OTT Podcast

What does it feel like to become a funder when you've spent your career as a researcher? And what does it reveal about philanthropy when the person holding the chequebook doesn't look the part?
In this special episode of OTT Talks, host Enrique Mendizabal speaks with Christopher Chibwana (Hewlett Foundation) and Savior Mwambwa (Open Society Foundations) — two African-born former think tankers now leading programmes at major US-based foundations.
Chris reflects on being read through visual and cultural cues inside institutions that weren't built with him in mind — and on being positioned as an explainer of the Global South rather than a shaper of how foundations engage with it. Savior contrasts OSF's history of regional hiring with a predominantly white US office culture, and examines how program officer authority quietly determines who gets funded, how much risk a portfolio can absorb, and whether smaller or less formal actors ever get a look in.
Why do foundations find it so hard to shift resources toward proximate organisations, even when the case is widely accepted? How are geopolitical pressures reshaping what funders can say, fund, and stand behind? And what does contested language around "the global" reveal about where power actually sits in international philanthropy? Tune in to find out  — from two people who have now seen both sides of the table.
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About OTT Talks:
OTT Talks is a platform for sharing learning among think tanks, funders, and other policy actors on a range of topics, from think tank governance to communicating research. Learn more.
About On Think Tanks: 
On Think Tanks focuses on a range of issues relevant to think tanks, their staff, and supporters. We hope that our initiatives and the articles and resources we publish will support think tanks in making short- and long-term decisions more strategically, resulting in better policy advice and policy outcomes for all. Learn more & support us.

In this episode of OTT Talks, co-hosts Enrique Mendizabal and Samar Verma speak with Ngu Wah Win, Research Director at the Knowledge Circle Foundation and an alumna of the School for Thinktankers, about how Myanmar’s think tank and evidence-informed policy landscape has changed before and after 2021.
The conversation covers how think tanks have shifted toward survival, advocacy, documenting human rights abuses, safeguarding displaced researchers, countering misinformation, and using digital platforms to amplify marginalised voices, while also facing unstable and short-term project-based donor funding that limits long-term capacity building and succession planning.
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About the guest:
Ngu Wah Win is a Research Director at the Knowledge Circle Foundation, a non-profit organisation focusing on inclusive development in Southeast Asia. Before joining KCF in 2022, she worked as a senior consultant for multilateral organisations, bilateral aid agencies, and international NGOs, contributing to reform initiatives in Myanmar, including public financial management, agricultural value chains, and migration governance. She also served on the National Statistical Committee, Agriculture Policy Unit, and inter-ministerial task forces, conducting policy research until 2020. Ngu Wah Win holds a Master of Public Administration in Economic Policy Management from Columbia University, specialising in finance and banking, and degrees in economics and statistics from Chiang Mai University and Yangon University of Economics. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD in Economics at Chiang Mai University regarding labour migration, remittances, and political economy. She is also a Fellow at the University of British Columbia, Canada.
About the podcast:
OTT Talks is a platform for sharing learning among think tanks, funders, and other policy actors on a range of topics, from think tank governance to communicating research. 
Learn more.
This episode is part of On Think Tanks’ broader collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) under the Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar-II (K4DM-II) initiative, which aims to strengthen Myanmar’s policy research ecosystem and support think tank leaders operating in complex and high-risk environments. As part of this project, IDRC supports Myanmar think tank professionals' participation in the School for Thinktankers, On Think Tanks’ flagship leadership and capacity development programme. Their engagement contributes to a longer-term effort to preserve leadership capacity and institutional knowledge, and to ensure that Myanmar’s think tank community is prepared to contribute to future policy and development opportunities as conditions evolve.
About On Think Tanks: 
On Think Tanks focuses on a range of issues relevant to think tanks, their staff, and supporters. We hope that our initiatives and the articles and resources we publish will support think tanks in making short- and long-term decisions more strategically, resulting in better policy advice and policy outcomes for all.
Learn more & support us.

In this episode of OTT Talks, co-hosts Enrique Mendizabal and Samar Verma speak with Min Zar Ni, a PhD student at the University of Southern Denmark and former Deputy Director of Research at Myanmar’s Centre for Economic and Social Development, about how Myanmar’s political upheaval has reshaped the country’s think tank and policy research landscape.
The discussion explores how think tanks have shifted from direct policy influence and stakeholder engagement toward documenting realities and providing analysis with limited outreach, alongside challenges such as safety risks, polarisation, constrained dialogue, weakened long-term donor support, and the loss of talent as researchers leave the country.
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About the guest:
Min Zar Ni Lin is a doctoral student in the Global Sustainable Production section at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU). Until early 2024, he served as the Myanmar Team Leader for the Efficient and Sustainable Apparel Myanmar (ESAM) project of SDU. This hands-on initiative aimed to support garment factories and their workers in Myanmar by enhancing productivity and improving occupational health and safety (OHS) conditions in the workplace. Prior to this, he worked as the Deputy Director of Research at the Centre for Economic and Social Development (CESD) in Myanmar.
About the podcast:
OTT Talks is a platform for sharing learning among think tanks, funders, and other policy actors on a range of topics, from think tank governance to communicating research. 
Learn more.
This episode is part of On Think Tanks’ broader collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) under the Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar-II (K4DM-II) initiative, which aims to strengthen Myanmar’s policy research ecosystem and support think tank leaders operating in complex and high-risk environments. As part of this project, IDRC supports Myanmar think tank professionals' participation in the School for Thinktankers, On Think Tanks’ flagship leadership and capacity development programme. Their engagement contributes to a longer-term effort to preserve leadership capacity and institutional knowledge, and to ensure that Myanmar’s think tank community is prepared to contribute to future policy and development opportunities as conditions evolve.
About On Think Tanks: 
On Think Tanks focuses on a range of issues relevant to think tanks, their staff, and supporters. We hope that our initiatives and the articles and resources we publish will support think tanks in making short- and long-term decisions more strategically, resulting in better policy advice and policy outcomes for all.
Learn more & support us.

