CC BY
14
RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS CENTERS: NARROWING THE FIELD
Natalia Ryabova
Summary
The forecasts for 2017, made in the precious review1, generally proved correct. The financial situation of most research centers has deteriorated or remained the same, new centers have not appeared. Mediatized initiatives and stable large research centers capable of raising funds effectively have been developed. Interaction with stakeholders in general remained at the same level. The forecast of a targeted increase in influence on decision-making, especially in the economic sphere, was also justified. It took place in the form of public consultations and in the work of advisory councils, and informal consultations. However, it should be noted that the advocacy 'breakthrough of the year' - decree No. 8 on Hi-Tech Park - was made not by research centers, but by the IT community with the support of law firms.
Trends:
• Concentration of resources in hands of a few powerful players, the weakening of the others;
• Decrease in the total number of published papers;
• Some expansion of cooperation with the state;
• Transition of sociological research towards the Internet.
Key players and research in 2017
s a result of the decline in the activities of the main donor, who had previously seriously supported the research sector — Pact — the financial situation of many research centers deteriorated, which affected the number of studies and activities in 2017. For the same reason, unlike several previous years, there was no Belarusian rating of research organizations. Many periodicals and publications have ceased to be published and some events did not take place.
The Belarusian Economic Research and Outreach Center (BEROC) is one of the few organizations that expanded its
Ryabova Natalia. "Research and Analytical Centers." Belarusian Yearbook 2017. Vilnius: Lohvina : 2017. 203-215. Print.
activities and size in 2017. This is due to the fact that the center has a rare for the sector support, namely, institutional. Last year, the center traditionally produced a lot of economic analytics (the main topics were macroeconomics, trust and institutions, women's entrepreneurship, investments, monetary policy, budgetary redistribution, the consequences of the abolition of the General system of preferences, the fight against corruption, etc.), quarterly economic reviews. Many of the materials are available in English only. The center participated in international studies, releasing analyses of little-known problems in Belarus (for example, the study Integration of Markets and the Law of One Price in Ghana). A humorous study on the impact of bicycles on the country's economy was released on 1 April, the fool's day2.
In August BEROC held the Seventh International Conference on Economics and Finance. Also the center was educationally active: there is a postgraduate school, a student school, educational programs for state bodies and open lectures.
The Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BISS) completed the project Reforum, which created an array of proposals to improve the 'rules of the game' in various areas. In 2017 in its framework the research about the activities of Hi-tech Park (HTP), the product "BISS monitoring of reforms" (only the first issue was released) and the final collection of materials created by the project came out. Several events dedicated to the memory of BISS founder Vitaly Silitsky were held. With the arrival of a new academic Director Pyotr Rudkovsky, the Institute has shifted its focus on the problems of identity: a study on soft Be-larusization came out; in Warsaw the book 'Belarusian Issues in the Context of European Responses' was published. In general, BISS significantly reduced its activities and media presence, the periodicals of the Institute did not come out in 2017.
The expert community 'Nashe Mneniye' published in 2017 about 250 (as a year earlier) analytical materials on a variety of topics — political processes, public administration, international relations, economy, social, cultural and other policies. Under
Борнукова, Катерина. «Велосипеды и их влияние на экономику Беларуси.» BEROC. 1 Apr. 2017. Web 12 Mar. 2018. <http://www.beroc. by/publications/poHcy_papers/pp_0104217/>.
the auspices of the website, Belarusian Yearbook dedicated to the results of 2016 was released.
The Research Center of the Institute of Privatization and Management in 2017 published working materials and analytical notes on various areas in the field of economy: recession, international trade, export, international convergence, reforms, conditions for small and medium-sized businesses, government programs, social policy, poverty, analysis of the activities of business unions in Belarus and the effectiveness of the National Business Platform of Belarus.
In 2017, the Ostrogorski Center focused on the field of education: research on business education, distance education and the Belarusian way to the European higher education area, as well as analytics in the framework of the Ostro! project, an overview of key events in Belarus Digest in English and Russian, the issue of the Journal of Belarusian Studies was published. The center launched a new educational project — Ostrogorski Academy4, where one can take four distance courses.
