Working in a vacuum

Cover Story Working in a

Vacuum

For a country of its size and political structure, Qatar hosts a surprisingly large number of think tanks and research institutes whose work holds important policy implications. But in the absence of a meaningful civil society, how effectively is the prodigious output of these organisations being used, if at all?

Qatar Today meets some prominent researchers in Qatar to ask one simple question – is the government listening to them?

BY AYSWARYA MURTHY

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Cover Story Working in a

Vacuum

Q

atar has envisioned an ambitious future for itself – a thriving knowledge economy that is at the forefront of scientific, economic and political ideas; a hub of diplomacy and foreign policy; an oasis of stability; a locus of innovation and the voice of reason in a beleaguered region. Lofty goals that demand thought and implementation. But is something missing from that crucial ecosystem that constitutes academic research, think tanks and government?

With the academic year starting and the country shaking off the dust of the Eid downtime, invitations for several public lectures and seminars are starting to trickle in. As the sun goes down, intellectuals and curious general public gather at the halls in Education City, Qatar University, Diplomatic Club, five-star hotels and nondescript little villas to inform and engage on a broad range of political, social and economic issues – Islamic finance and crowd funding, tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the ecological shadow of the Gulf, Lebanon's domestic crisis, Islamic ethics concerning migrants and refugees, foreign manipulation of Gulf stock markets. It’s a cerebral delight, the discovery and immersion into this world, and when you go to enough of these events, you’ll discover a thread of commonality, irrespective of location and subject – the public discourse ends when the microphone goes silent. Hashtags are retired and the chatter dies down. Does the dialogue end there?

The missing link Ideally, no. Zahra Babar is currently the Associate Director for Research at the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS). Over the past few years, she and her team

have produced scholarly work on a range of issues – nuclear politics, food security, migration, sectarian politics, political economy of the Gulf, innovation in Islam, social change in post-Khomeini Iran, changes in the Gulf family, social currents in the Maghreb, China and the Middle East and more - as evidenced by the row of hardcover books and anthologies that sit on her shelf; each the end-product of several months of work gathering empirical data and providing in-depth, nuanced and critical understanding of the subject matter. Technically, the academic’s job is done. The work itself is supposed to take on new life as it travels through the conduit of civil society into the hands of policymakers. That is the gap that is hard to fill in this region.

“The way it would work usually is that after academic research produces this knowledge, intermediaries like NGOs, advocacy groups, journalists and think tanks would use this information to create platforms of advocacy for change and ensure the message gets to policymakers and governance bodies. And it is this group of actors and stakeholders - a lovely, broad, overused word called 'civil society' – that are very absent in the Gulf,” says Babar. She explains with an example of how anti-smoking legislation came to be enacted in the West. “Researchers came up with scientific knowledge on how smoking is severely bad for your health.

But those scientists in their laboratories didn’t take those deep academic papers and march to the ministries of health and legislatures. It was other civil society groups who took this knowledge, made it into a social issue and pressed their politicians and governments into action on implementing various smoking deterrents.” When this crucial mechanism doesn’t exist or isn’t as efficacious, the knowledge ends up in limbo and governments, which are traditionally not known

The culture of think tanks isn’t very well established in the region and is seen as a Western tradition. We need to encourage healthy connections between think tanks and policymakers and make sure governments see these institutions as beneficial, rather than looking at them with suspicion.

Dr Ezzeddine Abdelmoula Research Manager Al Jazeera Center for Studies

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Cover Story Working in a

Vacuum

for being proactive, are happy to maintain the status quo.

Change remains theoretical.

According to Dr Marwan Kabalan, this is a common complaint. He heads the Policy Analysis Unit at Doha-based Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) which, with two branches in Beirut and Tunis, has a pan-Arab focus. “Research institutions and think tanks all over the world always emphasise that there are not enough avenues with policymakers to convey the findings of their research and recommendations,” he says. “In the Arab world this problem is even more intensified due to the lack of a tradition of independent research centres and the lack of democratic institutions and political liberalisation.”

But the absence of democratic systems doesn’t doom this process of transferring knowledge into policy and action.

