How have we defined which organisations to include?

Thinks tanks are difficult to define as the term applies to various organisations with different characteristics, development pathways and even different business models and structures. Organisations labelled think tanks include for-profit consultancies, university-based research centres, NGOs, public policy bodies, foundations, advocacy organisations and membership-based associations, to name a few. But despite their differences – and for the purpose of the Open Think Tank Directory – we have defined think tanks as a diverse group of knowledge and engagement organisations that have as their (main) objective to undertake research, generate knowledge and use evidence-informed arguments to inform and/or influence policy and its outcomes. To do this, they perform a range of functions, some of which are: undertaking research, aiming to influence the public agenda, monitoring how specific policies are carried out, suggesting or advocating for policy changes etc.

Given this broad definition the inclusion criteria for the directory is broad:

• The organisation must carry out some form of research with the aim of informing public policies – those doing research without a public policy angle were not considered, neither were organisations mainly focusing on advocacy and not carrying out research.
• The organisation must have an independent identity (particularly in the case of university-affiliated centres).
• The organisation needs to be formally registered in a country (it can undertake research or influence in that or any other country).

How is the directory updated?

The directory is been compiled and populated using a mixed approach: web searches in Google to find existing country, regional or world think tank lists and organisations; suggestions of inclusion by country and regional experts; and direct submissions and updates by think tanks. All organisations are reviewed to verify they fit the inclusion criteria and either accepted, accepted but deemed boundary or not accepted. The Open Think Tank Directory does not make any evaluation of the organisations it features.

We do not claim that this is the complete and final think tank list but it presents a good overview of think tanks worldwide. If you have a suggestion for inclusion please let us know.

How reliable is the data in this directory?

The information in this directory is of different levels of reliability. We aim to be transparent in this by labelling the processing level of the data. There are three levels of reliability that are described below.

• Imported: This information is the most basic level. We have compiled information from different credible sources. However, this data has not been reviewed at all by On Think Tanks, and may not be up to date
• Authenticated: Data collectors from around the globe sourced the information, under our guidance, by validating information available on the Internet, which may be of variable quality. On Think Tanks has not reviewed the accuracy of this data).
• OTT reviewed: Members of On Think Tanks have looked at the information and are satisfied that it is in the correct format and accurate (to the best of our knowledge). They have also made decisions about whether it should be included in the directory.

The source of the information can also be seen in the profile of each organisation.

What is a boundary organisation?

During the process of finding organisations to include in the directory, we realised that some organisations somewhat met the criteria but were not think tanks in the classical definition, their characteristics were different. We decided to include them in the database but mark them as boundary organisations. A centre was deemed a boundary organisation if it carried out some form of research to inform public policy, but its main activities differed (e.g. pure research, advocacy, programme implementation, etc.). We have kept them in the directory but they are excluded from our country and general averages of data.

Which variables does the directory track?

*These variables are only visible when you download the database.

Topics

The list of topics is succinct in purpose. The objective is to provide an overview of the topics that an organisation focuses on and also enable comparisons. Here is a list of examples of what each topic includes:

Other data considerations

• University policy research centres and Twitter handles: Some university-affiliated centres might be using the universities account and therefore appear to have more followers because of this.
• Publication numbers: Publication numbers include any type of publication, excluding promotional material. Generally, blogs are not included.
• Descriptions: The description of think tanks varies as we have tried to represent the think tanks as they present themselves. Also, as the directory is used more by organisations, each will start describing themselves in the way they see fit. We encourage them to share, who they are, their aims/mission or objectives and main activities.