Think tank

For other uses, see Think tank (disambiguation).

A think tank (or policy institute) is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax exempt status. Other think tanks are funded by governments, advocacy groups, or businesses, or derive revenue from consulting or research work related to their projects.

The following article lists global think tanks according to continental categories, and then sub-categories by country within those areas. These listings are not comprehensive, given more than 4,500 think tanks that exist world wide. In general, this article is an introduction to the think tank landscape, and provides a way to quickly navigate to those of interest.

History

While the term "think tank" originated in the 1950s, such organizations date to the 19th century. The Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) was founded in 1831 in London. The Fabian Society in Britain dates from 1884. The Brookings Institution began in Washington in 1916.

After 1945, the number of think tanks grew, as many smaller new think tanks were formed to express various issue and policy agendas. Until the 1940s, most think tanks were known only by the name of the institution. During the Second World War, think tanks were referred to as "brain boxes" after the slang term for the skull. The phrase "think tank" in wartime American slang referred to rooms where strategists discussed war planning. The term think tank itself, however, originally referred to organizations that offered military advice—most notably the RAND Corporation, founded originally in 1946 as an offshoot of Douglas Aircraft, and which became an independent corporation in 1948.

For most of the 20th century, independent public policy think tanks that performed research and provided advice on public policy were an organizational phenomenon found primarily in the United States, with a much smaller number in Canada and Western Europe. Although think tanks existed in Japan for some time they generally lacked independence, having close ties to government ministries or corporations. There has been a veritable proliferation of “think tanks” around the world that began in the 1980s as a result of the forces of globalization, the end of the Cold War, and the emergence of transnational problems. Two-thirds of all the think tanks that exist today were established after 1970 and over half were established since 1980.

The impact of globalization on the think tank movement is most evident in regions such as Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and parts of Southeast Asia, where there was a concerted effort by the international community to support the creation of independent public policy research organizations. A recent survey conducted by the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program underscores the significance of this effort and documents the fact that most of the think tanks in these regions have been established in the last 10 years. Today there are over 4,500 of these institutions around the world. Many of the more established think tanks, having been created during the Cold War, are focused on international affairs, security studies, and foreign policy.

Also see the United Nations Development Programme definition.

Types

Think tanks vary by ideological perspectives, sources of funding, issue focus and prospective audience. Some think tanks, such as the Heritage Foundation, which promotes conservative principles, and the Center for American Progress on the progressive front, are more partisan in purpose. Others, including the Tellus Institute, which focuses on social and environmental topics, are more issue-oriented groups. Still others, such as the Cato Institute, promote libertarian social and economic theories based on Friedrich von Hayek's idea of free markets and individual liberty.

Funding sources and the targeted audiences also define the workings of think tanks. Some receive direct government support, while others rely on private individual or corporate donors. This will invariably affect the levels of academic freedom within each think tank and to whom or what the institution feels beholden. Funding may also reflect who or what the institution wants to influence; in the United States, for example, "Some donors want to influence votes in Congress or shape public opinion, others want to position themselves or the experts they fund for future government jobs, while others want to push specific areas of research or education."

A new trend, resulting from globalization, is collaboration between think tanks across continents. For instance, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace operates offices in Washington, D.C., Beijing, Beirut, Brussels and Moscow.

The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania annually rates think tanks worldwide in a number of categories and presents its findings in the "Global Go-To Think Tanks" rating index. However, this approach to the study and assessment of think tanks has been criticised by think tank researchers such as Enrique Mendizabal and Goran Buldioski, Director of the Think Tank Fund, supported by the Open Society Institute.

Several authors have outlined a number of different ways of describing think tanks in a way that takes into account regional and national variations. For example from Diane Stone Diane Stone (2005):

• Independent civil society think tanks established as non-profit organisations –ideologically identifiable or not
• Policy research institutes located in or affiliated with a university
• Governmentally created or state sponsored think tank
• Corporate created or business affiliated think tank
• Political party think tanks and legacy or personal think tanks
• Global (or regional) think tanks (with some of the above)

Alternatively, one could use some of the following criteria:

• Size and focus: e.g. large and diversified, large and specialised, small and specialised
• Evolution of stage of development: e.g. first (small), second (small to large but more complex projects), and third (larger and policy influence) stages
• Strategy, including: Funding sources (individuals, corporations, foundations, donors/governments, endowments, sales/events) and business model (independent research, contract work, advocacy); The balance between research, consultancy, and advocacy; The source of their arguments: Ideology, values or interests; applied, empirical or synthesis research; or theoretical or academic research (Stephen Yeo); The manner in which the research agenda is developed—by senior members of the think tank or by individual researchers, or by the think tank of their funders; Their influencing approaches and tactics (many researchers but an interesting one comes from Abelson) and the time horizon for their strategies: long term and short term mobilisation; Their various audiences of the think tanks (audiences as consumers and public -this merits another blog; soon) (again, many authors, but Zufeng provides a good framework for China); and Affiliation, which refers to the issue of independence (or autonomy) but also includes think tanks with formal and informal links to political parties, interest groups and other political players.

