OTT Podcast

In this episode, co-hosts Enrique Mendizabal and Goran Buldioski interview Mario Holzner, Executive Director of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw), about conducting economic research on Central, East and Southeast Europe from Vienna amid shifting geopolitical and media environments.
Mario describes the region’s historical heterogeneity and wiiw’s pragmatic, plural intellectual tradition, including scepticism toward purely supply-side transition policies and attention to demand, social impacts, and industrial policy. He explains how austerity and inflation eroded core public subsidies—traditionally from Austria’s Ministry of Finance, the central bank, Vienna, and social partners—driving greater reliance on project funding from the European Commission, international organisations, and, increasingly, foundations. The discussion covers pressures from partisan think tanks and polarised media, wiiw’s data-driven approach, expanded communications capacity, networked EU consortia, digital transformation, and the importance of independent analysis in a fragmented policy space.
This episode is part of a series, Think tanks in a changing Europe, supported by the Open Society Foundations. You can listen to the whole series here.
Learn more about the wiiw and the information discussed during this podcast.
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, co-hosts Enrique Mendizabal and Goran Buldioski interview Richard Durana, co-founder and director of INESS (Institute of Economic and Social Studies) in Slovakia.
Richard describes his move from chemistry to economics and how INESS has operated for two decades in a largely hostile, left-leaning political environment, emphasising both policy advocacy and public education. He compares Slovakia’s post-communist trajectory to the film Rocky, citing early-2000s reforms, foreign investment, and later decline amid higher taxes and unpredictability. He outlines INESS’s methods—media engagement, journalist briefings, large-scale education programs like the Economics Olympiad, and projects such as Price of the State and the Bureaucracy Index—alongside a fundraising strategy built on donor diversity, local institutional support, and zero government funding.
This episode is part of a series, Think tanks in a changing Europe, supported by the Open Society Foundations. You can listen to the whole series here.
Learn more about the INESS and the information discussed during this podcast.
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 help think tanks make short- and long-term decisions more strategically, resulting in better policy advice and outcomes for all. Learn more & support us.

In this episode of OTT Talks, Enrique Mendizabal hosts David Watson, former Director of Communications at Chatham House and seasoned UK policymaker, in a conversation exploring David’s extensive background in government and think tanks.
David reflects on his experiences within the UK government, emphasising the role of evidence in policy-making and the impact of think tanks. He discusses the differences between political roles and civil service roles and the importance of people’s lived experiences.
The conversation also delves into the disconnection between think tank research and real-time policy-making. David shares his efforts to make think tanks more outward-looking and strategic with their interventions to influence policy processes. He talks about his work at ODI Global and Chatham House, emphasising the significance of strategic communications to cut through the noise and achieve corporate objectives.
Finally, David addresses the evolving landscape of think tanks, the importance of being purposeful, and the challenges of producing diverse content to remain relevant in today’s fast-paced information environment.
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OTT Talks is a platform to share 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/
Support us: https://onthinktanks.org/support/

OTT Talks: Think tanks in a changing Europe is back for season 4.
In the opening episode, co-hosts Enrique Mendizabal and Goran Buldioski speak with 
Petra Reszkető, Co-Director and Senior Researcher at the Budapest Institute, about leading an independent, project-based economic think tank in Hungary’s “illiberal democracy.”
Petra outlines the challenges faced by the Budapest Institute, including limited and opaque government engagement, the emergence of quasi-governmental bodies and conflicting narratives, deteriorating access to and quality of public data, and the political risks associated with public participation.
The conversation details the Institute's strategic pivot toward selective domestic engagement, collaboration with local actors, and an explicit regional focus. This regional work is supported by partnerships and projects with organisations such as the European Commission, the OECD, and the ILO.
Key discussion points also cover the Institute's tender-driven business model, the difficulty of implementing post-evaluation changes, staff retention issues, and the critical importance of integrity, consistency, and robust contingency planning.
This episode is part of a series, Think tanks in a changing Europe, supported by the Open Society Foundations. You can listen to the whole series here.
Learn more about the Budapest Institute and the information discussed during this podcast.
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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.

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 thinktankers 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.
Read more in Chris Chibwana's Substack.
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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.