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Book a DemoNew 2017 Global Think Tank Rankings Showcase Wealth of Expertise Worldwide
February 08, 2017 - by Peter Evans
Recently, on January 26, just a few blocks from the epicentre of the US political storm in Washington, the global think tank community gathered to celebrate the achievements of this group of experts, set abuzz with the release of the annual global ranking of think tanks that saw The UK’s Chatham House taking top honors for Global Think Tank of the Year.
The “2016 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report’ highlights the crucial role think tanks play to “translate applied and basic research into a language that is understandable, reliable, and accessible for policymakers and the public”, a goal that has arguably never been more critical than the present time.
Produced through the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) of the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania by TTSCP director and noted think tank guru Professor Jim McGann, the Report is considered the most comprehensive global ranking of think tanks. I was honored to be invited to attend the launch events in Washington at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (video) and in New York at the Asia Society (video).
To help acquaint journalists and policy makers with the extensive expertise and breadth of this sector, ExpertFile has included a list below highlighting the top ten think tanks ranked in the report by region and area of research. You can view the full results of the report here.
Jim McGann and his team at TTCSP have done a remarkable job of maintaining a database of over 6,500 think tanks globally. While it’s a big job to keep track of such a crowded field, McGann and his team are committed to ensuring that this sector continues to be relevant as a key source for informed, public-policy research analysis and advice on domestic and international issues. In this age of “fake news” and “alternative facts,” it appears that think tanks are more relevant than ever.
The release of the Gloal 50 rankings prompted discussions at both the Washington and New York events I attended on the evolving role of these institutions today. Clearly, with their extensive rosters of experts and associated research, these organizations have an enviable opportunity to be thought leaders. Yet most in the industry agree that many think tanks face increasing challenges to make their voices heard by policy-makers, media and the public. This is an area where our ExpertFile team can help. As such, I am spending much more time working out of our DC office to focus on helping key organizations in this sector drive more market visibility with media, policy-makers and donors.Mr. McGann has also released his anticipated book “Fifth Estate: Think Tanks, Public Policy and Governance” (Brookings Press 2016), providing insights into the role of think tanks in shaping public policy and public discourse in the US. It’s a great read so far and I intend to provide a report on the book in a future blog.
I invite you to take a look at the full Global Think Tanks report below. Here’s a quick summary:
THINK TANK OF THE YEAR 2016
Top Think Tank in the World
Chatham House (United Kingdom)
TOP THINK TANKS
Worldwide (Non-US)
- Chatham House (United Kingdom)
- French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) (France)
- Bruegel (Belgium)
- International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) (United Kingdom)
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) (Belgium)
- Korea Development Institute (KDI) (Republic of Korea)
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) (Denmark)
- Amnesty International (AI) (United Kingdom)
- Transparency International (TI) (Germany)
- Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) (Japan)
Worldwide (U.S. and non-U.S.)
- Brookings Institution (United States)
- Chatham House (United Kingdom)
- French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) (France)
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (United States)
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (United States)
- Bruegel (Belgium)
- RAND Corporation (United States)
- Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (United States)
- Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV)
- Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) (United States)
Sub-Saharan Africa
- Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) (Senegal)
- Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) (Kenya)
- Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) (Botswana)
- IMANI Center for Policy and Education (Ghana)
- African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) (South Africa)
- South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) (South Africa)
- Institute for Security Studies (ISS) (South Africa)
- African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) (Ghana)
- African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) (Kenya)
- Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI) (Ethiopia)
Mexico and Canada
- Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales (COMEXI) (Mexico)
- Fraser Institute (Canada)
- Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economicas (CIDE) (Mexico)
- entre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) (Canada)
- Fundar, Centro de Analisis e Investigacion (Mexico)
- Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) (Canada)
- Centro de Investigacion para el Desarrollo (CIDAC) (Mexico)
- Mexico Evalua Centro de Analisis de Politicas Publicas (Mexico)
- C.D. Howe Institute (Canada)
- Ethos Public Policy Lab (Mexico)
Central and South America
- Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV) (Brazil)
- Comision Economica para America Latina (CEPAL) (Chile)
- Fedesarrollo (Colombia)
- Centro Brasileiro de Relacoes Internacionais (CEBRI) (Brazil)
- Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales (CARI) (Argentina)
- Centro de Implementacion de Politicas Publicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC) (Argentina)
- Centro de Estudios Publicos (CEP) (Chile)
