Deadline for Nominations for 2010 Top Think Tanks in the World Extended to 09/07/10

Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program International Relations Program University of Pennsylvania

635 Williams Hall

255 South 36th Street

PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA 19104-6305

TEL. (001) 215 746-2928

EMAIL: Jmcgann@sas.upenn.edu

August 29, 2010

This is a friendly reminder to inform you that we have not received your completed nominations for the 2010 Global Go To Think Tank Rankings. The deadline for submissions has been extended to TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2010.

Here is a link to the nominations survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=9swL3yqBR7xK5CilnYuMWA_3d_3d . This link is uniquely tied to this survey and your email address. Please do not forward this message or the link it will not work with any other email address.

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SUBMITTED YOUR NOMINATIONS PLEASE IGNORE THIS MESSAGE. If you would like to amend or complete your nominations can do so at this time by using the link provided above.

Please note that your nominations will be kept strictly confidential.

Over 600 journalists, scholars, donors and think tanks from 85 countries have already submitted their nominations.  

The Think Tank Index was created to help identify some of  the leading think tanks in every region of the world and to highlight the important role they play in civil societies and governments around the globe.

While we encourage all institutions to make nominations for all the rankings categories, we want to make sure you use the selection criteria provided below and only nominate those institutions that you have knowledge and experience working with in a professional capacity.

An overview of the process for the 2010 Global Go To Think Tank Rankings is provided below. Please note that Round I and II are open to all think tanks.

We appreciate your time and consideration and want to thank you for your continued interest and support of our work with think tanks around the world.

Please note: If you do not wish to receive further emails from us, please click the link below, and you will be automatically removed from our mailing list.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/optout.aspx?sm=9swL3yqBR7xK5CilnYuMWA_3d_3d .

James G. McGann, Ph.D.

Assistant Director, International Relations Program Director, Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program University of Pennsylvania

635 Williams Hall

255 S. 36th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104-6304

Main Office: 215 898-0452

Direct Line: 215 746-2928

Mobile: 215 206-1799

Email: jmcgann@sas.upenn.edu

IR Web site: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/irp/            

Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program International Relations Program University of Pennsylvania

635 Williams Hall

255 South 36th Street

PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA 19104-6305

TEL. (001) 215 746-2928

EMAIL: Jmcgann@sas.upenn.edu

July 18, 2010

Greetings:

I am pleased to announce the commencement of the 2010 Global Go To Think Tank Report nominations process. The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) is contacting you for help in indentifying the world’s leading think tanks for the Global Go To Index.  Please submit your nomination on or before August 20, 2010.  A link to the on-line nominations instrument along with a list of the nomination categories, a working definition of think tanks, a think typology and an impact assessment tool are provided below to help guide the nomination process. You encouraged to make think tank nominations only in those areas where you have knowledge and experience.

We are asking for nominations of think tanks that you feel warrant consideration as centers of excellence on global, regional and national levels. The 2010 Global Go To Rankings will be conducted in three rounds. This change in the rankings and selection process is the result of the recommendations made by some of the more than 1,200 think tanks and expert panelists who participated in last year’s rankings process.

This year’s process and schedule is summarized below:

Round I Nominations July 15 – August 20, 2010  (DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 09/07/10)

Call for Nominations is sent to 6,300 think tanks and approximately 500 journalists, public and private donors and policy makers from around the world.  These nominations are tabulated and institutes with 5 or more nominations are included in the 2010 think tank rankings process.

Round II Peer/Expert Rankings September/October 2010

Think Tanks with 5 or more nominations are placed on an electronic ranking survey. A letter announcing the second round is emailed to the 6,300 think tanks and the journalists, public and private donors and policy maker group. The rankings are tabulated and the list of finalists is generated for the Expert Panel to review and make the final selections. Individuals who served on last year’s expert panel and those who are nominated are invited to serve on the 2010 expert panel. Experts from every region and functional area being ranked will be represented on the expert panel.

Round III Expert Panel Selects 2010 Go To Think Tanks November 2010

The members of the expert panel are selected and information packets are sent by email to all the panel members to make their final selections.

2010 Global Go To Think Tanks are Announced January 2011

The 2010 Global Go To Think Tanks are announced at the United Nations in New York and selected organizations in every region of the world.

Please take the time to make your nominations online, following this survey link: . You may nominate 25 Organizations for the Global Go To Think Tank- leading think tanks in the world.  Please also nominate the top think tanks by region and area of research and special achievement. You can nominate up to 25 institutions per region, 25 per research area, 10 per organizational or programmatic achievement and 5 Top Think Tanks. Please note that all nominations you make will be kept confidential.

I value your input and welcome any additional comments or suggestions you might have for improving the process and how we report and disseminate the findings. Please submit your response at your earliest convenience but no later than August 20, 2010.

A copy of the unabridged 2009 Global Go To Report is currently posted on the International Relations Program web page: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/irp/documents/2009GlobalGoToReportThinkTankIndex1.31.10_2010.02.14.pdf

Please note: If you do not wish to receive further emails from us, please click the link below, and you will be automatically removed from our mailing list. http://www.surveymonkey.com/optout.aspx

Thank you for assisting us with the 2010 “Global Go-To Think Tanks” Report. We appreciate your help.

