The OTT Conference brought together researchers, funders, and policy thinkers from around the globe to reflect on this year’s theme: Impact and Influence. It was an energising and hope-filled two days of exchange.
Coming from the Governance Action Hub, a program that explores inclusive governance strategies globally, I approached the conference with a few core questions in mind: What does influence look like in practice? Who holds the power to drive change? And how can we ensure that evidence doesn’t only inform decisions, but also reshape who gets to make them?
Here are three lessons I took away from the OTT Conference and one suggestion to carry forward.
Lesson 1: Behind every policy is a person
While there was plenty of talk about new tools, data, and emerging technologies, such as AI, the most resonant insights kept returning to something more fundamental: relationships.
Influencing a system or policy ultimately means influencing people: how they think, how they make decisions, and how they behave. And that doesn’t happen overnight. It requires trust, credibility, and a genuine willingness to listen and to be helpful. Connection might begin with a convening or a time-bound project, but meaningful relationships are built through steady, consistent engagement over time.
The parallel session, “Thorny Issues in Evidence-Informed Policymaking: Getting Policy Unstuck,” reinforced two key insights. First, without understanding the people behind the policy, even the best ideas can struggle to gain traction. Second, gaining a deeper grasp of the context in which policy decisions are made can build empathy and reveal moments of strategic alignment. Knowing when and how to act on those moments can be just as important as presenting a well-researched report.
Lesson 2: Collaborations are messy—and necessary
During informal chats and group discussions, a shared truth kept surfacing: building partnerships is hard, and it seems to be getting harder.
This theme was clearly evident in the “Change Hubs: Beyond the Difference” session, where we acknowledged that collaboration isn’t just about aligning goals or strategies; it’s about relationships, trust, and the ability to navigate complexity together. People spoke candidly about the challenges: unspoken power dynamics, competing priorities, and broken trust—realities that shape not only how partnerships unfold but also whether they endure.
And yet, despite these tests, many reflected that their most meaningful progress happened through partnership. Sometimes it was slow. Sometimes it was frustrating. However, they continued because the problems we’re trying to solve are too complex and too interconnected for any single organisation or actor to tackle alone.
This has certainly been our experience at the Governance Action Hub, where we believe the scale and urgency of today’s challenges—whether inequality, state capture, or climate change—demand deeper collaboration, not less.
Lesson 3: Openness can be a catalyst for change
What struck me most at the conference was the openness to reflection and learning. People weren’t defending past approaches or clinging to what had worked in the past. Instead, they were asking questions that signalled a genuine willingness to evolve:
- What does it mean to be relevant in today’s shifting context?
- How do we move from producing evidence to shaping influence, without reinforcing the very power dynamics we’re trying to change?
- And how do we share not just insights, but actual decision-making power?
There was no posturing and no pressure to have all the answers, just a shared commitment to reflect honestly, challenge assumptions, and learn from one another. Several speakers reminded us that openness, curiosity, and humility are essential qualities for driving impact.
Witnessing this spirit in action reflects the kind of space the OTT Conference created: one where people felt safe enough to be honest, uncertain, and open to change.
A suggestion: Influence can start with an invitation
The conversations about think tanks and their influence on public policy were rich and thought-provoking. But government voices were noticeably few. We spent a considerable amount of time discussing those who make and implement policy, but far less time speaking with them.
There was some government representation, of course, but perhaps not enough, given the theme of Impact and Influence. We missed the chance to hear a fuller range of perspectives on the constraints that government actors face, whether technical, financial, or political, as well as the opportunities they see for change.
It’s common for sector-specific gatherings to centre those who identify with that sector, so this isn’t a critique so much as a prompt to reflect on who’s in the room and who isn’t. If we’re serious about building bridges that lead to impact, we need to create more space for government actors, not just as speakers, but as active partners in the exchange.
We could, for instance, invite civil servants to share real-world policy challenges for discussion with researchers and policy advisers in a learning lab format. We could facilitate conversations between former politicians and senior public servants to understand the often-complex interface between their roles better. Or we could simply ask public servants to share ‘a day in their life’ – it would no doubt be enlightening.
Spaces like the OTT conference hold the potential not only to exchange ideas but to foster collaboration across boundaries in ways that can outlast the event itself. This year’s conference was a timely reminder that influence isn’t just about evidence. It’s about showing up, being useful, and committing to building with others, even when it’s complex, uncomfortable, or slow.