Vibrant civil societies have managed to thrive and be powerful actors in many countries with fractured democracies or complicated political systems. Having one doesn’t assure the other. “We need to understand that societies have ways of governing themselves,” says Dr Abdullah Baabood, Director of the Gulf Studies Program at Qatar University. “In the

Some, by the nature of their associations, are more successful than others. A case in point is the Al Jazeera Center for Studies (AJCS) whose research is managed by Dr Ezzeddine Abdelmoula. Funded by and serving as the research leg of the Al Jazeera Network, AJCS blurs the line between journalism and research. “We complement what the network is doing by providing them with context and in-depth analysis of geopolitical issues, in a form they can use while they operate in the newsroom,” he says. In return, the centre benefits from the network’s international bureaus, their contacts and, also more interestingly, their viewers. “We use the network to share our research and analysis with the public. All our events, like talks and conferences, are broadcast live over AJ Mubasher and we encourage interactions during the events through social media.”

In fact, online engagement seems to be the most tangible measure of effectiveness for these organisations, considering the inherent difficulty in judging and quantifying the success of their work. Dr Abdelmoula says they closely monitor interactions on their website and various social media channels and we are not surprised when he says

Our recommendations are based on empirical results of a survey.

We say, if you trust the survey methodology, these are the implications of the results from a policy perspective. It’s not our personal point of view and we are not advocating a particular approach to policy.

Dr Justin Gengler Research Program Manager Social and Economic Survey Research Institute

Gulf we have developed our own way of governance through traditional tribal systems and royal families. They have understood that they have to develop these systems with time, especially when the young, educated population demands liberalisation and reform. And this is happening with the establishment of efficient governance through municipal and Shura councils.” This is why public engagement is important and not as futile as it seems at first glance. “Reform should not be a top-down approach. You want to build this culture of liberal governance? It can only be achieved by everybody believing in it and working towards it. Ultimately the more educated the public is on these issues, the more efficient they become in articulating their demands and engaging with the government,” Dr Baabood says.

An educated public All the research institutes and think tanks (hereafter collectively referred to as “research institutes” for ease) we have spoken to are keen on holding a dialogue with the public.

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that they fare better in this regard than any other regional research institute. Dr Kabalan also factors in readership of their website along with other dimensions like “the increasing number of submissions by Arab researchers and academics to our publications and conferences, references and citations to our work in the media” to get a better picture of their influence.

In the absence of structural relationships with civil society organisations in the country or region, these regular discussions, whether public or behind closed doors, and publications are important in disseminating knowledge to individuals, experts and organisations which can, in turn, influence the respective bodies in their capacity. “For the ACRPS, our approach is to widely publish our work and findings, hoping that this would influence the debate on policymaking in the Arab world, especially in issues related to economic development and democratic transition. In addition we make great efforts at our conferences to invite a range of actors and stakeholders, including policymakers,

diplomats, journalists, and activists in order to provide the space for them to interact and exchange knowledge with academics,” Dr Kabalan says.

On the other side of the spectrum are centres like the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI), with targeted diffusion of analysis and results. They have been conducting surveys and publishing results since 2010, but with the establishment of their in-house policy unit, their work takes a rather interesting turn. Much of their previous surveys have been commissioned by government bodies and they work directly under the office of Qatar University’s Director for Research. All these factors help in favouring positioning SESRI with the government’s decision makers.

Dr Justin Gengler is Research Program Manager at SESRI and heads a five-member team of policy analysts. He says, “When we held an event to discuss the findings of the surveys we conducted on the recent local municipal elections, we were able to bring together policymakers from the Ministry of Interior including the officials directly incharge of the elections, the vice president of the Central Municipal Council, council members and members of the general

to gauge. Dr Baabood says, “It is expected that policymakers and advisers will read and communicate with research institutes about their thinking on certain issues. An enlightened decision maker should be able to see all sides of the story and even if the ideas put forth by a certain academic paper are ultimately not accepted, it should ideally be factored in the decision. While there is continued input from our side, it is not easy to measure the impact of our work in helping shape policy.”

Considering their expertise in geopolitical issues, AJCS researchers are actively involved with Qatar’s diplomatic corps and work closely with the Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, training them and briefing them on certain developments in the region. These kinds of relationships aside, Dr Abdelmoula says it’d be hard to find more than a dozen good institutions in the whole Arab region that are able to influence policymakers. “The numbers of such institutes are very limited. And also the culture of think tanks isn’t very well established in the region and is seen as a Western tradition. We need to encourage healthy connections between think tanks and policymakers and make sure

Our food security project had definite policy relevance and we had a meaningful interaction with the Qatar National Food Security Project, which was launched at the same time as our project. Its chairman, Fahad Al Attiyah, was very involved with our work and we learned a lot from each other through constant dialogue.

