We at On Think Tanks wish to draw your attention to the pressing challenges affecting think tanks globally, particularly those operating within fragile ecosystems.
Recent funding cuts by USAID and other bilateral donors have started to significantly impact the organisational health and sustainability of these vital institutions.
These funding cuts can be added to policies that limit access to foreign funding and public sector funding cuts to think tanks, as increasingly authoritarian regimes aim to reduce their influence and the private sector’s reluctance to invest in research, especially in weak economic environments. Fears of a global recession are only likely to make this worse.
We appreciate your awareness of this issue and welcome initiatives to limit the short-term financial fallout and encourage immediate action among grantees, such as exploring mergers, partnerships, or collaborative associations.
However, as we navigate this challenging moment, we urge caution and thoughtful deliberation.
At On Think Tanks, we have been engaging with think tank leaders, documenting their organisations’ development efforts, drawing lessons from across the sector, identifying risks to individual think tanks and think tank communities, offering advice and speaking out for the sector for 15 years.
We consider it our duty to share our views and advice on how best to respond in favour of a sector that is crucial to delivering better-informed policy outcomes.
Firstly, it is critical to acknowledge that think tanks are a different type of organisation and fulfil functions that make them central to the health of any policy community.
Think tanks exist in diverse organisational forms, ranging from NGOs and university-affiliated research centres to government policy units and consulting firms. This variety responds to a rich set of social, economic and political factors that shape their origins and formations. Most responses so far have been aimed at non-profits.
Think tanks’ core value lies not in the supply of products or services or their adherence to broad social objectives that could be effectively transferred from one organisation to another. Rather, each think tank is valuable due to intangible qualities they have no doubt taken years to develop—expert advice, trusted access, influential networks, enduring relationships, and brand credibility intrinsically tied to the talented individuals who work there. A successful research project in one organisation will not be the same successful research project in another organisation.
Think tanks are not neutral providers of goods and services. They are political organisations with complex local and global affiliations and relationships that contribute to their value.
Critically, policy communities need plurality. The consolidation of a diverse think tank community into one or 2 organisations would seriously damage the quality of public debate and limit societies’ opportunities for the future.
Moreover, in many of the most fragile contexts, think tanks represent the primary employment opportunity for policy professionals and researchers who, in many cases, have invested their entire careers in these organisations.
In some cases, where university systems have been weakened by decades of underinvestment, think tanks are the sole source of evidence on matters of public interest.
Secondly, we need to tackle the sources of the current challenge, not just the symptoms.
At On Think Tanks, we have long argued that foreign funding is highly risky and unsuitable for developing sustainable and resilient local think tank communities.
Foreign funding has encouraged and allowed many think tanks to develop and sustain business models inspired by idealised versions of globally famous think tanks – and that is simply not appropriate for their contexts.
The emphasis on and promise of core funding, for instance, has focused many organisations’ fundraising capacities and efforts towards a funding model that does not reflect their current – nor future – local funding options. In the run-up to the current crisis, we have sadly seen many think tanks turn down certain local project funding and consulting opportunities in the hope of securing uncertain foreign core funding.
Foreign funding has also skewed think tanks’ research agenda away from what matters to their societies in favour of what matters to their funders. This has made it very difficult to demonstrate relevance to their communities and build a local constituency of support.
There will be no lasting solution if, in the long run, the reliance on foreign sources of funding and the contextual incompatibility of think tanks’ business models are not addressed today.
Thirdly, as always, we advocate for a nuanced reflection rather than rushed decisions.
Funders can significantly contribute to stabilising think tank communities by creating space and facilitating discussions around a comprehensive set of strategic options.
Think tanks require time and support to engage in meaningful reflection of their situations and recalibration of their business models.
But this demands serious leadership involvement, especially from think tank boards, to ensure ownership. All too often, we have seen boards stand back and fail to intervene as their organisations struggled.
Therefore, we urge funders to treat think tanks as a unique type of organisation and support them in:
- Undertaking a careful and candid assessment of the causes of their fragility—these may be related to their governance and management models, their sources of funding or income streams, their financial or political contexts, etc.
- Considering a wide array of funding sources and income streams beyond traditional foreign aid or grants, including private sector partnerships, governmental collaborations, individual philanthropy, membership models, sponsorship arrangements, consulting services, education and training programmes, crowdfunding campaigns, and monetisation of digital presence, among a few.
- Considering equality critical strategic organisational decisions that may involve staff downsizing, reducing office costs, relocating or outsourcing services, pooling resources with peer institutions, internationalising to diversify market presence, developing new commercial services, or even pursuing thoughtful closures with a potential to regroup and relaunch more sustainably.
- Developing carefully crafted plans to strengthen their future resilience.
These reflections and choices must have an implication on think tanks’ business models. Business as usual will only postpone the urgent need for reform.
Our collective goal must be sustainable and vibrant think tank ecosystems capable of effectively and independently addressing policy challenges at every level.
Past the current organisational crisis, it will be time to consider investments that respond to the growing tide of authoritarianism, the rapid closing of the civic space, misinformation and polarisation, the loss of past gains and the hollowing of institutions.
We urge support that pays greater attention to protecting and strengthening think tanks and their communities than the business-as-usual quest for short-term impact.
Your proactive engagement and flexible support are essential to navigating these complex transitions successfully.
We stand ready to collaborate, provide guidance, and foster dialogue among stakeholders to ensure the sector emerges stronger and more resilient. Please contact us if you would like to know more.
Sincerely,
Enrique Mendizabal
Founder, On Think Tanks