James G. McGann, Ph.D.

Assistant Director, International Relations Program Director, Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program University of Pennsylvania

635 Williams Hall

255 S. 36th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104-6304

Main Office: 215 898-0452

Direct Line: 215 746-2928

Mobile: 215 206-1799

Email: jmcgann@sas.upenn.edu

IR Web site: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/irp/                      

“Helping to bridge the gap between knowledge and policy”

2010 Global Go To Think Tank Nomination Categories Please use the on-line survey instrument to submit your nomination so they can be properly tabulated.

Category I. Top 25 Think Tanks Worldwide (non-U.S.)***** Nominate up to 25 institutions.

Category II. Top Think Tanks by Region (Regional) Nominate up to 25 institutions for each of these regions:

Top 25 Think Tanks in Latin America and the Caribbean Top 25 Think Tanks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Top 25 Think Tanks in Sub-Saharan Africa Top 25 Think Tanks in Asia Top 25 Think Tanks in Central and Eastern Europe Top 25 Think Tanks in Western Europe Top 25 Think Tanks in North America (Only Mexico and Canada) Top 25 Think Tanks in the United States

Category III. Top Think Tanks by Research Area (Global) Nominate up to 25 institutions for each of these categories:

Top 25 International Development Think Tanks Top 25 Health Policy Think Tanks Top 25 Environment Think Tanks Top 25 Security and International Affairs Think Tanks Top 25 Domestic Economic Policy Think Tanks Top 25 International Economic Policy Think Tanks

Top 25 Social Policy Think Tanks  

Top 25 Science and Technology Think Tanks Top 25 Transparency and Good Governance Think Tanks

Category IV. Think Tanks with the Most Innovative Policy Ideas/Proposals (Global) Nominate up to 10 institutions and include the specific policy idea/proposal.

Category V. Best New Think Tanks (established in the last 18 months) (Global) Nominate up to 10 institutions.

Category VI. Outstanding Policy-Oriented Public Policy Research Program (Global) Nominate up to 10 institutions.

Category VII.  Best Use of the Internet to Engage the Public (Global) Nominate up to 10 institutions.

Category VIII. Best Use of the Media (Print or Electronic) to Communicate Programs and Research (Global)  

Nominate up to 10 institutions.

Category IX. Best External Relations/Public Engagement Program (Global) Nominate up to 10 institutions.

Category X. Greatest Impact on Public Policy (Global) Nominate up to 10 institutions.

Category XI Best University Affiliated Think Tanks (Global)  

Nominate up to 10 institutions.

Category XII Best Government Affiliated Think Tanks (Global) Nominate up to 10 institutions

Category XIII Best Party Affiliated Think Tanks (Global) Nominate up to 10 institutions.

Category XIV. Think Tank of the Year—Top Think Tank in the World (Global) Nominate up to 5 institutions.

**** United States think tanks have been excluded from this category in order to collect a representative sample of the top think tanks worldwide.  Many of the top think tanks in the United States have a global reach in terms of their research and programming. Such think tanks may have taken a disproportional number of the Top 25 spots; thus, please exclude U.S. think tanks in this category.

NOMINATIONS AND SELECTION CRITERIA

It is essential that you consider a variety of criteria in making your decisions. These may include, but are not limited to:

• Direct relationship between organization’s efforts in a particular area to a positive change in societal values such as significant changes in quality of life within respective country (amounts of goods and services available to citizens, state of physical and mental health, quality of environment, quality of political rights, access to institutions); • Publication of the organization’s work by peer reviewed journals, books and other authoritative publications; • Ability to retain elite scholars & analysts; • Access to elites in the area of policymaking, media and academia; • Academic reputation (formal accreditation, citation of think tank, publications by scholars in major academic books, journals, conferences and in other professional publications); • Media reputation (number of media appearances, interviews and citations); • Reputation with policymakers (name recognition with particular issues, number of briefings and official appointments, policy briefs, legislative testimony delivered); • Level of organization’s financial resources (endowment, membership fees, annual donations, government and private contracts, earned income); • Ability of the organization to meet the demands of those that fund it or to meet the goals of its respective grant-making institution; • Overall output of organization (policy proposals, publications, interviews, conferences, staff nominated to official posts); • Number of recommendations to policymakers, staff serving advisory roles to policymakers, awards given to scholars; • Usefulness of organization’s information in advocacy work, preparing legislation or testimony, preparing academic papers or presentations, conducting research or teaching; • The organization’s ability to produce new knowledge or alternative ideas on policy; • Ability to bridge the gap between the academic and policymaking communities; • Ability to bridge the gap between policymakers and the public; • Ability to include new voices in the policymaking process; • Ability of organization to be inscribed within issue and policy networks; • Success in challenging the traditional wisdom of policymakers and in generating innovative policy ideas and programs.

