The Genesis The idea germinated long back, with the 1960s being a defining period in India’s foreign policy and international relations. Several think tanks -working in areas of international politics and policy, security, economic and trade affairs - were set up in conjunction with... Read full article

In November 2016, On Think Tanks, SinoLatam Forum and Universidad Católica in Perú hosted think tanks from China and Latin America. The dialogue extended for two days during which think tanks from both regions presented their work as well as their organisations to their peers. Among the... Read full article

The term think tank was first used during World War II to describe a safe space to plan and discuss military strategies. Over the years, the meaning of think tanks including their role has changed. Today, think tanks are considered Public Policy Research, Analysis and Engagement... Read full article

Suresh Raghavan is the Director of Public Affairs Centre (PAC), based in Bengaluru, India. He was interviewed by Dr. Annapoorna Ravichander, On Think Tanks' South Asian Editor. Annapoorna Ravichander: Can you tell us a few things about yourself? Suresh Raghavan: I have a background in... Read full article

Ranking things is a universal sport. Think tanks had never quite been the subject of attempts to assess, measure or rank their work. The problem is that when one attempts to rank think tanks (even only measure their influence -which is an obsession of those in the sector) one will inevitably... Read full article

Think tanks across the world face a number of challenges. Among them, their traditional audiences, policymakers, are increasingly aware that they cannot deal in facts alone. For all the talk about evidence based or evidence informed policy, policy has to take values into account. Often more... Read full article

Two weeks ago, the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies and Tsinghua University convened a workshop in Beijing that was designed to gather contemporary research on the development of think tanks across Asia. Asia is home to many vibrant and expanding think tank communities, a fact... Read full article

For all the talk of a Golden Age of think tanks in China (and for all the support they receive) think tanks (old and new) face a number of challenges. These are similar to those faced by think tanks elsewhere yet with a 'Chinese' flavour. At a recent academic conference on think tanks in Asia... Read full article

According to many Chinese scholars at an event co-orgnised by the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University in Beijing, think tanks in China are enjoying of a Golden Age. Since President Xi Jinxing called, in... Read full article

You only get what you measure. But what you may be able to measure is not what you treasure Rohini Nilejani is the founding chairperson of Arghyam, former journalist and philanthropist. She is an active supporter of think tanks in India. This interview is made up of two parts. The first is the... Read full article

In this post, Clara Richards continues her exploration of think tanks from BRICS countries. It is the turn to South Africa. The post reviews a sample of think tanks in South Africa, outlining their main characteristics. Read full article

Clara Richards writes about think tanks in India based on a study of economic think tanks in BRICS countries. She finds an interesting and changing environment that presents both challenges and opportunities for think tanks. In light of the new President's call for more and better think tanks, how ready are they? Read full article

As I wrote in my previous post, my first job in the development industry (or should I say public policy industry?) was in CIPPEC (Argentina) raising funds from individuals. Our team had one person dedicated to corporate fundraising, another one for international cooperation and me,... Read full article

I have always had a special interest in Brazil and its people. I really admire their spirit and particular way of seeing the world and celebrating life with their carnaval. I was lucky to study in Brasilia at one of the best universities in international relations, Universidade de Brasilia.... Read full article

The rise of the BRICS bloc in the last decade, since its conception as an economic group by Goldman Sachs in 2001 as a counterbalance to G7 countries in the world scene, has seen a growing cooperation between its members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and, as a country added in later years,... Read full article

This is a very interesting paper by Cheng Li on the trends of think tanks in China -with particular emphasis on the roles being played by influential returnees such as Justin Lin. The paper also highlight the new roles played by policymakers, entrepreneurs and intellectuals in these new... Read full article

We have just published a paper on Think tanks in East and Southeast Asia that we worked on last year. Think tanks across the developed and developing world have received considerable attention in recent times with western donors investing in developing country think tanks on a large scale.... Read full article

Gyaneshwar Singh commented in this blog’s Submit a Request page that during his research he found that: … there was always a question in mind that though public policy relates to the public, the public is not aware about the policy and policy process. How can public policy be brought to... Read full article