- Centro de Estudio de la Realidad Economica y Social (CERES) (Uruguay)
- Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales (CLACSO) (Argentina)
- Centro de Divulgacion Conocimiento Economico para la Libertad (CEDICE) (Venezuela)
United States
- Brookings Institution (United States)
- Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) (United States)
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (United States)
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (United States)
- Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (United States)
- RAND Corporation (United States
- Heritage Foundation (United States)
- Cato Institute (United States)
- Center for American Progress (CAP) (United States)
- Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) (United States)
Central Asia
- Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD) (Azerbaijan)
- Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KazISS) (Kazakhstan)
- Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (CIPDD) (Georgia)
- Armat Center for the Development of Democracy and Civil Society (Armenia)
- Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC) (Azerbaijan)
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) (Afghanistan)
- Armenian International Policy Research Group (AIPRG) (Armenia)
- Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) (Georgia)
- Economic Research Institute (Kazakhstan)
- Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) (Afghanistan)
China, India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea
- Korea Development Institute (KDI) (Republic of Korea)
- Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) (Japan)
- Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) (Republic of Korea)
- China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) (China)
- Observer Research Foundation (ORF) (India)
- Asia Forum Japan (AFJ) (Japan)
- Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA) (India)
- China Institute of International Studies (CIIS) (China)
- National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS) (Japan)
- Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC) (China)
Southeast Asia and the Pacific
- Australian Institute for International Affairs (AIIA) (Australia)
- Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) (New Zealand)
- Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) (Singapore)
- Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) (Malaysia)
- Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (Indonesia)
- Lowy Institute for International Policy (Australia)
- Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) (Taiwan, China)
- Strategic and Defense Studies Centre (SDSC) (Australia)
- Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) (Malaysia)
- Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) (Australia)
Central and Eastern Europe
- Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE) (Poland)
- Carnegie Moscow Center (Russia)
- Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) (Poland)
- Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO RAS) (Russia)
- Razumkov Centre (Ukraine)
- Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI) (Czech Republic)
- Center for Security and Defense Studies Foundation (CSDS) (Hungary)
- EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy (Czech Republic)
- Centre for Liberal Strategies (CLS) (Bulgaria)
- Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM) (Montenegro)
Western Europe
- Chatham House (United Kingdom)
- French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) (France)
- Bruegel (Belgium)
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) (Belgium)
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) (Denmark)
- Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) (Germany)
- International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) (United Kingdom)
- Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) (Germany)
- Carnegie Europe (Belgium)
- Amnesty International (AI) (United Kingdom)
Middle East and North Africa
- Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) (Jordan)
- Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) (Egypt)
- Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) (Israel)
- Carnegie Middle East Center (Lebanon)
- Al Jazeera Centre for Studies (AJCS) (Qatar)
- Brookings Doha Center (Qatar)
- Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) (Turkey)
- Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (Israel)
- Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM) (Turkey)
- Association for Liberal Thinking (ALT) (Turkey)
TOP THINK TANKS BY AREA OF RESEARCH
Defense and National Security
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (United States)
- RAND Corporation (United States)
- International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) (United Kingdom)
- Brookings Institution (United States)
- Chatham House (United Kingdom)
- Center for a New American Security (CNAS) (United States)
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (United States)
- Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) (United States)
- Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) (United Kingdom)
- German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) (Germany)
Domestic Economic Policy
- Brookings Institution (United States)
- Adam Smith Institute (ASI) (United Kingdom)
- National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) (United States)
- Cato Institute (United States)
- Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) (United States)
- Heritage Foundation (United States)
- Bruegel (Belgium)
- Center for American Progress (CAP) (United States)
- German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) (Germany)
- Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE) (Poland)
Education Policy
- Urban Institute (United States)
- Brookings Institution (United States)
- National Institute for Educational Policy Research (NIER) (Japan)
- RAND Corporation (United States)
- Cato Institute (United States)
- Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) (United States)
- Center for Social and Economic Strategies (CESES) (Czech Republic)
