Jun 12
In this post, a Policy Analyst working in the Select Committee Office in the UK Parliament argues that to be effective research needs to be done within, and not outside, politics. The art of being political while remaining party neutral is one that has to be mastered by public policy research bodies.
Few think tanks ever communicate anything but their own research but in fact, think tanks rarely have all the ideas themselves. Policy Exchange in the UK has come up (or probably learned it from somewhere else) with a solution: a Call for Evidence.
Looking for success stories in large, long-term think tank support programmes can be a significant challenge. But careful and patient observation may offer some interesting insights into cases with the potential to shift the initiative from the North to the South: on ideas, collective action, and organisational development.
On this week's Managing Think Tanks post, communication is key. The fifth chapter provides guidelines on how to formulate a communications plan, tips on making it work, and looks at think tank practices from the former Soviet Bloc and sub-Saharan Africa.
Authorship is important for researchers, particularly when it comes to ethical authorship - giving credit to everyone who deserves it and excluding those who don't.
The Think Tank Initiative has launched a new call for proposals to study the relationship between universities and think tanks. This seems like once in life time opportunity to develop new knowledge on this field. This blog outlines a value for money project design that could maximise the density of information and knowledge on this relationship.
Zambia has emerged as a fertile ground for new think tanks. Innovative donors, an enlightened political leadership, and committed individuals offer interesting lessons.
Policy spaces with more information density are more likely to be better informed. How then can we promote greater availability of more and better information and knowledge about key public policy issues? This blog offers some ideas.
Can journalism count as research? Charlie Beckett says yes on the LSE Impact of Social Sciences blog - so long as it is the right kind of journalism.
Supply, demand and intermediaries are categories that fail to describe what goes on in the knowledge and policy communities. Still, they are used to inform interventions. Is there an alternative? This post argues that focusing on competencies may offer a simpler answer.
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