CASE Belarus (member of the CASE research network) published an overview of the situation of disabled children and young disabled people in Belarus, an overview of the situation of orphans and families at risk, an analysis of the situation of people aged 50+ in Belarus, a report on the role of labor in the penitentiary system of Belarus, preliminary findings of the study on the size and liquidity of the Belarusian stock market (all in English).
Research center BIPART continued to produce research in the field of public administration: improvement of the system of public procurement (and also released a manual on the violations in this area), e-citizen participation, social policy, scientific policy. It published materials on decision-making in the interests of citizens, conducted public lectures and educational programs. The conference on public administration did not take place.
The Center for European Studies continued its educational program of Liberal Arts College ECLAB (one concentration
3 "Belarusian Yearbook 2017." Nashe Mneniye. Web 12 Mar. 2018. <http:// nmnby.eu/yearbook/2017/en/index.html>.
4 Академия Острогорского. Web 12 Mar. 2018. <http://ostrogorski. academy/>.
was deleted), and also conducted educational visits for graduates and teachers.
Belarus Security Blog has created a draft of a new version of the law of Belarus On weapons, issued monthly reviews of economic and national security of Belarus, Eurasian security digest, reviews 'the Price of the Issue', analytics materials. Only one issue of the magazine 'VARTA' was published.
The Center for Analytical Initiatives at the discussion and analytical community 'Liberal Club' released the research on sponsorship and CSR and the tools of interaction between state and business, held round tables and discussions. The issues of international relations and security were discussed in the framework of conferences and briefings held by the expert initiative Minsk Dialogue5, which it seems, has finally become an independent project. The initiative produces independent analytical notes and reports, which are compiled into three programs: 'Belarus Foreign policy', 'Eastern Europe in the System of International Relations' and 'Integration of Integrations'.
The Center for European Transformation (part of the international consortium 'EuroBelarus') released an analysis of the situation of civil society in Belarus, research on local planning to ensure the rights of people with disabilities, strategic cooperation of human rights organizations, the social base of transformation programs.
The Center for Strategic and Foreign Policy studies published one open report on the Russian threat and an extract from another (closed) report on a similar topic but in the ukrainian context, making it clear that the full report would not be published. It can be said that the CSFP is the only analytical center that openly invites potential customers to apply for materials 'on the development of the economic and political situation in the countries of the post — Soviet space, as well as the international situation around the region'.
The Institute for Political Studies 'Political Sphere' held a conference 'Evolution or Deviation: the problem of democratic order in Eastern Europe' and the 7th Inter-
Минский диалог. Web 12 Mar. 2018. <http://minskdialogue.by/>.
national Congress of Researchers of Belarus, which was held in Warsaw this time, then the organizers announced their intention to move it to Minsk. Journals 'Political Sphere' and 'Belarusian Political Science Review' were not published.
Research center 'Strategy' and Mises Center worked over the evaluation of the performance of the National Platform of Business of previous years and over the development of a new platform, conducted a summer school for experts and actively wrote analytical materials.
The Bologna Public Committee together with the Ad hoc Commission of the Belarusian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum released a review of the compliance of the draft Education Code with the Roadmap of Higher Education Reform in Belarus and the final monitoring of the implementation of this Roadmap.
The state research sector, as before, served decision-making within the state apparatus and placed few materials online.
The strengthening of the voice of independent research centers with the Pro-government position (platform 'Imhoclub' project 'Citadel') noted during the last year stopped after the REGNUM case: the authorities made it clear that the Eurasian rhetoric should not go into denial on the independence and statehood of Belarus.
An important trend was that independent sociology, given the difficult conditions of work 'in the field', went online. Thus, Baltic Internet Policy Initiative works actively, conducting measurements, surveys and other quantitative studies of the Internet audience in cooperation with or at the request of various organizations. Given the good level of Internet penetration in Belarus, results assessed by certain characteristics can provide information comparable in validity to surveys on the national sample.