Zahra Babar Associate Director for Research Center for International and Regional Studies

public.” It was a unique and rare opportunity to talk about Qatari nationals’ perceptions about the elections in the presence of important stakeholders.

One-way traffic?

These kinds of interactions with the government seem to be anomalies rather than the norm. It is very difficult to get an idea of the public policy process and we often only get to see the end results but the little we can gather about government bodies’ consultations with research institutes is not very encouraging. For example, we were hard-pressed to find much evidence of the academic and research partners involved in the drafting of Qatar Tourism Authority’s strategy for 2030, despite local capacity in the area. QTA, of course, wouldn’t comment. And while decision makers often outsource policy analysis work to external research institutes, not many among those we spoke to had been similarly pressed into action.

Even the effectiveness of this one-way traffic is difficult

governments see these institutions as beneficial, rather than looking at them with suspicion.” The complex nature of alliances between Arab countries and that of pan-regional issues can’t be viewed in isolation, which means that any external body that is seen to be influencing policy is viewed warily. And current events in the region – conflict, the hindrance of democratic transition, sectarian violence – are imposing serious challenges to the efficacy and influence of Arab research centres, according to Dr Kabalan.

While CIRS scholars don’t get involved in making policy recommendations, Babar, in a personal capacity, is happy to revisit her roots in public policy, and says it is only natural, when working on topics like migrant labour in the Persian Gulf or food security in the GCC, to be interested in engaging the policy community. But for Babar, her interaction with the government has been “largely extractive”, i.e. she was given access to certain data for her research but it has been a struggle to find venues to share the results with the other side. “I worked with the Ministry of Labour when I QATAR TODAY > OCTOBER 2015 > 39

Cover Story Working in a

Vacuum

was working on a paper on Arab migrants and I was able to get some excellent information. It takes a while to establish a relationship of mutual trust because of the sensitivity of some of this data around migration. This was, of course, before Qatar started coming under intense scrutiny regarding its labour policies, and as a result, understandably, a lot of researchers experienced an information shutdown from the government. It has especially been a challenge in the past couple of years,” she says. On the other hand, Babar also has instances of successful engagements with policy-focused organisations within the government. “Our food security project had definite policy relevance and we had a meaningful interaction with the Qatar National Food Security Project, which was launched at the same time as our project. Its chairman, Fahad Al Attiyah, was very involved with our work and we learned a lot from each other through constant dialogue,” she says.

Although it might seem to come in fits and starts, Dr Baabood believes that these relationships are slowly taking root. “Such research institutes are still new to the region but we are seeing more and more being established now,

input into policymaking and also helps neutralise concerns government bodies might be motivated by external influences. “Our recommendations are based on empirical results of a survey. If you trust the survey methodology, these are the implications of the results from a policy perspective.

It’s not our personal point of view and we are not advocating a particular approach to policy,” he says.

There has also been a shift in Qatar and other Gulf countries on their view of surveys. “A decade ago Gulf states would have thought that survey research that posed sensitive questions would be counterproductive and in the long run create problems by putting ideas in people’s heads. Now surveys are seen as a tool to ensure policymakers have information about what people are thinking and doing, and what drives their behaviours and attitudes,” he says. Curiously, despite the small size of the Qatari population that is famous for its fierce love for privacy, the survey response among Qatari nationals tends to be around 40-60% which is quite high (European survey response rates are in the single digits) and helps capture an even sharper picture of public mood.

Reform should not be a top-down approach. You want to build this culture of liberal governance? It can only be achieved by everybody believing in it and working towards it. Ultimately the more educated the public is on these issues, the more efficient they become in articulating their demands and engaging with the government.

Dr Abdullah Baabood Director Gulf Studies Program, Qatar University

increasingly supported by government. The value of knowledge created by these centres has become apparent and so engagement with governments is growing (as well as with the private sector), with public bodies tasking researchers with certain projects/studies and establishing programmes within these centres to tackle particular issues.” There could always be synergy, of course, but he says this will be built over time with improving confidence between the two sides.

The new media is helping to establish an environment for think tanks to play a greater role in the region and become recognised as active players, says Dr Kabalan while talking about the steadily growing influence on policymaking.