DEFINITION OF THINK TANKS

Think tanks or public policy research, analysis, and engagement institutions are organizations that generate policy-oriented research, analysis, and advice on domestic and international issues in an effort to enable policymakers and the public to make informed decisions about public policy issues. Think tanks may be affiliated with political parties, governments, interest groups, or private corporations or constituted as independent nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). These institutions often act as a bridge between the academic and policymaking communities, serving the public interest as an independent voice that translates applied and basic research into a language and form that is understandable, reliable, and accessible for policymakers and the public.

Structured as permanent bodies, in contrast with ad hoc commissions or research panels, think tanks devote a substantial portion of their financial and human resources to commissioning and publishing research and policy analysis in the social sciences: political science, economics, public administration, and international affairs. The major outputs of these organizations are books, monographs, reports, policy briefs, conferences, seminars, formal briefings and informal discussions with policymakers, government officials, and key stakeholders.

In an effort to help make sense of this highly diverse set of institutions we have created a typology that takes into consideration the comparative differences in political systems and civil societies around the world. While think tanks may perform many roles in their host societies, not all think tanks do the same things to the same extent. Over the last 85 years, several distinctive organizational forms of think tanks have come into being that differ substantially in terms of their operating styles, their patterns of recruitment, their aspirations to academic standards of objectivity and completeness in research and their engagement of policy makers, the press and the public. We believe, despite these differences, that most think tanks tend to fall into the broad categories outlined below.

CATEGORIES OF THINK TANK AFFILIATIONS

Category Definition

Autonomous and Independent Significant independence from any one interest group or donor and autonomous in its operation and funding from government.* Quasi Independent Autonomous from government but an interest group (i.e. unions, religious groups, etc.), donor or contracting agency provides a majority of the funding and has significant influence over operations of the think tank.

University Affiliated A policy research center at a university.

Political Party Affiliated Formally affiliated with a political party.

Government Affiliated A part of the structure of government.

Quasi Governmental Funded exclusively by government grants and contracts but not a part of the formal structure of government.

Key Indicators and Issues to Consider When Assessing the Effectiveness and Impact of Think Tanks

Clearly, assessing the impact of think tanks is not an easy endeavor to undertake given the various and conflicting actors, events, and politics involved in the policy making process. Despite the significant challenges in establishing a causal relationship between knowledge and policy, it is necessary for think tanks to understand and effectively respond to the growing chorus of questions being raised by donors, journalists, and the public about the role and influence of think tanks in civil societies and governments around the world. According to the research of Donald Abelson, James McGann, and others, think tanks can utilize various measures to assess the impact of increases in their activities as well as to account for their contributions to the policymaking environment and civil society. McGann’s recent (2008) research has focused on developing a comprehensive assessment tool for evaluating a think tank’s impact. The impetus for this research, in part, was the apparent confusion that exists about the differences between outputs and impacts. In various studies and surveys that McGann has conducted over the years, researchers and think tanks responded curiously when asked about impact on public policy and how they measure it. The overwhelming response was to provide a list of research outputs (number of books published, conference held, web hits, media appearances, etc). Outputs, however, are not the only way to measure impact.  The metric provided below is designed to serve as a catalyst for a discussion on how to effectively measure the impact of think tanks. It is provided here as background for the think tank ranking process in the hopes that it will help clarify the distinction between outputs and impacts and provide a useful tool as you prepare your rankings.

• Resource indicators: Ability to recruit and retain leading scholars and analysts; the level, quality, and stability of financial support; proximity and access to decision-makers and other policy elites; a staff with the ability to conduct rigorous research and produce timely and incisive analysis; institutional currency; quality and reliability of networks; and key contacts in the policy academic communities, and the media • Utilization indicators: Reputation as a “go-to” organization by media and policy elites in the country; quantity and quality of media appearances and citations, web hits, testimony before legislative and executive bodies; briefings, official appointments, consultation by officials or departments/agencies; books sold; reports distributed; references made to research and analysis in scholarly and popular publications and attendees at conferences and seminars organized • Output indicators: Number and quality of: policy proposals and ideas generated; publications produced (books, journal articles, policy briefs, etc.); news interviews conducted; briefings, conferences, and seminars organized; and staff who are nominated to advisory and government posts • Impact indicators: Recommendations considered or adopted by policymakers and civil society organizations; issue network centrality; advisory role to political parties, candidates, transition teams; awards granted; publication in or citation of publications in academic journals, public testimony and the media that influences the policy debate and decision-making; listserv and web site dominance; and success in challenging the conventional wisdom and standard operating procedures of bureaucrats and elected officials in the country

Beyond this quantitative assessment, an effective evaluation of impact should also involve NGOs, as well as members of the government and policymakers, to ascertain the degree to which they have utilized the grantee’s research output. This participation can be obtained through interviews, surveys, questionnaires, and focus group meetings, utilizing the Outcome Mapping which “moves away from assessing the products of an activity or a program to focus on changes in behaviors and relationships (outcomes) which can lead to changes.” Impact can be viewed as positive if it “changes the behavior, relationships, activities, or actions of the people, groups, and organizations with whom a program works directly.”

Although this qualitative assessment is essential because it recognizes that policy impact can be successfully achieved even if policy prescriptions are not directly translated into actual policy, we recommend that this assessment should be translated into numerical rankings, thereby allowing comparisons with baseline data for effective monitoring and evaluation in the future.