In this episode of OTT Talks, co-hosts Enrique Mendizabal and Samar Verma speak with Napas Thain, inaugural research fellow at the Myanmar Policy and Community Knowledge Hub (MYPAC) at the University of Toronto, about Myanmar’s political crisis since 2021 and how it has reshaped the country’s think tank and research landscape.
The conversation examines the evolution of think tanks from limited information flow pre-2011 to liberalisation-era institutions such as Egress and the Myanmar Peace Center, shifts under the NLD toward advisor networks and smaller issue-based organisations, and the post-coup displacement of research and media into cross-border and diaspora settings.
Napas discusses current challenges—including funding cuts and shifting aid priorities, as well as the legal and operational precarity faced by exiled researchers in Southeast Asia—alongside the role of think tanks in countering misinformation.
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About the guest:
Napas Thein is the Inaugural Research Fellow of the Myanmar Policy and Community Knowledge Hub at the University of Toronto, where he focuses on Myanmar’s political transition, diaspora engagement, and regional diplomacy. He currently works as an Associate at McMillan Vantage, providing political analysis, policy research, and strategic government-relations support to clients across Ontario and federal government files. Napas previously served as a Research Fellow with the UBC Myanmar Initiative and Chiang Mai University, conducting extensive field interviews with civil society, ethnic resistance, and governance actors. He has also worked as a global security analyst at Kinross Gold, a research assistant in urban economics, and a constituency assistant in the House of Commons. A graduate of the Munk School’s Master of Public Policy, Napas has written for The Globe and Mail and the C.D. Howe Institute and remains active in Myanmar-related research and diaspora advocacy.
About the podcast:
OTT Talks is a platform for sharing learning among think tanks, funders, and other policy actors on a range of topics, from think tank governance to communicating research. 
Learn more.
This episode is part of On Think Tanks’ broader collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) under the Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar-II (K4DM-II) initiative, which aims to strengthen Myanmar’s policy research ecosystem and support think tank leaders operating in complex and high-risk environments. As part of this project, IDRC supports Myanmar think tank professionals' participation in the School for Thinktankers, On Think Tanks’ flagship leadership and capacity development programme. Their engagement contributes to a longer-term effort to preserve leadership capacity and institutional knowledge, and to ensure that Myanmar’s think tank community is prepared to contribute to future policy and development opportunities as conditions evolve.
About On Think Tanks: 
On Think Tanks focuses on a range of issues relevant to think tanks, their staff, and supporters. We hope that our initiatives and the articles and resources we publish will support think tanks in making short- and long-term decisions more strategically, resulting in better policy advice and policy outcomes for all.
Learn more & support us.

How has the role of think tanks in Germany and Europe evolved in an era of polarisation, disinformation, and shifting funding models? In this episode, we speak with Dr Daniela Schwarzer, Executive Board Member at the Bertelsmann Foundation, former Director and CEO of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and founder of the Europe programme at the German Marshall Fund. With more than a decade of leadership experience across different organisations, Daniela offers a unique perspective on the transformations shaping the European think tank landscape.
She reflects on how policy debates in Berlin have become more dynamic and contested, how foreign and domestic politics are increasingly intertwined, and why evidence-based analysis remains vital in times of uncertainty. We discuss the growing challenges of independence, credibility, and funding—particularly as foundations shift from grant-making to implementing their own projects, and as governments and donors become more cautious in their support.
Daniela also shares lessons from her leadership journey: the importance of team-building, developing new skill sets, and creating practical, forward-looking policy advice in a rapidly changing environment. Finally, she offers candid advice to future thinktankers: diversify your career experiences, remain open to collaboration, and always look ahead to what will matter tomorrow.
Join us for this wide-ranging conversation on the evolving role of think tanks in Germany and across Europe.
This episode is part of a series, Think tanks in a changing Europe, supported by the Open Society Foundations. To listen to the whole series, visit: https://onthinktanks.org/podcast/podcast-series-think-tanks-in-a-changing-europe/
To learn more about Bertelsmann Stiftung, please visit: https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/en/home 
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OTT Talks is a platform for sharing learning among think tanks, funders, and other policy actors on a range of topics, from think tank governance to communicating research. 
Learn more: https://onthinktanks.org/podcast/ 
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About On Think Tanks: 
On Think Tanks focuses on a range of issues relevant to think tanks, their staff, and supporters. We hope that our initiatives and the articles and resources we publish will support think tanks in making short- and long-term decisions more strategically, resulting in better policy advice and policy outcomes for all. 
Read more: 
https://onthinktanks.org/initiative/evidence-generation-and-communication/on-think-tanks-programme/ 
Support us: 
https://onthinktanks.org/support/