Resources with an emphasis on media input (such as ideaby.org, RFRM), the appearance of which marked the previous year, do not make 'heavy' research, but still actively develop.
It is interesting to note the review of the analytical centers of Belarus by M. Laumulin, which is published on the website of the
international scientific complexAstana6. It provides a classification of the state analytical centers (specialized departmental research institutes in the structure of the Council of Ministers, the structure of academic and educational institutions, institutions created in the Presidential Administration). It is noted that state structures cope well with economy, sociology, demography, etc., but they lack the same competence in international relations: 'Analytical support of foreign policy of the Republic of Belarus is concentrated only on the faculty of international relations of the BSU. Therefore, the Belarusian leadership supports some non-state centers of foreign policy'. It is also pointed out that 'budget structures differ from non-state analytical centers and focus on cooperation with Russian organizations, as well as the study of integration processes in the post-Soviet space'.
The review does not classify non-governmental analytical centers but in general it marks their better representation in the media. It particularly points out that 'in the non-state sector about two thirds of the Actual Concept are focused on Western values, liberal-market model of economy, and the Europeaniza-tion of Belarus is seen as their goal. Many are closely connected with EU structures'.
The review also refers to the existence of 'centers-mirages', to which refers the 'Actual Concept' and the Center of Problems of European Integration.
Impact on policy making and stakeholder relationships
The State
In 2017, a number of events organized by independent research centers were held, in which high-ranking officials took part. For example, the traditional Kastrychnitski Economic Forum (KEF) and events in the framework of the Minsk Dialogue.
However, such events are fewer, and new ones have not appeared. The conference on public administration did not take place, 'Expanding horizons' turned into the Belarusian invest-
Лаумилин, Мурат. «Аналитические центры Беларуси.» Международный научный комплекс «Астана». Web 12 Mar. 2018. <http://isca.kz/ru/ analytics-ru/2230>.
ment Forum organized by The National Agency for Investment and Privatization with the support of the Ministry of Economy of Belarus — without the participation of non-state partners.
KEF, held in November 2017, has been organized annually since 2013 by the IPM Research Center in cooperation with BEROC and the Center for social and economic research CASE Belarus (funded by the European Union). The conference was opened by Vasyl Matyushevsky, first Deputy Prime Minister, Andrea Victorin, the head of the EU delegation in Belarus, Dr Satu Kahkonen, World Bank Country Director for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, and Dr Athanasios Arvanitis, Deputy Director of the IMF European Department.
In addition to the KEF, in May—June 2017, five regional centers of Belarus hosted local conferences 'Return to growth: search for solutions for regional development'.
Analytical centers are also involved in the public discussions that expanded in 2017.
It is still impossible to talk about full-fledged cooperation, but, first, there is a certain tradition of holding events where the state and non-state sectors exchange views relatively freely and second, now there is a regional component in this process, involving local authorities.
Civil society organization
A number of civil society organizations produce or order research and analytical products from time to time. However, due to the fact that in general the third sector fights hard for survival, this 'market' remains very narrow.
Media
The media continue to refer to the independent center for review and analysis. Among the joint projects are the cooperation of the Press club with various organizations, in particular with the project 'Nashe Mneniye'. Many experts write blogs and columns for the media. However, as in the case of civil society organizations, media are an important partner for the research centers, but not a client ordering and paying for analytical services.
Political parties and movements
At the end of 2017, political parties and movements were actively involved in the campaign for local Council elections (February 2018), but since the candidate programs for these elections do not require serious in-depth proposals at the country level, the appeal for assistance in the preparation of the program was limited. Such interaction continues to be free of charge, thanks more to friendships than to sustained interaction. Thus, there are customers but they experience problems and cannot show a serious demand for the results of research centers.
Conclusion
In 2018, the financial situation of most research centers will remain tense. Opportunities are available either to confident 'niche' players, or consortia or strong independent players (which are very few), able to attract finance from the major donors for big projects and institutional support.
With the trend of liberalization, the increase of the impact of analytical centers on decision-making processes and deepening of trust and interaction with those government agencies that come into contact are likely.
