Northern Ireland’s first think tank set up with funding from Dublin

Pivotal, which was launched today in a low-key manner, will end Northern Ireland’s status as a self-governing region without a think tank – an unusual anomaly in a western democracy which has been highlighted by BBC NI’s political editor Mark Devenport and others.

The new organisation, which “aims to help Northern Ireland prosper by encouraging better public policy and involving a wider range of people in policy debate”, includes former senior NIO official Alan Whysall and former PSNI assistant chief constable Peter Sheridan as trustees and is avowedly neutral between unionism and nationalism.

Pivotal is being headed by Ann Watt, whose previous role was as head of the Electoral Commission in Northern Ireland, a position in which she argued for increased transparency around funding for political parties.

Acknowledging that, she told the News Letter that Pivotal “want to be transparent about who’s funding us”. The group’s initial financial backers include the Irish government, along with Belfast Harbour, NICVA, The Community Foundation, The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Queen’s University and Ulster University.

Ms Watt declined to say how much money had come from the Irish government and accepted that it might seem imbalanced that only the Irish government – rather than also the British government – is a financial backer. However, she said that there had been “lots of positive support from the civil service”.

The body hopes to employ four staff and has funding for its first two years. The organisation is presenting itself as agnostic on the constitutional question and has involved many individuals from across the political spectrum.

Richard Good, a former special advisor to Alliance justice minister David Ford, is one of the trustees. Former Sinn Fein special advisor Leo Green, former DUP junior minister Alastair Ross, former PUP leader Dawn Purvis, former Ulster Unionist and NI Conservative Trevor Ringland and former UUP and NI21 MLA John McCallister are all members of the think tank’s reference group.

Ms Watt accepted that without a clear ideology – even in left/right terms – there was a risk that the body could suffer from the difficulties which plagued Stormont, where a broad tent encompassing contradictory political views led to inertia. However, she added: “We intend to be quite bold in saying what we think needs to be said even if certain people in the reference group disagree with it.”

She said Pivotal would “work really hard to be independent, robust and balanced” and to facilitate discussion among those of different views. Pivotal’s first publication next month will examine economic and social priorities and it intends to start work on a vision of what Northern Ireland should look like in 2040.