9 Indian Think Tanks to Get $9 Million Date:   Friday , July 30, 2010 The Think Tank Initiative has selected nine Indian think tanks or independent policy research institutions to receive $9 million to strengthen their roles as influential players in national policymaking. This is an initiative by the Canada-based International Development Research Center (IDRC), the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to encourage those institutions engaging in policy research focusing on national, social, and economic issues. Each think tank will receive long-term funding, enabling them to conduct research that is fundamental to the development of sound policy. The Indian institutions chosen include Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), Centre for Policy Research (CPR), Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Indian Institute of Dalit Studies (IIDS), Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), Public Affairs Centre (PAC), and Centre for Study of Science, Technology, and Policy (CSTEP). The Initiative received over 300 proposals from a wide range of Latin American and South Asian think tanks that focus on broad national, social, and economic policy issues. Following a thorough and rigorous review process, 28 institutions were selected from seven countries in Latin America - Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, and Peru, and five countries in South Asia - Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The Think Tank Initiative aims to support local think tanks to produce high-quality research that will improve policies and, ultimately, contribute to more equitable and prosperous societies. The $35 million investment in Latin America and South Asia follows $30 million in grants to 24 think tanks in East and West Africa in 2009. “International donors continue to invest in policy research undertaken by western institutions and sometimes forget that it is strong local think tanks that often generate the most effective policymaking in developing countries,” says David Malone, President of Canada’s International Development Research Center.