Strengthening governance think tanks in West Africa

Fragile democracies emerging from conflict face enduring challenges: weak institutions, polarized politics and constrained civic space that limit accountability and inclusive governance. In Sierra Leone and Liberia, these legacies persist more than two decades after war, even as people and communities attempt to engage in dialogue and evidence-based advocacy for inclusive governance for a stable future.

This project seizes that momentum to catalyze democratic renewal by strengthening national research capacity and making people’s voices heard so that policy reform is relevant and focused on those who need it the most.

While both countries have well-trained governance research experts, many research organizations struggle with unstable funding as well as some capacity gaps, especially around resisting pressure to compromise impartial research. To address this, the project will support national research institutions to lead applied research, convene inclusive policy dialogues and build institutional resilience for long-term impact. The project starts with support in Sierra Leone, with potential to expand to a leading think tank in Liberia.

Through literature reviews, surveys, interviews and focus groups, the project will generate high-quality evidence on strategies to include local people in governance, improve service delivery and reduce polarization between communities. Selected institutions will prioritize youth, women and marginalized voices, ensuring research reflects diverse lived experiences. Efforts in Sierra Leone will draw on media expertise to engage communities in different formats and will include different local languages to make the results accessible and engaging to both communities and government.

Beyond research, the project will strengthen strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation systems and financial sustainability. It will also help ensure the research results are used by government by testing innovative ways to move evidence into policy and public debate and building networks that connect national and regional governance forums, with the potential to foster collaboration and comparative learning across West Africa.