A new ranking by the Global To Go Think Tank Index of the University of Pennsylvania has ranked the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) as the top-rank civil society think tank organisation in Nigeria.
The 2020 report released Thursday, January 28, 2021, also rated CDD as number 11 in Sub-Sahara, moving up from its 16th position in the institution’s last report. CDD takes the lead after Ethiopia Policy Studies Institute (PSI) FNA Ethiopia Development Research Center and African Economic Research Consortium (AERC, Kenya) which ranked nine and 10 respectively.
Following CDD on the table of top 15 Sub-Saharan think tanks are the Centre Ivoirien de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (CIRES) (Côte d’Ivoire), Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) (South Africa), Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) (South Africa) and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) (South Africa) on 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th positions.
Next on the list from Nigeria are the Africa Heritage Institution (Afri-Heritage) and the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) on 20th and 24th positions. The institution through its Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) of the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania said the research was conducted based on the role policy institutes play in governments and civil societies around the world.
Referred to as the “think tanks’ think tank,” TTCSP said it examines the evolving role and character of public policy research organizations and over the last 30 years, the program has developed and led a series of global initiatives. The initiatives include helping to bridge the gap between knowledge and policy in critical policy areas such as international peace and security, globalization and governance, international economics, environmental issues, information and society, poverty alleviation and healthcare and global health.
Led by James C. McGann, the institution’s added that TTCSP continually seeks to improve the nomination and selection process while keeping several things in mind.
“The Index’s aim is to produce an inclusive and far-reaching report of international think tanks,” the Institution said.
Reacting to the ranking, the Director of CDD, Idayat Hassan, said while this is a pat on the back for the many work done by the Centre to strengthen democracy and improve good governance in Nigeria and the West African region, this is also a call to do more.
Hassan said: “This means more and more work for us at the CDD, but the fact remains that we at the Centre will not relent in our effort to promote the values of democracy, peace and human rights in Africa, particularly in the West African sub-region.”
The 2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index (GGTTI) marks the fifteenth year of continued efforts by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania to acknowledge the important contributions and emerging global trends of think tanks worldwide.