Session purpose
This session explored why organisational culture and HR are not secondary or internal administrative concerns, but central to the resilience, credibility and effectiveness of think tanks. It focused on the people, practices and unwritten norms that shape whether organisations can attract talent, retain staff, manage conflict, adapt to change and live their stated values under pressure.
The session recognised that think tanks often invest heavily in external credibility — research quality, communications, policy influence and funding — while paying less attention to the internal conditions that make this work possible. The core message was that organisational culture is not something that can be “fixed” through policies alone. It is a lived and evolving practice shaped by leadership, staff behaviour, power dynamics, rituals, incentives and the degree of psychological safety within the organisation.
Main conveners and contributors
This session was convened by:
- Emma Woodford, Chief Operating Officer, European Policy Centre
- Sonja Stojanovic-Gajic, University of Rijeka and BCSP
The workshop brought together representatives from more than 25 think tanks, research organisations and foundations across Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Participants came from very different organisational contexts, ranging from small student-led networks to large research institutions with more than 300 staff.
Main presentation and framing
The session began by distinguishing between HR and organisational culture.
HR was described as the formal side of people management: recruitment, contracts, compensation, onboarding, performance review, grievance procedures, benefits and exit processes.
Organisational culture, by contrast, was framed as the set of unwritten rules, values, habits, rituals and lived practices that shape how people actually experience the organisation. It exists whether or not it is formally managed. It can support trust, inclusion and resilience, or it can reproduce hierarchy, exclusion and silence.
Participants assessed their organisations across nine HR areas:
- Recruitment and selection
- Compensation and benefits
- Competencies
- Performance review and development
- Onboarding and induction
- Flexible and remote working
- Grievance and conflict resolution
- Wellbeing and psychological safety
- Offboarding and exit
A clear pattern emerged: many organisations felt they were doing reasonably well on recruitment and compensation, but struggled more with conflict resolution, psychological safety and remote or hybrid working culture.
Main debates
1. HR systems matter, but they are not enough
A key debate was whether organisational problems can be addressed through better HR policies alone. Participants recognised the importance of formal systems, but the discussion repeatedly returned to the limits of process.
Policies on recruitment, pay or grievance procedures can help, but they do not automatically create trust. Culture is shaped by what leaders tolerate, how decisions are made, who is heard, how mistakes are treated and whether staff believe that stated values are real.
2. Cultural fit can become a trap
Participants discussed recruitment and the frequent emphasis on “cultural fit”. While fit can help organisations protect their identity, it can also lead to overly long recruitment processes, understaffed teams and a lack of diversity.
One important insight was that people change after they join organisations. This means that trying to assess perfect cultural fit before hiring has limits. Organisations should be clear about their values, but also willing to let new people reshape the culture rather than simply adapt to it.
3. Retention is not only about salary
The session explored the difficult reality that many think tanks cannot compete with salaries offered by consulting firms, international organisations, government agencies or the private sector.
However, participants also noted that pay is not the only driver of retention. Flexibility, autonomy, learning opportunities, recognition, meaningful work and a sense of belonging can matter greatly, particularly for younger staff and remote workers.
At the same time, the group recognised the importance of fair and transparent compensation. Salary corridors, job families and objective criteria for raises can help reduce uncertainty and perceived unfairness.
4. The “talent factory” problem
Some think tanks have become used to losing staff to better-funded institutions. This was described as a “talent factory” problem: think tanks train talented people, who then move on to international organisations, donors, government or consulting.
Participants discussed whether this should always be seen as failure. In some cases, alumni can remain part of the organisation’s wider network and become future collaborators, funders or allies. But the debate also highlighted the need for clearer career pathways, especially for staff who do not want to become directors but still want recognition, progression and influence.
5. Values need to guide decisions under pressure
The European Policy Centre example showed how an organisational values framework can help guide decisions during periods of crisis and uncertainty. Values such as radical empathy, trust, respect and ethical research were not presented as abstract statements, but as tools for making decisions when external events force organisations to respond.
The lesson was that values only become meaningful when they help organisations navigate difficult moments: political upheaval, war, polarisation, funding shocks or internal conflict.
6. Inclusion requires more than inviting people to speak
Participants discussed how meetings and internal processes can reproduce inequality even when they are formally open. Vocal staff may dominate, while quieter researchers, junior colleagues or operations staff feel unheard.
The session highlighted the difference between giving people “the floor” and giving them real legitimacy, influence and a seat at the table. Inclusion requires active listening by management, deliberate space for different roles, and attention to how language and structures signal who matters.
One example was the importance of renaming internal spaces so that they include operations and support staff, rather than reinforcing the idea that only researchers or analysts are central to the organisation.
7. Culture is built through repeated practices
The discussion identified a range of everyday practices that help nurture organisational culture: weekly team meetings, non-work icebreakers, celebrating successes, workload check-ins, buddy systems, mentoring, annual social events and communities of practice.
The session also discussed “fuck-up nights” as a way to normalise learning from failure. When leaders share mistakes openly, they create permission for others to acknowledge problems earlier and learn from them.
The broader point was that culture is not built through one-off retreats or values statements. It is reinforced through repeated behaviours, rituals and signals.
Main takeaways
- Organisational culture is a strategic asset. It affects resilience, retention, credibility, performance and the ability of think tanks to respond to crises.
- HR and culture are connected but not the same. HR provides structures and processes; culture determines how those structures are experienced in practice.
- Think tanks need to pay more attention to conflict resolution, wellbeing, psychological safety and remote working culture.
- Recruitment should not be reduced to cultural fit. New staff should be allowed to contribute to and reshape organisational culture.
- Transparent pay structures and career pathways matter, especially in organisations that cannot compete on salary alone.
- Retention is strengthened by autonomy, flexibility, learning, recognition and belonging.
- Employee representation can improve trust and reduce turnover when staff feel genuinely heard and involved in decisions.
- Support and operations staff must be recognised as central to the organisation, not treated as secondary to researchers.
- Values matter most when they guide decisions in moments of crisis or change.
- Culture is shaped by everyday practices: how meetings are run, how success is celebrated, how mistakes are handled, how junior staff are treated and how power is exercised.