This conference  explored whether or not supporting African think tanks generates a tangible effect on decision making and policy processes.

Ajoy Datta from ODI's Research and Policy in Development programme delivered a presentation on the role and relevance of think tanks in Africa with a focus on the case of Uganda.

One of the aims of the conference was to examine the relationship between North American institutions and African think tanks in order to investigate the extent to which and the respects in which this particular form of engagement offers new or different possibilities for influencing public policy processes, including such areas as democratisation, development and security.