Exploring Effectiveness and Impact: Think Tanks and University Relationships in South Asia: The Bangladesh Case

Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and think tanks in developing countries have been supported by international donors since the 1990s often in the name of a democratisation process of the governance structures, or/and in order to promote better research that informs policy. Given that the growth of civil society is generally associated with the greater accountability of policymakers and improved justice in society there has been an increase in specialised think tanks in the development sector spanning a range of development related issues such as human development, policy analysis, sustainable development, inequalities, social justice, agricultural policy, governance, food security, social protection, and human rights. The production and dissemination of knowledge within one country is rarely a linear process and involves a myriad of public and private stakeholders.
The objective of this paper is to answer two core questions: what are the relationships between think tanks and universities in Bangladesh and how do these relationships influence policy? To answer these questions requires an understanding of a) what factors encourage or discourage different types of relationships between think tanks and universities, and b) the complex relationships between knowledge creation and policymaking.