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ISLAMABAD, Sep 29 (APP):Dr Ishrat Husain, former Governor of State Bank and currently the Senior Advisor at Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) has said that Water-Food-Energy nexus is responsible for environmental degradation in Pakistan, and climate change should be the priority area for every think tank, as it is a traditional security threat for the country.
He was speaking at the SDPI’s Policy Research Clinic, titled: “The Agenda for Policy Think Tanks in Pakistan” on Monday.
Over the years, he said, Pakistani policy intelligentsia, namely think tanks, have become dependent on donor agencies, and their increased reliance on donors has subdued their independence over choosing policy options dropping their impact on policy makers, communities and governments.
He stressed the need for adopting out-of-the-box approach to guide, educate and advocate for core policy issues of the nation benefitting mutual growth, sustainability and inclusive development.
He underlined that the youth have innovative and fresh ideas that should be encouraged to participate in research-related decisions by think tanks, alongside women perspective which is totally unique and poles apart from their male counterparts in research that should be promoted and encouraged.
Suggesting that the researchers appearing on national television should keep their narratives drenched into facts and evidence, he said: “Think Tanks in Pakistan should dedicate their efforts to ace data analytics for convincing research stories and narratives. Also the think tanks working with international partners should closely work with their counterparts as team members to increase their capacity and knowledge.
Commenting on the prevailing structure of the think tanks, he said in Pakistan, they should focus on developing synergies among diverse array of experts and focus on global issues impacting national interests, including geopolitical upheavals, AI and technology advancement. “China is leading global manufacturing of solar PVs and electric cars because it owns over three million robots with a 30 per cent share of global robot production,” he said.
Dr Ishrat Husain noted that think tanks should have worked on out of the box ideas like impact of CPEC and Green Energy boom on Pakistan’s national grid. He added that the “Policy Briefs” by thinks tanks used to help fill time lapses in connecting evidence with decision making should be enhanced as hallmark product.
He suggested that the think tanks working with donor agencies should work on modifying their project TORs as beneficial for Pakistan and serving national interests.
“Think tanks globally are recognized by their work and reputation in the field which is essential. Moreover, the youth lamenting their exclusion from decision making forums should equip themselves with skills, knowledge and experience as only youth with proper knowledge and experience will be given importance by decision makers,” he noted.
For policy think tanks, he said, the local governments role is critical in ensuring policies impact at grass roots level, and decisions like serving all basic amenities to masses needs to be highlighted for improved governance and public service through empowered local governments.
The SDPI Senior Advisor believed that international collaborations with global think tanks were only beneficial amid researcher-to-researcher contacts which should be enhanced for fruitful partnerships. He mentioned that the think tanks should focus on generating their core funding through public and private sectors capitalizing on CSR funding and competitive research grants with a balance established between their supply and demand-driven projects.
In his welcome note, Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, SDPI Executive Director, said Dr Ishrat Husain has joined SDPI as distinguished Senior Advisor Emeritus on the request of its Board of Governors and it is his maiden address to the faculty after assuming his position.
He commended that Dr Ishrat’s insightful and wholehearted interventions have added more to the knowledge of the participants. “His candid discourse and commentary provided innovative idea of balancing the supply and demand of research projects with a precise focus on Artificial Intelligence, Technological Advancement, food security and geopolitical challenges as critical policy areas,” Dr Suleri said.
The SDPI Executive Director endorsed that the Policy Briefs are highly significant in keeping a think tank relevant which was rightly reminded by Dr Ishrat.
He also noted that the synergy among overlapping units in the think tanks needs to be reformed for better and effective impact. However, unit and researcher level partnerships with international and local think tanks bear fruitful outcomes, he added.
Dr Shafqat Munir, SDPI’s Research Fellow, in his opening remarks, said the discussion was organized to garner valuable insights from Dr Ishrat Husain on evolving role of the think tanks, with researchers and experts of the institute.