By Joseph Besong
For Dr. Denis Foretia, the journey into public policy began not in a government office, university lecture hall, or conference room. It began in an operating theater.
As a trauma surgeon, he spent years confronting life-and-death situations, often fighting to save patients whose lives had been shattered by violence, poverty, and systemic failures. One case, in particular, stayed with him: a young mother who survived a devastating gunshot wound after a complex series of operations.
The experience reinforced his love for medicine, but it also forced him to confront a deeper question. How could he help change the conditions that placed people in harm’s way in the first place?
That question would eventually lead him from the operating room to the world of public policy and the founding of the Nkafu Policy Institute, one of Central Africa’s leading think tanks.
Speaking at the 2026 On Think Tanks Conference in Rabat, Morocco, Dr. Foretia reflected on that journey while delivering a keynote address that challenged policymakers, researchers, and development practitioners to rethink what legitimacy means in Africa’s policy landscape.
His central argument was both simple and provocative: African think tanks have spent too much time seeking recognition abroad and not enough time earning trust at home.
The conference, which brought together policy leaders, researchers, and think tank executives from around the world, focused on the theme “Think Tanks and Trust.” For Dr. Foretia, the topic touched the very heart of what makes policy institutions effective.
The question, he argued, is not whether think tanks produce good research. The question is whether anyone trusts them. That trust, he said, must be understood through three distinct audiences.
Governments seek research that can support decision-making, but often prefer evidence that aligns with existing priorities. Funders frequently evaluate success through publications, conferences, media visibility, and measurable outputs. Citizens, meanwhile, judge institutions through a different lens entirely: whether they understand local realities and contribute to meaningful improvements in people’s lives.
The challenge for think tanks is that these expectations do not always align. An institution may earn praise from donors while remaining largely invisible to the communities it claims to serve. It may gain access to policymakers while losing credibility among citizens. Navigating those competing pressures has become one of the defining challenges facing African policy organizations. Dr. Foretia believes the sector must begin by confronting an uncomfortable reality. Too much of the legitimacy enjoyed by African think tanks, he argued, is borrowed.
Recognition from international institutions, media organizations, donors, and global policy forums can provide visibility and prestige. Yet visibility alone does not necessarily translate into influence or public trust.Research celebrated in Washington, London, Brussels, or Geneva may never shape a single policy decision in Yaoundé, Kigali, Lusaka, or Accra. For many organizations, that distinction has become blurred.
“Borrowed legitimacy is not durable legitimacy,” Dr. Foretia warned.
The concern is not international engagement itself. African think tanks have benefited enormously from partnerships, funding, and collaboration with institutions around the world. The problem arises when external validation becomes the primary measure of success.
According to Dr. Foretia, genuine legitimacy is rooted in relationships that cannot be manufactured through branding campaigns or conference appearances.
It is built through years of engagement with policymakers seeking solutions, civil society organizations sharing research because they trust it, and communities that recognize an institution as an honest broker committed to addressing their concerns. That kind of legitimacy, he noted, must be earned before it can be claimed.
The second pillar of his vision centers on independence. Many organizations proudly describe themselves as independent. Yet true independence, he argued, is not something that can simply be declared. It must be embedded within an institution’s governance structures, funding arrangements, and organizational culture.
A genuinely independent think tank should be able to pursue evidence wherever it leads, regardless of political sensitivities or donor preferences.
Such independence can be difficult to maintain, particularly in environments where political and economic pressures are ever present. Yet it remains essential for building long-term credibility.
Perhaps the most powerful moment of Dr. Foretia’s address came when he shared a lesson drawn not from success but from failure.
Years ago, the Nkafu Policy Institute launched a project encouraging informal market traders, many of them women, to formalize their businesses. The evidence appeared compelling. Formalization could improve access to finance, legal protections, and opportunities for growth.
On paper, the intervention seemed logical. Reality proved more complicated.Conversations with the women revealed that they already understood the potential benefits. Their reluctance stemmed from something else entirely: a deep distrust of government institutions.Many feared arbitrary taxation, inconsistent enforcement, and bureaucratic burdens. Over time, they had developed their own systems for conducting business, accessing capital, and managing risk.
The project’s designers had focused on what appeared technically correct. The traders were focused on what felt practical and predictable. The disconnect proved costly. For Dr. Foretia, the experience offered a lasting reminder that effective policy cannot be imposed from above. Solutions must be grounded in how people understand their own realities.
Too often, he suggested, institutions claim to speak for communities without first listening to them. Trust, however, cannot be assumed. It must be earned through engagement, humility, and a willingness to recognize when lived experience challenges conventional wisdom.
As Africa confronts increasingly complex governance, economic, and social challenges, the role of think tanks is likely to become even more important. Governments need credible research. Citizens need trusted institutions. Policymakers need evidence capable of informing better decisions.
But expertise alone will not be enough. For Dr. Foretia, the future belongs to institutions that can bridge the gap between rigorous research and public confidence.
The young mother whose life he helped save years ago eventually returned home to her family. Yet the conditions that led to her injury remained. Violence, inequality, and systemic weaknesses could not be solved in an operating room.
Only policy can address those deeper causes. And only trusted institutions can shape policies capable of lasting impact. That, Dr. Foretia believes, is the challenge facing African think tanks today. Not simply producing knowledge. But earning the trust necessary to transform it into change.