Functional approach in Latin America

Research done by Enrique Mendizabal shows that Latin American think tanks play various roles depending on their origins, historical development and relations to other policy actors. In this study, Orazio Bellettini from Grupo FARO suggests that they:

1. Seek political support for policies.
2. Legitimize policies – This has been clearer in Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru. New governments in Ecuador and Peru have approached think tanks for support for already defined policies. In Bolivia, the government led by Evo Morales has been working with NGOs and other research centres to do the same. However, in the Chilean context, many think tanks during the 1990s appeared to support and maintain the legitimacy of policies implemented during the previous decade by the dictator Augusto Pinochet.
3. Spaces of debate – In this case think tanks serve as sounding boards for new policies. In Chile, during the Pinochet dictatorship, many left wing intellectuals and researchers found ‘asylum’ in think tanks. In Ecuador, think tanks are seen as spaces where politicians can test the soundness of their policies and government plans.
4. Financial channels for political parties or other interest groups – In Ecuador and Bolivia, German foundations have been able to provide funds to think tanks that work with certain political parties. This approach has provided support to the system as a whole rather than individual CSOs.
5. Expert cadres of policy-makers and politicians – In Peru after the fall of the Fujimori regime, and in Chile after the fall of Pinochet, think tank staff left to form part of the new governments. In the U.S., the role of leading think tanks is precisely that: host scholars for a few months or years and then see them off to work in policy.

How a think tank addresses these largely depends on how they work, their ideology vs. evidence credentials, and the context they operate in (including funding opportunities, the degree and type of competition they face, their staff, etc.).

This functional approach addresses the inherit challenge of defining a think tank. As Simon James aptly noted in 1998, "Discussion of think tanks...has a tendency to get bogged down in the vexed question of defining what we mean by ‘think tank’—an exercise that often degenerates into futile semantics. It is better (as in the Network Functions Approach) to describe what the organisation should do. Then the shape of the organisation should follow to allow this to happen. The following framework (based on Stephen Yeo’s description of think tanks’ mode of work) is described in Enrique Mendizabal's blog "onthinktanks":

First, think tanks may work in or based their funding on one or more ways, including:

1. Independent research: this would be work done with core or flexible funding that allows the researchers the liberty to choose their research questions and method. It may be long term and could focus on ‘big ideas’ with no direct policy relevance. On the other hand, it could focus on a key policy problem that requires a thorough research and action investment.
2. Consultancy: this would be work done through commissions with specific clients and addressing one or two key questions. Consultancies often respond to an existing agenda.
3. Influencing/advocacy: this would be work done through communications, capacity development, networking, campaigns, lobbying, etc. It is likely to be based on research based evidence emerging from independent research or consultancies.

Second, think tanks may base their work or arguments on:

1. Ideology, values or interests
2. Applied, empirical or synthesis research
3. Theoretical or academic research

According to the National Institute for Research Advancement, a Japanese think tank, think tanks are "one of the main policy actors in democratic societies ..., assuring a pluralistic, open and accountable process of policy analysis, research, decision-making and evaluation". A study in early 2009 found a total of 5,465 think tanks worldwide. Of that number, 1,777 were based in the United States and approximately 350 in Washington DC alone.

Criticism

In some cases, corporate interests have found it useful to create "think tanks." For example, The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition was formed in the mid 1990s to dispute research finding a link between second-hand smoke and cancer. According to an internal memo from Philip Morris referring to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "the credibility of the EPA is defeatable, but not on the basis of ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) alone. It must be part of a larger mosaic that concentrates all the EPA's enemies against it at one time."

According to the left-wing non-government organization Fair.org, right-wing think tanks are often quoted and rarely labeled. The result is that sometimes think tank "experts" are depicted as neutral sources without any ideological predispositions when, in fact, they represent a particular perspective. In the field of education, think tank publications are subjected to expert review by the National Education Policy Center's "Think Twice" think tank review project.

A think tank is often a "tank", in the intellectual sense: discussion only in a closed circle protected from outside influence isolates the participants, subjects them to several cognitive biases (groupthink, confirmation bias) and fosters members' existing beliefs. This leads to surprisingly radical and even unfeasible ideas being published. Many think tanks, however, purposefully attempt to alleviate this problem by selecting members from diverse backgrounds.

