Think TanksDr. Zargari,

Academic Staff of Azad University

Fall 2004

drzargari@gmail.com

Dr. Zargari

کانونهای تفکر

Dr. Zargari

پیامبر گرامی اسالم:

یک ساعت تفکر برتراست از هفتاد سال

عبادت

Dr. Zargari

Think tank is: a non-profit non-governmental public policy institution.

A group organized for intensive research and solving of problems, especially in the areas of technology, social or political strategy.

WHAT IS A THINK TANK AND WHAT IT DOES?

Dr. Zargari

Original meaning (1900-05): “brain” Current meaning (1955-60): a body

of experts, as a research organization, providing advice and ideas on specific national or commercial problems (OED)

My definition here: independent, private, non-partisan, non-profit research organizations, whose goal is to influence government policy making or implementation (500 TT in U.S.)

WHAT IS A THINK TANK AND WHAT IT DOES?

Dr. Zargari

Think tanks affect policy process in two ways:

1-Directly communicating to policy-makers

2-Informing the public

WHAT IS A THINK TANK AND WHAT IT DOES?

Dr. Zargari

TYPOLOGY of THINK TANKS

Academic Research Institutes (‘universities without students’)

Government contract researchers

Advocacy think tanks Party-affiliated

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“University without students:” Quality academic research; focus on long-term impact; research

fellow like professors Examples: Brookings, AEI, Carnegie Endowment

Government contractors Funded by government department / agencies; address specific

concerns of policy-makers Examples: RAND, Urban Institute

Advocacy think tanks Research plus aggressive marketing; actively participate in policy

debate Heritage, CATO

TYPOLOGY of THINK TANKS

Dr. Zargari

KEY FUNCTIONS of THINK TANKS

1) Source of basic research on policy problems. (2) Providing policy advice to government

officials. (3) Evaluation of government programs. (4) Platforms and facilitators for exchange of

ideas (5) Suppliers of Personnel to Governments. (6) Suppliers of expert statements to media.

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FACTORS FACILATING ENTRY TO THINK TANKS

Societies in transition:

profound reform agenda and intensive policy debates

++

Availability of human capital ++

Culture of philanthropy and civil society activism -/+-/+

Availability of donors’ funding ++

Enabling legal and regulatory regime ++

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COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE of THINK TANKS

1-Organizational flexibility and thematic versatility

2-Access to donors’ resources 3-Professional capacity and

intellectual authority 4-Links to government and

other stakeholders.

Dr. Zargari

61% 56% 48%

22%

4%

Limited opportunities to conduct policy studies in old institutions

Recognition of think tank model advantages and demand for think tank products

Leader’s initiative

Massive initial support of a donor

Completion of a technical assistance project

“ Revolving door” pattern: alternation between government and think tank positions.

IMPULSES to SET UP a THINK TANK

Dr. Zargari

OPERATIONS

Assets (think tanks relying on a particular asset, %)

100%

68%

55%55%

41%

32%27%

Professional knowledge andexperience

Reputation in theprofessional community

Reputation with government

Stable relations of trust withgovernment officials

Access to exclusive sourcesof information

Reputation with donors

Reputation in the society andwith media

Cooperation with leadingforeign experts

Dr. Zargari

Importance of relations with government officials –

an indicator of think tanks’ direct feeding their studies to the policy-making quarters.

Importance of reputation with colleagues –

an indication of intensive professional networking.

OPERATIONS

Dr. Zargari

Modes of operation

Most think tanks work in a hand-to-mouth manner, and undertake projects only if they come with tied sources of funding unless there are earmarked sources of funding. Donors more often support projects, not institutions (USAID uses both options).

Despite the scarcity of long-term revenue sources, almost ¾ of surveyed think tanks function without interruption, while the rest work from one project to another, with possible gaps in the interim. Institutions from the first group consider their stability as satisfactory, although requiring non-stop vigorous fundraising. Others consider stability of their organizations as insufficient.

None of the surveyed think tanks considers its future as fully secure. This creates strong performance incentives, but diminishes opportunities for long-term investments and planning.

OPERATIONS

Dr. Zargari

Outreach and disseminationOutreach and dissemination

Survey data reveal three Survey data reveal three distinct clusters of think tanksdistinct clusters of think tanks:

OPERATIONS

Dr. Zargari

MAPPING THINK TANKS Relations to the state The Anglo-American think tank model requires autonomy

from the state as a sine qua non of think tank’s independence and impartiality.

Continental and Asian think tank models are more tolerant to think tanks’ close links to government – both in terms of funding and communication of policy outputs. German think tanks heavily rely on government funding, and in France corporate intrusion in think tank activities is viewed askance.

Russian think tanks bear imprints of multiple models – they are more government-oriented than in the US, but do not have long-term government support available to many European and Asian institutions.

Dr. Zargari

321 --------------كل جهان 76--------------امريكا 24 --------------ژاپن 13 --------------آلمان 8--------------كانادا 4--------------مالزي 1--------------ايران

كانون هاي تفكر در جهان

Dr. Zargari

OUTLETS of THINK TANKS ’ WORKS

Books, journal articles Monographs, reports, occasional papers Short pieces of policy brief Op-ed pieces Other informal channels

• Conferences, panel discussions

• Policy training programs

• Media appearance