In the 2014 global go-to think tank ratings by the University of Pennsylvania the Rift Valley Institute has been ranked as the ninth most noteworthy think tank in East Africa, thirty-fifth in the continent. The following report is condensed from the Uganda-based Observer 

The latest global think-tank ratings index shows that institutions in East Africa continue to rank highly on the continent. 

The 2013 rankings, released last week by the University of Pennsylvania’s Think Tank and Civil Societies Programme, show the Nairobi-based African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) as the top think tank in the region. The AERC moved from 7th position in sub-Saharan Africa in 2012 to 3rd in 2013.

The index was launched in 2008 and is compiled through balloting by other research institutions and journalists. The highest-ranking think tank in the world is the US-based Brookings Institution….

The 2013 global report also shows that most of the top think thanks in Africa are located in South Africa, with 10 among Africa’s top 40. Kenya and Ghana follow with six institutions each. Uganda has three, Tanzania one, while Rwanda and Burundi have none among the top 40 in Africa.

In the 2013 index, the five East African Community (EAC) countries have a total of 117 think tanks (about 19.1 per cent of the total number of think tanks in sub Saharan Africa). Some 57 of these are in Kenya, followed by Uganda, with 29 institutions.

Globally, Kenya is ranked 17th in terms of countries with the largest number of institutions, below African leader South Africa (88) but beating countries such as Spain (55 institutions) and Nigeria (51).

The concentration of think tanks in Kenya, in comparison to its economic muscle, may partly be linked to the significant presence of global philanthropic institutions, key in financing think tanks. Institutions such as the United Nations (UN), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC-Canada), Rockefeller Foundation and MacArthur Foundation have regional offices in Nairobi.

Such international institutions are a significant source of funding for think tanks. Kenyan think tanks have also had a significant focus on international development. Unlike other countries where think tanks primarily address domestic issues, a substantial number of think tanks in Nairobi deal with Africa-wide and international development challenges….
 

Top 10 think tanks in East Africa

Source: 2013 Global Go to Think Tank Index, University of Pennsylvania