Asian think tanks

Republic of Korea

In Korea, the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences (NRCS) is a public institution that supported 23 related research institutes in their quest to achieve the effective management and improvement of their research environment under the Prime Minister. It was established with the objective of supporting and fostering research institutes in the area of economics and social science and systematically supervising them in their contributions to the production of high-quality national policy research and the development of a concrete knowledge industry. The NRCS was reorganized in 2005 through the merger of the Korea Council of Economic and Social Research Institutes and the Korea Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences established separately in 1999.

The Center for Free Enterprise (Korea) is a free market think tank located in Seoul, South Korea, with pages in English and Korean.

Bangladesh

In the People's Republic of Bangladesh a number of think tanks are working on foreign policy and security issues. Most of these are based in Dhaka. The Centre for International Affairs is one of them. It was established by Dr. Ataur Rahman Khan, Professor of International Relations in Jahagirnagar University. It is now incorporated with the Department of International Relations, Jahangirnagar University.

China

In the People's Republic of China a number of think tanks are sponsored by governmental agencies, like Development Research Center of the State Council, but still retain sufficient non-official status to be able to propose and debate ideas more freely. Indeed, most of the actual diplomacy between China and the United States has taken the form of academic exchanges between members of think tanks. In January 2012, the first non-official think-tank in China, South Non-Governmental Think-Tank, was established in Guang-Dong province.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, those early think tanks established in the late 1980s and early 1990s focused on the political development including first direct Legislative Council members election in 1991 and the political framework of "One Country, Two Systems" manifested in the Sino-British Joint Declaration. After the transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997, more and more think tanks were established by various groups of intellectuals and professionals. They have various missions and objectives including promoting civic education; undertaking research on economic social and political policies; promoting "public understanding of and participation in the political, economic, and social development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region".

India

India has the third largest number of think tanks in the world. Many are based in New Delhi, and a few are government sponsored. A number of these work on foreign policy and security issues. There are few think tanks like Centre for Civil Society who promote liberal social and economic ideas and others like the Rakshak Foundation, who encourage students to do empirical research and gain first hand experience in public policy issues. Vivekananda International Foundation another example.

Islamic Republic of Iran

Several organizations established in Iran since the late 1990s offer a unique blend of interdisciplinary research. Their focuses have been to provide social managers and policies. Andishkadeh Yaghin (CBSDA), Atinegaar Think Tank, Nano Health Think Tank, ASEF Think tank, Seywan Institute, and Sharif Think tank & Polytechnic Think Tank are some famous Think tanks in this region. Think tank is called "Andishkadeh" in the Persian language.

Malaysia

Most Malaysia think tanks are government or political party related. They focus on defence, politicsm and policies. Notable ones include the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysian Strategic Research Centre (MSRC), International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA). IDEAS is Malaysia's first policy oriented classical liberal think tank.

Pakistan

Pakistan's think tanks mainly revolve around internal politics, foreign security issues, and regional geo-politics. Most of these are centered around the capital, Islamabad, and have been founded by former military and intelligence personnel. Most recently, institutes such as the National University of Sciences and Technology have embarked on creating industrial linkages to create think tanks focusing on industrial and economic growth issues.

Other think tanks concern religion and how its influence could grow in an already religious country. These are centred throughout the country and work under the umbrella of the mammoth Jamaat-e-Islami with headquarters in Lahore and has immense global influence, reach and regard among more traditional Muslims. However the Jamat is a political party, and affiliations with reputable think tanks in Pakistan are not clear.

There are several other think tanks as well, such as those concerning the state of education in the country, which hold many former or present educators. There are also think tanks concerning human rights, women rights, labour rights, justice, city development, heritage protection, and environmental protection, all headed by the country's urban dwelling, educated elite living, most of whom have studied or worked abroad. There remains a vacuum for former high ranking Government officials and party members to contribute to the think tank and policy advocacy process in these areas.

Some notable Pakistani think tanks are the Institute of Policy Studies, the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs and the Corporate Advisory Council (NUST).

Most are known to the general public through seminars and newspaper articles, or conducting workshops and lectures at colleges and universities.

Republic of the Philippines

The Institute for Strategic and Development Studies (ISDS Philippines) is an independent non-profit, policy research and advocacy institution that is also involved in training activities in cooperation with other training institutions at home and abroad. It was founded by a group of academics from the University of the Philippines Diliman in April 1991. It was established in response to the need for an ongoing evaluation and interpretation of the changes in national and international affairs by serious international, regional, and national analysts. It was also aimed at responding to the need to provide academics a venue for research to enrich teaching and to provide inputs to policy-making.

The PIPVTR is an independent, non-stock, non-profit, non-governmental research organization officially registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 29 November 2007 as Philippine Institute for Political Violence and Terrorism Research. It was first conceptualized in September 2005 by a group of experts, academics and practitioners who see the need to establish a center in the Philippines dedicated to the study of political violence and terrorism and their implications for peace and security.

