The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program: The Global "Go-To Think Tanks"

This project grew out of the never ending requests I receive from journalists, scholars andrngovernment officials to provide a list of the leading think tanks in a particular country orrnregion of the world. Last year I launched a pilot project that was designed to identifyrnsome of the leading think tanks in the world in an attempt to answer these inquiries in arnmore systematic fashion. The report that follows summarizes the findings of this pilotrnproject and provides lists of what might be called the “go to think tanks” in every regionrnof the world. 228 institutions were nominated by their peers and are public policyrnresearch, analysis and engagement organizations that have become recognized nationally,rnregionally and globally for producing rigorous and relevant research, publications andrnprograms. While I have done my best to be balanced and systematic in my approach tornidentifying the leading think tanks in the world much more work needs to be done tornimprove the selection process. I, therefore, view this report as a starting point andrnencourage your comments and suggestions for how I might improve the selectionrnprocess. Additionally, it is also worth noting that the inclusion of an institution in thernuniverse of leading think tanks does not indicate a seal of approval or endorsement forrnthe institution, its publications or programs. Likewise a failure to be nominated does notrnnecessarily indicate a lack of a quality and effectiveness or poor performance. There arern5080 think tanks around the world that are doing exceptional work to help bridge the gaprnbetween knowledge and policy. This report is simply an effort to highlight some of thernleading think tanks around the world.