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Think Tanks

Think tanks are organizations, institutions, or groups that conduct research, and produce and disseminate reports and policy recommendations.

Introduction

Introduction

Briefly, think tanks are organizations, institutions, or groups that conduct research, and produce and disseminate reports and policy recommendations. The focus of these organizations can range from as narrow as a single issue to very broad in interests. Politically they range from left to right, while some maintain a non-partisan position.       

According to the Best Schools website, “one way to gauge the influence of a think tank is to focus on the scholars active in it, their record of publications and other scholarly achievements, and how deeply these have affected the culture’s climate of opinion." (http://www.thebestschools.org/features/most-influential-think-tanks/)

The widely recognized rankings from the University of Pennsylvania Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program bases its rankings on an organization's ability to retain top-level analysts, the rigor of its research, its access to policy makers, and its influence on policy.

This opinion piece on Think Tanks: Independent Research, Ideas, and Advice presents another view.  
This Library Guide expresses an opinion simply by which think tanks are included and which ones are omitted.

Generally, those included have been noted in journal article and reviews or web rankings. They are present here in alphabetical order. For more detail and a search tool, follow the Penn link, above.

About Think Tanks

Selected Articles

2117 Think Tank Watch Cheat Sheet

The University of Pennsylvania has released its annual think tank rankings today - the 10th version of its extensive rankings of the world's think tanks - and Think Tank Watch has been busy analyzing an early copy of the report.

2016 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report   /  James G. McGann, University of Pennsylvania  

2015 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report  /   James G. McGann, University of Pennsylvania

2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report   /  James G. McGann, University of Pennsylvania

 

Select Articles About Think Tanks

Think Tanks, A-Z

Think Tanks, Listed Alphabetically

International Government Organizations (IGO)

Inter-Governmental Organizations Explained

International Government Organizations

Terms, Contact & Guide Info