Think tanks in the Philippines could be generally categorized in terms of their linkages with the national government. Several were set up by the Philippine government for the specific purpose of providing research input into the policy-making process.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has a number of think tanks that are in the form governmental, non-governmental and corporate organizations. Recently, the Ministry of External Affairs of Sri Lanka (formerly known as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) established a "Foreign Policy Think Tank" to facilitate the professional advancement of the country's foreign policy and the conduct of its external affairs. The structure of government Think Tanks in Sri Lanka are structured with the help of many academics and intellectuals affiliated with the government.

The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies is a regionally acclaimed policy-studies institute that is often referred to as a think tank. The Institute of Policy Studies in Colombo is another policy planning related think tank. The International Center for Ethnic Studies (located both in Colombo and Kandy) is another research-related think tank. There are several other focus-research institutes throughout the country that may be referred to as Think Tanks, such as the Marga Institute of Sri Lanka.

Other think tanks in Sri Lanka include the Islamic Think Tank and the Sri Lanka Think Tank – UK. Many private and government universities in Sri Lanka have research-related think tanks.

European think tanks

Belgium

Brussels hosts most of the European Institutions, hence a large number of international think tanks are based there. Among them there is the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Bruegel, the Global Governance Institute (GGI), the European Policy Centre (EPC), ThinkYoung, the Friends of Europe, the Lisbon Council, the European Centre of International Political Economy (ECIPE), and the Centre for the New Europe (CNE). The Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), though based in London, is a network of researchers based throughout Europe that contributes actively to European policy debates.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria has a number of think tanks providing expertise and shaping policies. Most active are:

• Institute of Modern Politics – focused on legislation and parliamentary conduct from human rights and good governance perspective;
• Center for the Study of Democracy – working on anti-corruption and judicial reform issues;
• Institute on Market Economy – budget and macroeconomy.

Croatia

In Croatia, Innovation Institute is a NGO with a mission to develop innovative potential by promoting creativity, innovativeness, unorthodox thinking and questioning existing dogmas. It aims at changing the culture from being focused on redistribution of value to being focused on value creation. The key target segments include: managers, entrepreneurs, policy makers, academics and students.

Czech Republic

The Association for International Affairs is the foremost Czech think-tank specializing in the field of international politics and diplomacy. It focuses on three areas: education (with the largest educational project in Central Europe, the Prague Student Summit), research (at its Research Center) and international outreach (currently in Belarus and other countries).

Finland

Finland has several small think tanks that provide expertise in very specific fields. Vasemmistofoorumi researches the future of leftism, OK Do is a socially-minded design thinking organization, Demos Helsinki is a think tank that researches future society and Culture Crisis Management is political artists' think tank.

In addition to specific independent think tanks, the largest political parties have their own think tank organizations. This is mainly due to support granted by state for such activity. The corporate world has focused their efforts to central representative organization Confederation of Finnish Industries, which acts as think tank in addition to negotiating salaries with workers unions. Furthermore, there is the Finnish Business and Policy Forum (Elinkeinoelämän valtuuskunta, EVA). Agricultural and regional interests, associated with The Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (Maa- ja metsätaloustuottajain Keskusliitto, MTK) and the Centre Party, are researched by Pellervo Economic Research (Pellervon taloustutkimus, PTT). The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (Suomen Ammattiliittojen Keskusjärjestö, SAK) and the Social Democratic Party are associated with the Labour Institute for Economic Research (Palkansaajien tutkimuslaitos, PT). Each of these organizations often release forecasts concerning the national economy.

France

The French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) was founded in 1979 and is the third oldest think tank of western Europe, after the Chatam House (UK, 1920) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sweden, 1960). The primary goals of IFRI are to develop applied research in the field of public policy related to international issues, and foster interactive and constructive dialogue between researchers, professionals, and opinion leaders.

Germany

In Germany all of the major parties are loosely associated with research foundations that play some role in shaping policy, but generally from the more disinterested role of providing research to support policymakers than explicitly proposing policy. These include the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (Social Democratic Party-aligned), the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (Christian Democratic Union-aligned), the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung (Christian Social Union-aligned), the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (aligned with the Greens), Friedrich Naumann Foundation (Free Democratic Party-aligned) and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (aligned with Die Linke). The German Institute for International and Security Affairs is a prominent example of a German foreign policy think tank. Atlantic Community think tank is an example of independent, non-partisan and non-profit organization set up as a joint project of Atlantische Initiative e.V. and Atlantic Initiative U.S.

Greece

See also: List of Greek think tanks

In Greece there are many think tanks, also called research organisations or institutes.

