Proposals to Make the T20 a More Impactful, Effective, and Continuous Think Tank Process

The authors argue that while the T20 has grown in diversity and productivity, it suffers from limited policy impact, a lack of continuity across presidencies, and an over-reliance on the production of policy briefs over substantive dialogue. To address these, they propose establishing a permanent steering committee based on a troika system, decoupling the T20 timeline from the G20 calendar to allow for earlier agenda-setting, and reducing the volume of policy briefs in favor of higher-quality, joint recommendations. The goal is to transform the T20 into a more continuous process that engages both current and incoming G20 presidencies and mid-level government officials.

• The T20 currently faces three primary shortcomings: limited impact of its policy briefs on G20 decision-makers, a lack of continuity due to the absence of shared statutes or coordination structures across presidencies, and an excessive focus on producing briefs under time pressure at the expense of expert dialogue.
• To improve policy impact, the authors suggest the T20 should focus on agenda-setting early in the process, target both current and incoming G20 presidencies, and engage mid-level government officials in G20 working groups rather than focusing solely on high-level Sherpas.
• The authors recommend reducing the total number of policy briefs to increase focus and quality, suggesting that each task force produce only two or three joint briefs per year developed by diverse groups of experts.
• The document proposes the creation of a steering committee to ensure institutional learning and continuity. This committee would follow a troika system including the current, previous, and subsequent T20 co-chairs, with members appointed for three-year rotating terms.
• The authors argue for a 'temporal decoupling' of the T20 and G20 processes, suggesting that task forces be established on a continuous basis and start their work well before the official G20 presidency begins to avoid extreme time pressure and allow for better network building.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2021). Proposals to Make the T20 a More Impactful, Effective, and Continuous Think Tank Process. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Proposals_for_Reform_of_the_T20_as_of_26_April_202.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Proposals to Make the T20 a More Impactful, Effective, and Continuous Think Tank Process. 2021. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Proposals_for_Reform_of_the_T20_as_of_26_April_202.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Proposals to Make the T20 a More Impactful, Effective, and Continuous Think Tank Process |date=26 April 2021 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Proposals_for_Reform_of_the_T20_as_of_26_April_202.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2021proposals, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Proposals to Make the T20 a More Impactful, Effective, and Continuous Think Tank Process}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Proposals_for_Reform_of_the_T20_as_of_26_April_202.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }