameworks are typically designed for stability, whereas in reality, situations are often very fragile. This creates a significant mismatch between policy design, execution, and outcomes. On the other hand, think tanks are not always unbiased; they often serve the interests of their funders or reflect particular ideological inclinations. As a result, inefficiencies and misjudgments of conditions frequently occur, leading to stagnation in policies and institutions (think tanks, governments, and INGOs).
An independent policy review think tank intervenes exactly at these fault lines. Rather than focusing primarily on producing more policies, it emphasizes testing and evaluating existing ones. Understanding and suggesting newer, more scientific ways to formulate policy can transform policymaking from a one-dimensional cycle into a multidimensional approach, allowing for adaptation to changing situations.
Moreover, policy review think tanks build the capacity to conduct research across different organizations, carry out field visits, prepare reports, and review data to produce research papers for clients. The think tank also acts as a consultant, not as an individual, but as an institution and structure, which is far more effective than one-person consultation.
The important gaps make such kinds of think tanks inevitable:
The Deficit in Evaluation
Most policy think tanks lack unbiased and rigorous assessment of the implementation of policies. The declaration of success is mainly either bought or assumed. Governments never admit their failures; NGOs and INGOs never accept their defeats to keep their reputation intact. But policies are implemented to change the lives of people who are in dire need of improving their situation. An unbiased, dedicated review body with methodological discipline can track the outcomes, identify unintended consequences, and distinguish rhetorical success from real life impacts.
Working Outside Bureaucratic and Electoral Cycle
Politicians and administrations pressurize for short-term deliveries. On the other hand, demographic transitions, AI and automation, and climate and environmental problems are so dynamic that, without consulting specialists, it is quite impossible to understand the dynamics and changes. Policy review think tanks can operate outside the electoral and bureaucratic system and enable long-term research, planning, policy implementation, and policy continuity.
The Fragmented Knowledge
There are no shortcomings of experts in academia, government, and industries. But they are fragmented into different institutions. Without being on the same centralized platform, their expertise remains underutilized. A policy review think tank employs, provides fellowships, and works together with all types of experts in its institute. It fulfills the need for a centralized platform to consolidate complex insights into a policy guidance framework.
In countries like Bangladesh, where these gaps are monumental, the need for an unbiased policy think tank is consequential. The country is in transition from poverty to growth. The story of growth is complex for different reasons, which some of us know and feel. As more development happens in the country, the challenges are not about expanding projects, but rather optimizing and improving quality, efficacy, and resilience across systems. This cannot be managed through the government and NGOs; rather, it requires counsel from expert institutions.
Capacity to Conduct Research Anywhere
The policy review think tanks are centralized institutions where all kinds of experts work together. As a result, the number of stakeholders is also enormous. This ensures the capacity to conduct research anywhere in the country as well as outside. This opens the door for the government, NGOs, INGOs, and other research institutes from anywhere in the world to work with the think tanks, delegate their work, and become unnerve.
So, a policy review think tank is not auxiliary; rather, it is a part of the governance structure in a mature state. It challenges, researches, and strengthens decision-making not by competing with authority, but by counseling it with intelligence. The real risk has never been policy failure, but the persistence of unexamined policies.
Panahe Mawla Adnan
President and Editor-in-Chief
Council for Policy Review