Italy

• Bruno Leoni Institute
• Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
• Future Italy
• Istituto Affari Internazionali
• Venezie Institute

Netherlands

All major political parties in the Netherlands have state-sponsored research foundations that play a role in shaping policy. The Dutch government also has its own think tank: the Scientific Council for Government Policy. One of the oldest think tanks in the Netherlands is the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam (1974).

Poland

There is a large pool of think-tanks in Poland; none of them stands out however. The oldest state-sponsored think tank is the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) established in 1947. The second most important state-sponsored think tank is the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW), which specialises in the post-Communist space. Among the private think tanks the most important are: the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE) on economic policy, demosEUROPA on EU affairs, the Institute of Public Affairs (ISP) on social policy, the Center for International Affairs (CSM) and The Sobieski Institute.

Portugal

Contraditório think tank was founded in 2008. Contraditório is a non-profit, independent and non-partisan think tank.

Romania

Romania's largest think tank is the Romanian Academic Society (SAR), which was founded in 1996.

Russia

Russian think tanks have experienced a precipitous decline over the past five years. Think tanks under the Soviet Union, analogous to their American counterparts, grew to play a significant role in strategic policy formation. During the era of glasnost, begun by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and continuing under Russian President Boris Yeltsin, public think tanks and policy organizations underwent a brief blooming. However, as economic problems intensified under Yeltsin, and political pressure on public organizations grew under President Vladimir Putin, most of the Russian think tanks have withered away while those who stood closer to Kremlin saw a recent revival.

Spain

In Spain, think tanks are progressively raising their public profile. There are now at least 30 think tanks in the country. One of the most influential Spanish think tanks is the Elcano Royal Institute, created in 2001 following the example of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in the UK, although it is closely linked to (and receives funding from) the Socialist government in power. More independent but clearly to the left of the political spectrum are the Centro de Investigaciones de Relaciones Internacionales y Desarrollo (CIDOB) founded in 1973; and the Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior (FRIDE) established in 1999 by Diego Hidalgo and main driving force behind projects such as the Club de Madrid, a group of democratic former heads of state and government, or the Foreign Policy Spanish Edition. Former Prime Minister José Maria Aznar presides over the Fundación para el Analisis y los Estudios Sociales (FAES), a policy institute that is associated with the conservative Popular Party (PP). Also linked to the PP is the Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos (GEES), which is known for its defense- and security-related research and analysis. For its part, the Fundación Alternativas is independent but close to left-wing ideas. The Socialist Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) has created a new think tank called the Fundación Ideas. More specialized think tanks has also emerged in Spain during the past 10 years, like the Future Trends Forum from Bankinter Foundation, a unique think tank in Europe, focused on detecting social, economic, scientific and technological trends and analyzing their possible application and impact on current business models.

Sweden

The two biggest think tanks in Sweden is the liberal oriented Timbro and center-left oriented Agora. Others are Sektor3, SNS, Arbetarrörelsens Tankesmedja (sociodemocratic oriented), Civitas (Christian democratic oriented) and Cogito (Green oriented).

Turkey

Turkish think tanks are relatively new. Many of them are sister organizations of a political party or a company. University think tanks are not typical think tanks. Most Turkish think tanks provide research and ideas, yet they play less important roles in policy making when compared with American think tanks. There are at least 20 think tanks in the country. One of the most influential and oldest Turkish think tanks is the International Strategic Research Organisation (USAK).

Ukraine

Razumkov Centre

United Kingdom

See also: List of think tanks in the United Kingdom

In Britain, think tanks play a similar role to the United States, attempting to shape policy, and indeed there is some cooperation between British and American think tanks. For example, the London-based think tank Chatham House and the Council on Foreign Relations were both conceived at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 and have remained sister organizations.

United States think tanks

Main article: List of think tanks in the United States

The first American think tank was the Brookings Institution, founded in 1916 as the Institute for Government Research (IGR), with the mission of becoming "the first private organization devoted to analyzing public policy issues at the national level." The Air Force set up the RAND Corporation in 1946 to think about air power.

In 1971 Lewis F. Powell Jr. urged conservatives to retake command of public discourse by "financing think tanks, reshaping mass media and seeking influence in universities and the judiciary." In the following decades conservative policies once considered outside the political mainstream—such as abolishing welfare, privatizing Social Security, deregulating banking, embracing preemptive war—were taken seriously and sometimes passed into law thanks to the work of the Hoover Institution, Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute and smaller tanks.

Think tanks help shape both foreign and domestic policy. They receive funding from private donors, and members of private organizations. Think tanks may feel more free to propose and debate controversial ideas than people within government. The liberal media watchgroup Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) has identified the top 25 think tanks by media citations, noting that from 2006 to 2007 the number of citations declined 17%. The FAIR report reveals the ideological breakdown of the citations: 37% conservative, 47% centrist, and 16% liberal. Their data show that the most-cited think tank was the Brookings Institution, followed by the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

A database of articles released by these organizations can be found here: The Think Bank.

