Reflections from the Think Tank Initiative and their relevance for Canada

From 2009-2019, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) managed the Think Tank Initiative (TTI) as a contribution to strengthening applied research systems in Latin America, East and West Africa and South Asia. TTI's experience supporting these organisations yielded interesting insights into how collaborations between researchers and civil society organisations can be made more effective. If we wish to see greater benefits from researcher-civil society collaborations in Canada in support of international development policy and programming, it might be time again to reflect on how to address the gap created after the closure of the North-South Institute.