TRENDS Research & Advisory is participating in the Seventh Forum Seventh Annual Forum (Derasat) of the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (Derasat) – The Arab Research Centers Consortium for Sustainability and Development – which is being held from December 22-23 in the Bahraini capital, Manama, in partnership with the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States.
The sessions and workshops of the Forum will discuss the pivotal role of think tanks in moving from knowledge production to influencing policy formulation by building advanced institutional tools and developing institutional capabilities to transform research outputs into executive contributions to comprehensive development paths.
The Forum also highlights future policy analysis tools by reviewing advanced applications of big data and artificial intelligence. It anticipates flexible scenarios that inform adaptable planning and discusses ways to build new analytical capabilities within think tanks to enhance their presence in the regional development landscape, thereby improving institutional performance efficiency and accelerating achievement.
Development Challenges
Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali, CEO of TRENDS Research & Advisory, said that the Derasat Forum represents a vital platform for unifying visions and combining efforts among the most essential and prominent think tanks and research institutions, in pursuit of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Arab region and the world.
He added that TRENDS’ participation in this critical event stems from the organization’s firm belief that the role of think tanks has already gone beyond the stage of producing knowledge to influence the formulation of future policies and strategies actively, and the main goal has become transforming research into executive action plans that contribute to addressing urgent development challenges.
Dr. Al-Ali pointed out that the Forum is an ideal opportunity to exchange advanced institutional experiences and build analytical tools that enable us to transform research outputs into tangible contributions on the ground. The Forum focuses on a critical issue: employing future tools, such as artificial intelligence, to anticipate scenarios and analyze policies. He explained that TRENDS considers these technologies a fundamental pillar of solid scientific research, producing flexible and adaptable policies capable of confronting the rapidly evolving complexities in regional and global landscapes.
Proactive Insights
The CEO of TRENDS stated that TRENDS’ role is not limited to diagnosing the reality. Still, it has extended to proposing scientific, practical, and strategic solutions that enhance comprehensive and sustainable development paths, through research and studies that focus on economic, social, and environmental axes, in addition to providing proactive scientific visions that contribute to drawing up more efficient and effective policies, and accelerate the pace of development achievement in Arab countries. He explained that the center seeks, through its active, periodic participation in the forum, to enhance cooperation and build partnerships with leading think tanks worldwide, thereby strengthening collective action that supports the Arab regional and international development landscape.