Government

Government think tanks are also important in the United States, particularly in the security and defense field. These include the Institute for National Strategic Studies, Institute for Homeland Security Studies, and the Center for Technology and National Security Policy, at the National Defense University; the Center for Naval Warfare Studies at the Naval War College and the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College.

The government funds, wholly or in part, activities at approximately 30 Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs). FFRDCs, are unique independent nonprofit entities sponsored and funded by the U.S. government to meet specific long-term technical needs that cannot be met by any other single organization. FFRDCs typically assist government agencies with scientific research and analysis, systems development, and systems acquisition. They bring together the expertise and outlook of government, industry, and academia to solve complex technical problems. These FFRDCs include the RAND Corporation, the MITRE Corporation, the Institute for Defense Analyses, the Aerospace Corporation, the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and other organizations supporting various departments within the U.S. Government.

Similar to the above quasi-governmental organizations are Federal Advisory Committees. These groups, sometimes referred to as commissions, are a form of think tank dedicated to advising the US Presidents or the Executive branch of government. They typically focus on a specific issue and as such, might be considered similar to special interest groups. However, unlike special interest groups these committees have come under some oversight regulation and are required to make formal records available to the public. Approximately 1,000 these advisory committees are described in the FACA searchable database.

Other countries

Azerbaijan

According to research done by the University of Pennsylvania, there are a total of 12 think tanks in Azerbaijan.

The Center for Economic and Social Development, or CESD; in Azeri, Azerbaijan, İqtisadi və Sosial İnkişaf Mərkəzi (İSİM) is an Azeri think tank, non-profit organization, NGO based in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Center was established in 2005.

CESD focuses on policy advocacy and reform, and is involved with policy research and capacity building. CESD employs leading researchers prominent in their fields and enjoys a broad regional and international network. CESD has been set up to promote research into domestic and regional economic and social issues, advocacy towards reforms and capacity building for the purpose to positively impact the policy making and improve the participation.

CESD ranked as one of the top think tanks in the world by the University of Pennsylvania. According to the University of Pennsylvania rankings – a result of surveys from 1500 scholars and peer review evaluation – the Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD) is one of the top 25 think tanks in Central and Eastern Europe, including CIS. CESD is the only think tank from the Caucasus and Central Asia included in the top think tanks rankings.CESD is also ranked as one of the top 25 domestic economic policy thinks tanks in the world. Only CESD (ranked 19) and the Center for Economic and Social Research (CASE), (Poland, ranked 21) were included in the list from Central and Eastern Europe and CIS countries.

The Economic Research Center (ERC) is a policy-research oriented non-profit think tank established in 1999 with a mission to facilitate sustainable economic development and good governance in the new public management system of Azerbaijan. It seeks to do this by building favorable interactions between the public, private and civil society and working with different networks both in local (EITI NGO Coalition, National Budget Group, Public Coalition Against Poverty and etc.) and international levels (PWYP, IBP, ENTO, ALDA, PASOS, WTO NGO Network etc.).

• Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Azerbaijan

Australia

Most Australian think tanks are based at universities – for example, the Melbourne Institute – or are government funded – for example, the Productivity Commission or the CSIRO.

There are also about 20–30 "independent" Australian think tanks, which are funded by private sources. The best-known of these think tanks play a much more limited role in Australian public and business policy making than in the United States. However, in the past decade the number of think tanks has increased substantially. Prominent Australian conservative think tanks include The Centre for Independent Studies, the Sydney Institute and the Institute of Public Affairs. Prominent leftist Australian think tanks include Per Capita, the Australia Institute, Lowy Institute and the Centre for Policy Development. In recent years regionally based independent and non-partisan think tanks have emerged. Some such as the Illawarra's i-eat-drink-think engage in discussion, research and advocacy within a broader civics framework. Commercial think tanks like the Gartner Group, Access Economics, The Helmsman Institute, and others provide additional insight which complements not for profit organisations such as CEDA, the Strategic Policy Institute, and the Australian Institute of Company directors to provide more targeted policy in defence, program governance, corporate governance and similar.

Brazil

Brazil hosts pro-market independent think tanks working on public policies. Among them is Instituto Liberdade, a University-based Center at Tecnopuc inside the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, located in the South Region of the country, at the city of Porto Alegre. Instituto Liberdade is among the Top 40 think tanks in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the 2009 Global Go To Think Tanks Index [, a report from the University of Pennsylvania's Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP).

Fundação Getulio Vargas (Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV or GV)) is a Brazilian higher education institution founded on December 20, 1944. It offers regular courses of Economics, Business Administration, Law, Social Sciences and Information technology management. Its original goal was to train people for the country's public- and private-sector management. Other courses began to be offered as the institution grew. It is considered by Foreign Policy magazine to be a top-5 "policymaker think-tank" worldwide.

