Think Tanks in the Arab World: Counting Chickens Before They Hatch

In a glass office overlooking Riyadh’s vibrant skyline, Stephan, head of marketing at the research center, picked up the phone and called Sara, head of communications.

“The numbers are still flat!”

They were preparing for the annual board meeting in a week, where they would once again be asked why the center’s meticulously crafted reports continued to generate so little resonance among the Arab public.

The center — born two years ago as a think tank to study economic and social shifts across the Middle East, particularly in the GCC — carried an ambition far greater than producing research papers. It sought to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and the general public, and particularly the Arabic-speaking public. But, despite the rigor and precision of the center’s work, it often felt like shouting behind soundproof glass.

As Sara sat at her desk reviewing the latest report on business climate shifts in the GCC, a familiar scene from her past resurfaced. Years earlier, while working as head of localization for an international economic magazine, she recalled an editorial meeting where the editor-in-chief sighed over a translation.

“The English version is excellent,” he had said, “but the Arabic… unreadable!”

Though every word had been flawlessly translated, the text felt cold, distant. It did not read as if it were written in Arabic, or for an Arab audience. It felt imported. Perfect in form, empty in spirit.

That memory prompted Sara to reach out to Laila, the cultural editor of the agency she had worked with before. Laila brought a rare blend of skills: mastery of Arabic language and literature, experience working with academic texts, deep familiarity with the region’s developmental discourse, and above all, an intuitive feel for the cultural pulse of Arab audiences.

The three gathered to review the report.

“It explains, but it doesn’t talk to your readers,” Laila observed. “We need to be part of the story from page one. Transforming reports into Arabic shouldn’t begin only after the English version is finalized.”

Stephan hesitated, wary of the added expenses. But Sara, with her seasoned instincts, recognized that what might appear as added expense was in fact an investment in impact.

Over the following weeks, Laila worked with her team to create an Arabic version crafted with care, cultural sensitivity and awareness. They shifted the language from merely replacing the English text with Arabic words into an accessible living document rooted in Arab cultural soil which resonated with its intended audience.

The Importance of Culturally Appropriate Communication in Research Dissemination

Academic discourse has long been aimed at two primary audiences: scholars and policymakers. But today, the landscape demands more.

If research centers in MENA aspire to broader relevance, they must rethink how they present knowledge in Arabic, too. Knowledge needs to be accessible, readable, alive, emotionally relatable, and culturally resonant.

Is it worth the effort and the expense? Working with a local expert agency from the start isn’t an expense; it’s an investment in ensuring your expand your reach.

When ideas find their true language, they do not merely inform. They live.

Epilogue

A month later, Stephan and Sara stood before the board, presenting not just numbers, but a story of transformation. The center's latest report, crafted with cultural nuance from inception, had garnered attention from regional policymakers and sparked unprecedented engagement across the center’s social media platforms.

As they concluded their presentation, a board member leaned forward, intrigued. "It looks like we've been counting our chickens before they hatched," he mused. "We thought it was enough just to produce rigorous research. But it turns out that how we communicate it is just as important.”

Stephan nodded. “Yup,” he replied. "We're not translating words; we're translating impact. And when we do that, we move people from being informed by our research to taking action off the back of it.”