- Mathmatica Policy Research (MPR) (United States)
- Center for Education Policy, SRI International (United States)
- Institute for Research on Education Policy and Practice (IREPP) (United States)
Energy and Resource Policy
- Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) (United Kingdom)
- James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy (United States)
- Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) (Japan)
- World Resources Institute (WRI) (United States)
- Center for Science of Environment, Resources and Energy (Japan)
- Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI) (Republic of Korea)
- RAND Corporation (United States)
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (United States)
- Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR) (United States)
- Center on Environment, Energy and Resource Policy (CEERP) (China)
Environment Policy
- Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) (Sweden)
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) (Germany)
- World Resources Institute (WRI) (United States)
- Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) (United States)
- E3G – Third Generation Environmentalism (United Kingdom)
- Worldwatch Institute (United States)
- Brookings Institution (United States)
- Chatham House (United Kingdom)
- Ecologic Institute (Germany)
- International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) (Canada)
Foreign Policy and International Affairs
- Brookings Institution (United States)
- Chatham House (United Kingdom)
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (United States)
- French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) (France)
- Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) (United States)
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (United States)
- China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) (China)
- Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (United States)
- German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) (Germany)
- European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) (United Kingdom)
Domestic Health Policy
- Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research (CCHSR) (United Kingdom)
- Bloomberg School of Public Health Research Centers (JHSPH) (United States)
- RAND Corporation (United States)
- Brookings Institution (United States)
- Fraser Institute (Canada)
- Cato Institute (United States)
- Urban Institute (United States)
- Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy (KPIHP) (United States)
- Center for American Progress (CAP) (United States)
- Heritage Foundation (United States)
Top Global Health Policy
- Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research (CCHSR) (United Kingdom)
- Bloomberg School of Public Health Research Centers (JHSPH) (United States)
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (United States)
- Brookings Institution (United States)
- RAND Corporation (United States)
- Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) (Japan)
- Fraser Institute (Canada)
- Chatham House, Centre on Global Health Security (United Kingdom)
- Council on Foreign Relations, Global Health Program (CFR) (United States)
- Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy (KPIHP) (United States)
International Development
- Korea Development Institute (KDI) (Republic of Korea)
- Chatham House (United Kingdom)
- Brookings Institution (United States)
- Institute of Development Studies (IDS) (United Kingdom)
- Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (United States)
- German Development Institute (DIE) (Germany)
- Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) (Japan)
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (United States)
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) (Denmark)
- Center for International Development (CID) (United States)
Global Health Policy
- Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research (CCHSR) (United Kingdom)
- Bloomberg School of Public Health Research Centers (JHSPH) (United States)
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (United States)
- Brookings Institution (United States)
- RAND Corporation (United States)
- Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) (Japan)
- Fraser Institute (Canada)
- Chatham House, Centre on Global Health Security (United Kingdom)
- Council on Foreign Relations, Global Health Program (CFR) (United States)
- Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy (KPIHP) (United States)
Science and Technology
- Max Planck Institutes (Germany)
- Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) (United States)
- Center for Development Research (ZEF) (Germany)
- Battelle Memorial Institute (United States)
- Institute for Future Engineering (IFENG), FKA Institute for Future Technology (Japan)
- RAND Corporation (United States)
- Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) (United Kingdom)
- Institute for Basic Research (IBR) (United States)
- Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes (CSPO) (United States)
- Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) (United Kingdom)
Social Policy
- Urban Institute (United States)
- Brookings Institution (United States)
- Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE) (Poland)
- Fraser Institute (Canada)
- RAND Corporation (United States)
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG) (Germany)
- Center for American Progress (CAP) (United States)
- Cato Institute (United States)
- Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV) (Brazil)
- Heritage Foundation (United States)
Transparency and Good Governance
- Transparency International (TI) (Germany)
- Oxford Council on Good Governance (OCGG) (United Kingdom)
- Mo Ibrahim Foundation (MIF) (United Kingdom)
- Freedom House (United States)
- Brookings Institution (United States)
- Open Society Foundations (OSF), FKA Open Society Institute (United States)
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (United States)
- Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), FKA Revenue Watch Institute (United States)
- National Endowment for Democracy (NED) (United States)
- Center for Public Integrity (CPI) (United States)