Canada

Canada has many think tanks (listed in no particular order). Each has their specific areas of interest with some overlaps:

• Atlantic Institute for Market Studies
• Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
• Franco-Canadian Research Centre (could not locate website)
• Cardus
• C.D Howe Institute
• Centre for International Governance Innovation
• The Conference of Defence Associations
• Conference Board of Canada
• Caledon Institute of Social Policy
• Council of Canadians
• Canada West Foundation
• Fraser Institute
• Frontier Centre for Public Policy
• Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
• Institute for Public Economics
• Canadian Council on Social Development
• Institute for Research on Public Policy
• Canadian Employment Research Forum
• International Institute for Sustainable Development
• Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
• Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation
• North-South Institute
• Canadian International Council
• Parkland Institute
• Canadian Labour and Business Centre
• Pembina Institute
• Public Policy Forum
• Canadian Tax Foundation
• Western Centre for Economic Research
• Centre for Trade Policy and Law

Note: The Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN) is a Canadian think-tank that has disbanded.

Ghana

Ghana's first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, set up various state-supported think tanks in the 1960s. By the 1990s, a variety of policy research centers sprang up in Africa set up by academics who sought to influence public policy in Ghana.

One such think tank was The Institute of Economic Affairs, Ghana, which was founded in 1989 when the country was ruled by the Provisional National Defence Council. The IEA undertakes and publishes research on a range of economic and governance issues confronting Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa. It has also been involved in bringing political parties together to engage in dialogue. In particular it has organised Presidential debates every election year since the Ghanaian presidential election, 1996.

Israel

There are many think tank teams in Israel:

• Neaman Institute
• Reut Institute
• The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
• Adva Center for Social Policy
• Israel Democracy Institute
• The Institute for National Security Studies
• The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies
• The Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute
• The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel
• The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
• AIX Group-Joint Palestinian-Israeli-International Economic Working Group
• Floersheimer Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
• Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• International Institute for Counter-Terrorism – IDC Herziliya
• Israel Center for Third Sector Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
• Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information
• The Milken Institute
• Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel Aviv University
• The Shalom Hartman Institute
• The Begin-Sadat Center – Bar Ilan University
• The Center for the Study of Philanthropy in Israel at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• The Institute for Advanced Studies at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• The Jewish Arab Center (JAC), University of Haifa
• The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI)
• The Maurice Falk Institute for Economic Research in Israel, The Hebrew University
• The Shalem Center

Jamaica

The Planning Institute of Jamaica is an agency of the Office of the Prime Minister that is "committed to leading the process of policy formulation on economic and social issues and external co-operation management to achieve sustainable development."

Morocco

• The Amadeus Institute is an independent Moroccan think tank, founded in 2008 and based in Rabat. It acts as a laboratory of ideas, a brainstorming platform, and a creator of debates. It contributes to the Moroccan and Maghreban public debate. It also acts as the Voice of the South to communicate its vision and concerns at the global level. The Amadeus Institute has a double role: analysis and creating debates. It operates as a laboratory of ideas and a unique creator of debates. It is at the same time a centre of reflection, dialogue proposition and consultancy, but also a platform of exchanges, meetings and North-South and South-South cooperation.

• Mazagan InstituteMazagan Institute promotes the development of intercultural dialogue, bringing people together through culture and the development of cultural activities based on the diversity of disciplines, thematic approaches, stakeholders, forms, audiences, and places of achievement in promoting youth participation in projects related to urban culture and social development ... Awaken in them the notion of citizenship and social integration ... a conception of culture for which the Institute Mazagan engages and advocates.

• According toMarianne Republic AMAQUEN is one of leadings think tank in the world. Indeed, AMAQUEN founded in 2003, is one of the most influential associations in the field of education through its publications (rapports and international scientific journal "Quality in Education") and international events (CIMQUSEF).

Mexico

IMCO – The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad A.C.) is a think-tank that focuses on public-policy research and solutions. IMCO was created in 2004 with the goal of promoting public policies to boost Mexico's competitiveness -defined as a country's capacity to attract and keep investments and talent. IMCO regularly undertakes projects with various international organizations such as the World Bank and its Doing Business report, the OECD and the Inter American Development Bank (IADB).

Fundación Ethos is a non profit, non partisan think tank, committed to the analysis of issues of relevance for Mexico and Latin America’s development, as well as to the evaluation and design of technically sound public policies.

CIDAC – The Center of Research for Development (Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo, Asociación Civil) is a not-for-profit think tank that undertakes research and proposes viable policy options for Mexico's economic and democratic development. The organization seeks to promote open, pluralistic debate pursuing: the Rule of Law & Democracy, market economics, social development, and strengthening Mexico-U.S. relations.

