ODI | Think Change

As the UK prepares to take on the G20 presidency, it has an opportunity to help shape how the world responds to some of its biggest challenges – from economic instability and inequality to climate change and global development. But with international cooperation under pressure, how much can one presidency really achieve? Alongside the G20, the Think20 (T20) brings together think tanks and academic...

What does security mean in a world where the nature of conflict is changing – and traditional alliances can no longer be taken for granted?  As Europe faces rising geopolitical tensions, uncertainty over the future of the transatlantic alliance and a growing range of threats beyond conventional warfare, what should a smarter approach to security look like? From defence spending and deterrence to d...

As governments globally face growing pressure to raise revenue, amid concerns about inequality and who will have to contribute more, taxing the wealthiest is back at the centre of the debate both in national tax reforms and in international negotiations. In this episode, we bring together proposals for a coordinated global minimum tax on billionaires and data and evidence on how much tax they pay....

As world leaders gather in New York for the 81st Session of the High level UN General Assembly, questions about power, leadership and the future of international cooperation are high on the agenda. But what does meaningful leadership look like for people living through displacement? People with lived experience of displacement are often the furthest from the decisions that shape their lives, despi...

What happens when communities are forced to govern themselves? Across conflict-affected contexts, communities are often doing far more than surviving the breakdown or failure of formal institutions. They are organising, delivering services, making decisions, representing their communities and creating new forms of governance - sometimes long before peace agreements are signed or states are rebuilt...

Humanitarian crises are often understood through the lens of immediate need: more aid, more access and more funding. But ODI Global’s new report Oppression, Liberation and Humanitarianism in Palestine, Myanmar and Sudan argues that we must also understand the systems of power that produce and sustain suffering. In this episode of Think Change , guests Dustin Barter, Hala Al Karib and Athena Raybur...

This episode of Think Change explores the growing environmental footprint of artificial intelligence – from rising energy demand and emissions to the vast quantities of water needed to power and cool the data centres behind today’s AI revolution. As Europe experiences another summer of record-breaking heat, devastating wildfires and growing water stress, the race to develop and deploy AI raises ur...

Following Andy Burnham’s appointment as Britain's Prime Minister, there is renewed interest in what some have described as ‘Manchesterism’ – a political philosophy rooted in place, economic renewal and the belief that national prosperity begins with strong local communities.  But if this approach were to shape government thinking, what could it mean beyond Britain’s borders? This episode expl...

Across the world, a familiar story is being retold with striking success: that stagnant wages, housing crises and crumbling public services are the fault of migrants and outsiders - not the billionaires and global systems quietly getting richer. It's a story reshaping elections, hardening divisions, and in some places, fuelling violence. In this episode of Think Change, Sara Pantuliano is joi...

Our first episode of Think Change , recorded in March 2022 just after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, explored how disinformation was shaping narratives around a fast-moving conflict. We asked who was producing it, how it spread through digital platforms, and how it influenced public understanding of war in real time.  Three years on, to mark our 100th episode, we return to these same questions – wh...

The first-ever International Peacebuilding Week, which will run from 22-26 June, comes at a critical moment. Violent conflict is becoming more protracted, global cooperation is under strain, and climate shocks, displacement and weak institutions are compounding risks in some of the world's most fragile settings. Can a dedicated week for peacebuilding help shift the conversation from crisis re...

Multilateral development banks (MDBs) are under growing pressure to prove their relevance in a world where development finance is becoming increasingly fragmented, financing needs are rising, and fiscal space is tightening across many countries. Governments are asking these institutions to deliver more finance, more quickly, and with greater efficiency and impact. MDBs are also in the middle of a...

At a moment of fiscal constraint and growing geopolitical fragmentation, international development is being reshaped in real time. This episode of Think Change explores the shift from aid to investment and the growing emphasis on partnerships across governments, development finance institutions, philanthropy, and the private sector.  Recorded alongside the Global Partnerships Conference, we bring...

Recorded at the Women Deliver conference, this episode of Think Change – produced in partnership with GWL Voices – sets out the stakes for gender equality and multilateralism at a moment of deep geopolitical strain, and asks what the race for the next UN Secretary-General reveals about both. Recent rollbacks on gender rights and climate action are not isolated. They are part of a broader political...

For years, food systems transformation has been guided by shared global visions, grounded in the idea that sustainable food production and consumption are essential to a resilient, healthy and equitable future. But progress has stalled – and in some places it’s even gone into reverse. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), around 673 million people faced hu...

Mobilising private capital has become central to development finance and to the future of the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) itself. In this episode of Think Change, we unpack what private capital mobilisation actually means in practice, and why it has become such a defining measure of success. We explore the pressures facing the IFC, the changing expectations of global and i...

How do wars actually end, and what does it take to make peace lasting and just? What lessons has the world still not learned about how wars end? In collaboration with Conciliation Resources, this episode reflects on what past conflicts can teach us about the pathways out of war, what current wars might tell us about the limits and possibilities of peacemaking today, and how peace processes can be...

Across many countries, legislative strategies are increasingly being used to roll back hard-won rights related to gender and bodily autonomy. This International Women's Day, we're asking: what can be done at national and multilateral levels to resist further erosion of sexual and reproductive rights worldwide? This episode explores the political and ideological forces behind the growing...

Why is abundant global capital is not translating into stronger productive investment, and what role the G20 can play in shaping a more resilient and sustainable capital flows framework in an increasingly fragmented global economy? Global finance has demonstrated considerable resilience despite persistent economic uncertainty, geopolitical tension and worsening debt dynamics. Capital flows and inv...

Europe is again confronting war on its continent at a moment when old assumptions and rules about security are breaking down. Alliances feel less certain, deterrence less predictable, and responsibility more contested. Military-first, state-centric models of security are dominating the debate. But this narrow view doesn't capture the overlapping risks shaping the world Europe now faces – from...

A year into Trump’s second term, guests examine how India, China, Russia and other big powers are recalibrating strategies in a shifting global order. 2026 has already been marked by significant geopolitical upheaval. US military intervention in Latin America points to a wider trend: the return of a world order shaped by hard power, where rules and international law are increasingly sidelined. The...

As global leaders gather in Davos later this month amid shrinking aid budgets and hardening geopolitical priorities, development finance is being recast through the language of investment – raising urgent questions about who shapes this new model, who carries the risk, and who benefits. Development finance is entering a period of profound transition. Traditional aid models are under strain, squeez...

After a year of extraordinary upheaval, this special episode looks ahead to the forces set to shape 2026. From deep aid cuts and accelerating AI to renewed geopolitical tension, political violence and humanitarian catastrophe, guests explore what a fractured global landscape means for democracy, development and the future of international cooperation. 2025 has tested the resilience of the internat...

After one of the most challenging years for the humanitarian system, Sudan offers both a stark warning and a source of new thinking. This episode of Think Change examines how local actors are reshaping aid around solidarity, dignity and community leadership. Sudan’s crisis is unfolding at an extraordinarily difficult moment. Since violence escalated in April 2023, state institutions have collapsed...

Online misogyny is becoming a defining feature of digital life, amplified by algorithms and enabled by platforms that fail to protect users. As violence against women intensifies across online spaces, the stakes for gender equality and for democracy itself have never been higher. Violence online is surging at a moment when digital spaces should be becoming more inclusive. Algorithms reward outrage...