Enhancing Quad Knowledge

Sucharita Bhattacharjee (second row, left) with Quad fellows at Stanford University in California. (Photograph courtesy Sucharita Bhattacharjee)

Sucharita Bhattacharjee, a policy analyst and deputy head of Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) International, focuses on sustainable development, energy transition, disinformation in the digital age and regional integration. Prior to joining CUTS International, she worked on policy advocacy at the Confederation of Indian Industry. In 2023, Bhattacharjee participated in the U.S. State Department-sponsored Quad Leaders Lead On-Demand (LLOD) program, which is designed to establish a coalition of think tank leaders. Its goal is to align messaging on important aspects of Quad collaboration, enhancing understanding among host governments and other stakeholders about the advantages of the Quad partnership.

Excerpts from an interview.

Can you tell us about your work at CUTS International?

CUTS International is a 40-year-old global policy think tank working on a range of issues ranging from energy transition and trade facilitation to regional connectivity and consumer empowerment.

I am associated with the CUTS Calcutta Resource Centre, which mainly works on regional integration, energy and sustainability, and consumer empowerment and safety. I am a development sector strategist and I lead the energy and e-mobility and media literacy verticals of the center.

I’ve been part of projects looking at how water, food, energy and the environment are linked in specific river areas. I’ve also worked on educating people about media and moving toward cleaner energy. I have been involved in the ideation, research, implementation and capacity-building of target groups of beneficiaries. Currently, I’m focused on advocating for better policies on these issues with governments at different levels.

Can you tell us about your participation in the Quad LLOD program?

The delegation had 20 representatives from think tanks and academia from Australia, India, Japan and the United States. We discussed potential collaborations among the Quad partners in the education sector, critical emerging technologies, defense, smart cities, industrial cooperation and the empowerment of women. There was a lot of focus on climate change and the urgency of mitigating its impact by supporting clean energy transitions. Mitigation strategies across different levels of society were discussed at length. We also talked about the formulation and implementation of robust government policies both at national and regional levels. The U.S. segment was followed by similar programs in the three other Quad countries. I participated in the India and Australia segments.

Can you expand on your experiences during the exchange trip to the United States?

We participated in a roundtable discussion on the Indo-Pacific at the United States Institute of Peace. One representative from each country was chosen to participate in the discussion. For me, the highlight of this entire exchange program was representing India on this panel to discuss possibilities of cooperation amongst the Quad countries across key sectors.

We attended sessions at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology in Washington, D.C., which focused on China’s science and technology ecosystem, artificial intelligence (AI) investment trends and AI diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific region.

We also had a very insightful interaction with Arzan Tarapore at Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, where he spoke about the security issues in South Asia and the rapidly evolving strategic landscape of the wider Indo-Pacific.

At the University of California, Berkeley, I participated in a roundtable discussion led by Clarissa Bhargava, federal relations officer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, focusing on various projects the lab has undertaken on clean energy and global health.

Overall, one of the main objectives of this exchange program was to build a Quad-focused community of scholars after ideating on various convergent or divergent schools of thought. We also got clarity about the purpose of the Quad and the expectations from it.

How did the experience in the Quad LLOD program help you professionally?

It helped me immensely in terms of networking, knowledge-sharing and exploring collaborations. Through this exposure, I tried to enhance my existing skill sets. For example, a detailed workshop on multimedia usage helped me understand the nuances of policy storytelling. Eventually, I started implementing the newly-acquired storytelling techniques for strategic communication and policy advocacy within my work domain.

During the group discussion exercises, we explored case studies to understand how the policy space evolves. We selected issues of importance to the Quad or the Indo-Pacific and researched datasets related to those issues. I developed a thorough understanding of security issues in South Asia and the rapidly evolving strategic landscape of the wider Indo-Pacific, which helped me critically assess my ongoing work.

One of the major learnings for me was how complex scientific ideas can be communicated to a wide audience. As Quad fellows, we have started exploring collaborations at both organizational and individual levels. This exchange program helped connect think tank professionals working on the Quad partnership.

Natasa Milas is a freelance writer based in New York City.

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