CIDE, acronym for Economic Theaching and researching center (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas), is one of the most important think tank institutes. The researching lines are the "public policies", "public choice", "democracy", and "economy".

Uzbekistan

CED – Center for Economic Development (Центр Содействия Экономическому Развитию) is a think-tank whose major tasks are: analytic support in economic reforming and development in Uzbekistan; improving knowledge and skills of the subjects of economic development; assistance in productive dialogue between the government, civil society and private sectors on the economic development matters. Key projects: Preparation of the National human development report for Uzbekistan, Sociological "portrait" of the Uzbek businessman, Preparation of an analytical report on export procedures optimization in Uzbekistan, various industry and marketing researches in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

South Africa

• Idasa: Frederik Van Zyl Slabert, and Alex Borain.
• F W De Klerk Foundation

Venezuela

Centro Internacional Miranda

Centro de Divulgación del Conocimiento Económico para la Libertad (CEDICE).

See also

• Collective intelligence
• Futurists
• List of think tanks
• Overton window
• Strategic studies
• TED (conference)
• Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP)

Additional reading

• Abelson, Donald E. Do Think Tanks Matter? Assessing the Impact of Public Policy Institutes. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2002.
• Boucher, Stephen, et al., Europe and its think tanks; a promise to be fulfilled. An analysis of think tanks specialised in European policy issues in the enlarged European Union, Studies and Research No 35, October, Paris, Notre Europe, 2004 [4]
• Cockett, Richard, Thinking the unthinkable: think tanks and the economic counter revolution; 1931–1983, London: Fontana, 1995
• Dickson, Paul. "Think Tanks". New York: Ballantine Books, 1972. 397 pages.
• Goodman, John C. "What is a Think Tank?" National Center for Policy Analysis, 2005.[5]
• Fan, Maureen. "Capital Brain Trust Puts Stamp on the World", Washington Post (16 May 2005): B01.[6]
• Patrick Dixon. Futurewise – Six Faces of Global Change – issues covered by Think Tanks and methodology for reviewing trends, impact on policy 2003): Profile Books
• Hellebust, Lynn and Kristen Hellebust, editors. Think Tank Directory: A Guide to Independent Nonprofit Public Policy Research Organizations. Topeka, Kansas: Government Research Service, 2006 (2nd edition).
• Lakoff, George. Moral Politics: What Conservatives Know That Liberals Don't. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
• Ladi, Stella. Globalisation, Policy Transfer And Policy Research Institutes, Edward Elgar, 2005.
• Mendizabal, Enrique and Kristen Sample (2009) "Dime a quien escuchas... Think Tanks y Partidos Politicos en America Latina", ODI/IDEA: Lima
• McGann, James (2006) Comparative Think Tanks, Politics And Public Policy, Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing
• Ranquet, Robert. Think Tanks and the National Security Strategy Formulation Process: A Comparison of Current American and French Patterns, 1997. [7]
• Smith, James. A. The Idea Brokers: Think Tanks and the Rise of the New Policy Elite, New York: The Free Press, 1991.
• Snider, J.H. "Strengthen Think Tank Accountability", Politico (3 February 2009).[8]
• Stone, Diane. 'RAPID Knowledge: ‘Bridging Research and Policy’ in International Development at the Overseas Development Institute', Public Administration and Development, 29, 2009: 303–15.
• Stone, Diane. Capturing the Political Imagination: Think Tanks and the Policy Process, London: Frank Cass, 1996
• Stone, Diane. 'Garbage Cans, Recycling Bins or Think Tanks? Three Myths about Policy Institutes', Public Administration, 85(2) 2007: 259–278
• Stone, Diane, and Andrew Denham, eds. Think Tank Traditions: Policy Research and the Politics of Ideas. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004.
• Struyk, Raymond J. Managing Think Tanks: Practical Guidance for Maturing Organizations, Budapest, Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative Washington DC., Urban Institute 2002
• UNDP – United Nations Development Program. Thinking the Unthinkable, Bratislava, UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, 2003

External links

• On Think Tanks: a free resource for think tanks
• The Economist Magazine and NPR's Marketplace report: "Under the Influence: Think Tanks and The Money That Fuels Them"
• Foreign Policy Research Institute, Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program directory of over 5000 think tanks and research on the role and impact of think tanks.
• PBS: Think Tank with Ben Wattenberg: "Thinking About Think Tanks" – interview with Christopher DeMuth, President of AEI, October 13, 2005
• Enrique Mendizabal (Research Associate at the Overseas Development Institute on the definition of think tanks: towards a more useful discussion -a new way of studying think tanks that focuses on their functions rather than form.
• 2009 Global Think Tank Rating
• Network Functions Approach
• Fundación Ethos
• Vivekananda International Foundation
• Rakshak Foundation