2009 Global Go To Think Tank Rankings Report

In Penn Global Index of Think Tanks, Brookings Institution Best in the World January 28, 2010

PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania “Global Go To Think Tank Rankings” places the Brookings Institution first among more than 6,300 think tanks evaluated worldwide. The annual report places Chatham House first in a separate category for the best think tanks in the world outside the U.S.

“The Global Go To Think Tank Rankings,” launched in 2006, has become an authoritative source for the top public policy research institutes in the world. The newest rankings are based on a 2009 global survey of 300 scholars and experts. The panel nominated and ranked nearly 400 organizations.

James G. McGann, assistant director of Penn’s International Relations Program and director of the Think Tanks and Civil Society Program at Penn, compiled the survey.

“Policymakers in the legislative and executive branches of government throughout the developed and developing world face the common problem of bringing expert knowledge to bear on governmental decision-making,” McGann writes. “I am confident that the international experts group and peer nomination and selection process that was constituted for this study has enabled us to create the most authoritative list of high performance think tanks in the world.”

The Top Think Tanks for 2009 are:

• Brookings Institution (Top Think Tank In the World) • Fraser Institute (Canada and Mexico) • Chatham House (Western Europe) • Carnegie Moscow Center (Eastern and Central Europe) • Fundación Getulio Vargas, (Latin America) • Carnegie Middle East Center (Middle East) • South African Institute of International Affairs (Southern Africa) • Japan Institute of International Affairs (Asia) • Overseas Development Institute (International Development) • Harvard School of Public Health Department of Health Policy (Health Policy) • Pew Center on Global Climate Change (Environment) • Council on Foreign Relations (Security and International Affairs) • Brookings Institution (Domestic Economics) • Peterson Institute for International Economics (International Economics) • Urban Institute (Social Policy) • RAND (Science and Technology) • Brookings Institution (Innovative Policy Proposal) • European Council on Foreign Relations (Best New Think Tank) • Brookings Institution (Best Policy Research Program) • Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Best Use of the Internet) • Amnesty International (Best Use of the Print and Electronic Media) • Center for American Progress (Most impact on Policy)

The report, first released at a United Nations University event earlier this month, will be announced at a briefing at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies on Jan. 29.

A copy of the full report is available for download at www.sas.upenn.edu/irp/documents/2009_Global_Go_To_Think_Tanks.pdf.