What happens when a government has a lot of information but lacks the capacity to turn it into useful knowledge for decision-making?
🆘 What happens when it has scientific knowledge, but that knowledge arrives too late, is too complex, or doesn’t answer the specific question posed by the public policy decision-maker?
✅ One of the main challenges for a think tank isn’t producing knowledge. It’s ensuring that reliable knowledge reaches decision-makers at the right time and in the right format.
🚀 The future of public policy does not depend solely on producing more knowledge. It depends on building institutions capable of transforming reliable knowledge into better decisions.
💯 That is the true strategic value of think tanks.
That might be one of Panama’s greatest opportunities in its transition toward a knowledge-based economy.
These were some of the key topics of discussion we had in Panama with authorities and officials from Senacyt Panamá Panama, Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo Centro Latinoamericano de Innovación en Políticas Públicas to advance the training strategy of the 2025–2029 Strategic Plan for Science and Technology (PENCYT)
The main objective of the conference was to strengthen the capacities of professionals, researchers, and stakeholders linked to think tanks and the generation of strategic knowledge in Panama, by bringing together three complementary dimensions:
1. Strategic thinking and foresight, as tools for anticipating scenarios, identifying trends and risks, and improving public planning capacity.
2. Knowledge generation, management, and application, aimed at strengthening the role of think tanks as intermediaries between research, evidence, and decision-making.
3. Bioeconomy and innovation, as strategic areas for diversifying the country’s productive and scientific capacities and promoting sustainable development models.
The call for applications generated significant interest among 80 professionals, researchers, and stakeholders involved in the development of public science and technology policies, leading to the successful conclusion of the registration process.
The program’s design combined conceptual presentations, the exchange of experiences, case studies, and dialogue with participants, ensuring that the content could be linked to the specific challenges faced by Panamanian think tanks and public institutions.