The curious case of SESRI There was always a plan for SESRI to have a policy component that will help translate the academic results into more policy-oriented goals for decision makers, Dr Gengler says.

From the perspective of a policy unit, the survey aspect of their work is a slight compensation for the lack of popular

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SESRI is also unique because of its largely domestic focus.

Thematically it has worked on several local issues like migration, Kafala, FIFA World Cup, political attitudes, regional security perceptions, education, health, etc – either of its own accord or on behalf of ministries and government institutions. Now, with a newly staffed policy unit, SESRI can begin more systematically to take previous survey results, reanalyse them or combine them with new surveys, to directly inform government programming and policymaking.

The SESRI policy unit’s first product is based on the local municipal elections, based on two surveys – the first one done a month before the elections, which touches on awareness, perceptions and involvement, and a follow-up survey done a month after the elections on how the event has changed their views and knowledge of and engagement with the institution. A full report with both survey results and related policy recommendations is currently being prepared.

“The recommendations will be made based on the insights gained from the surveys. For example, we found that satis-

faction with the local municipality council matches closely with their views of the political authority of the council and its influence in decision making. And the people’s view towards these elections was related strongly to their views of the planned Shura council elections. So, potentially, dissatisfaction with the local council could influence people’s views of other institutions. Also, in general, political knowledge is low – only 11% were able to respond correctly to general questions about the council and only 8% said they had any interaction with council members other than during election months. And subsequently the policy recommendations are about engaging certain groups of society who have relatively less knowledge and interaction, sustaining coverage of elections and public engagement beyond the few election months. We are also suggesting identifying cases where the council has contributed to the community, either through signs or media coverage, in order to give a clear sense of their role in delivering public services,” he says.

Although the survey was not commissioned by the government, Dr Gengler says the reaction to it has been positive. It remains to be seen whether these suggestions will be

portant when you consider some of the contentious issues that centres like ACRPS study – development of Islamic movements; sectarianism; challenges and opportunities of democratic transition; social integration in the region; social justice; conflicts in Syria and Yemen; the Arab-Israeli conflict and Palestine. How can you get the government to trust and work with you when many of the recommendations you make might put you at odds with the state’s stand on the issue?

There is no easy fix. One way is to be transparent about funding sources and ensure they don’t compromise on the integrity of the research. “This is an ongoing challenge not just for think tanks, but also for academic, research and education institutions such as ours. Public scrutiny is one avenue towards the accountability of such institutions, though this has yet to be an established tradition in Arab civil society,” Dr Kabalan says.

Then there is also the issue of local think tanks. While the region is home to several prestigious international institutes (aimed largely at advising their own governments and their allies), there is a dearth of local ones that can special-

Research institutions and think tanks all over the world always emphasise that there are not enough avenues with policymakers to convey the findings of their research and recommendations. In the Arab world this problem is even more intensified due to the lack of a tradition of independent research centres and the lack of democratic institutions and political liberalisation.

Dr Marwan Kabalan Head of the Policy Analysis Unit Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies

implemented. It is not, however, about “keeping a running tab” on successful recommendations. “The one way we aim at being different is to present a strong link between recommendations and implications, bringing together people who are personally involved in those areas of the government.

We’d like to be able to consistently convene workshops and events in which policymakers from relevant institutions and researchers and the public can meet and debate the results of findings.” If SESRI can manage to attract public officials and Qatari nationals to the platform – stakeholders who are often conspicuous by their absence in such events – that’s half the battle won right there.

Building trust According to Dr Kabalan, the most important dimensions to the efficacy and influence of these think tanks and research centres are their independence and objectivity. “If research centres insist on these issues, there is greater room to succeed and gain legitimacy,” he says. This is even more im-

ise in research “that assumes a perspective emerging from the region and for the benefit of the region’s people. Ultimately, research centres should be for the public benefit,” Dr Kabalan says. Local think tanks, with local expertise, can also be free of some of the Western bias that is inherent in other international centres.

Both foreign and local think tanks are equally needed, says Dr Baabood. “In the beginning there wasn’t much local research capacity. Even now, many colleges are just starting with their postgraduate teaching and research. While more indigenous research centres are necessary and are being established, international ones are important because they bring in different dimensions and take on things that can only enrich decision makers and their advisors.

Sometimes there are limits on what local think tanks can say and do and this can be complemented by these foreign ones. But ultimately, I am all for building local capacity in research. They know the country, the local sensitivities and societies better.”

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