In the seven years since its inception, the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies (HIPS) has contributed to the transformation of the policy environment in Somalia. As Somalia’s first think tank, HIPS has promoted a culture of evidence-based policymaking across the country and has become a locally respected and internationally recognized brand. As a center of excellence in research, HIPS’ work revolves around two broad pillars – research action and policy action.
In the research sphere, HIPS produces original reports on strategically important issues for Somalia’s peace, state and institution building agendas. HIPS studies on AMISOM, higher education, federalism, the constitution, refugees, land issues, drought and the influences of external actors were well circulated among policy circles and had measurable impact on policy making in Somalia.
Similarly, HIPS policy briefs have focused on the pertinent issues of the day and provided policy makers with succinct analyses and practical recommendations. Briefings on how to end the Kismaayo and Gaalkacyo conflicts and our studies on diaspora return, citizens’ priorities and perceptions, the political and civic engagement of Somali women, federalism and governance were all released during periods where these issues were being deliberated in a bipartisan fashion and fact-based analysis and forward looking insight were most needed.
Forum for Ideas
On the policy front, HIPS’s flagship program, Forum for Ideas, offers an interactive platform for Somalia’s policymakers, practitioners, business leaders, civil society, academia and activists. Both the roundtable discussions organized in Mogadishu and in the regional capitals and the Annual Forum for Ideas (AFI) held in Djibouti attract citizens from across Somalia as well Somalis from the Horn of Africa and many in the diaspora.
Somalia’s President, Speaker of Parliament and Prime Ministers participated in the Forum for Ideas. The President of Djibouti, Somalia’s current planning and foreign ministers, Somalia wealthiest businessman and more than 36 Somali academics flew from Kuala Lumpur to California for the inaugural 2017 Annual Forum for Ideas in Djibouti. Over 160 Somalis including the President of the International Court of Justice, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, participated in the 2018 AFI, which focused on change and continuity in the Horn and how Somalis in the region can capitalize on opportunities and mitigate risks.
Engagements / Outreach
HIPS actively engages with Somalia’s policy and opinion makers, disseminates research findings and shares policy recommendations. We use both traditional and social media to interface with diverse audiences, ranging from ordinary Somalis inside Somalia and across the globe to national policy makers and international actors working on issues related to Somalia. To ensure the output reaches a variety of audiences, HIPS uses Somali and English for all research activities, policy actions and advocacy.
HIPS directors were twice invited to testify before the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee hearings on Somalia, firsts for any Somali. Former US President Bill Clinton also invited the HIPS director to the Clinton Global Initiative’s annual conference at the University of California Berkeley.
HIPS directors and researchers participated and presented at international conferences in Washington, Stockholm, Nairobi, New York, Doha, Addis Ababa, Marrakech, Oslo, Istanbul, London, Khartoum, Helsinki and many other world capitals.
Our researchers have become the ‘go to’ analysts on all things related to Somalia. HIPS commentators have appeared on, or have been quoted by, almost all the international wire services including AP, AFP and Reuters. News outlets such as the BBC, Time Magazine, ABC, VOA, Al Jazeera, the Financial Times, Arab News, Daily Nation, Radio France, CCTV, NPR, Newsweek, the Guardian, the Toronto Star, Daily Sabah, the CBC and almost all Somali media outlets have quoted HIPS analysts. As a result of our output, national prominence and international reputation, the University of Pennsylvania’s Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP), which ranks global think tanks, has classified HIPS as one of Africa’s top think tanks for the second year in a row.
As an established brand and respected center of excellence in research in Somalia, HIPS has had an impressive six years of operation. The strategy for next six years is to build on that success, namely to strengthen the institute, produce pioneering research work, continue the interactive roundtables as the ultimate platform for sound policy deliberations and promote HIPS’s output to the broadest possible audiences. With the aim of fine-tuning its operations and developing a more precise action plan, HIPS has revisited and revised both our mission and vision statements, while still remaining committed to furthering fact-based policy making and deepening democratic deliberations.