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On Think Tanks was founded in mid 2010. It has evolved from a blog into a global platform dedicated to study and support policy research and policy research centres, or think tanks. The members of the On Think Tanks Team and its Advisory Board are spread out across 6 continents!

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Think tanks and universities

This is a series on the relationship between Think Tanks and Universities, edited by Shannon Sutton, from The Think Tank Initiative. The reports from the accompanying study can be found on the Think Tank Initiative's website. The posts in the series relate to research undertaken in Latin America, Africa and South Asia.
  1. 1

    Think Tanks and Universities: a whole greater than the sum of the parts?

    This is the first post from a series on Think Tanks and Universities. In this post, Peter Taylor reflects on the challenges of selecting beneficiaries that apply for funding, which can include both think tanks and universities. As collaboration becomes an increasingly important element of knowledge generation, donors have to be careful that the relationship between think tanks and universities is not affected by competition for funds. Read full article
  2. 2

    Más Saber América Latina: Promoting links between think tanks and universities

    Despite representing 10% of the world’s population, research shows that Latin America produces less than 3% of the world’s scientific knowledge. Collaboration between think tanks and universities can be seen as a way to change this. In this second post from the Think Tanks and Universities series, Grupo FARO’s Orazio Bellettini and Adriana Arellano presents Más Saber América Latina, a project that explores and promotes links between think tanks and universities in Latin America. Read full article
  3. 3

    Universities and Think Tanks in Africa: Competing or Complementing?

    Collaboration between think tanks and universities is essential to knowledge production. However, certain elements can make this relationship difficult. In this third post from the Think Tanks and Universities series, Darlison Kaija, from PASGR, presents a study on the relationship between think tanks and universities in ten African countries. Read full article
  4. 4

    Think tanks and universities – Different, yet similar: The South Asian Context

    On this fourth post from the series on think tanks and universities, Arif Naveed analyses the relationship between these two types of organisations in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, explaining the motivational factors that could strengthen their relationship. Read full article
  5. 5

    The Think Tanks and University series – Next steps: Jumping the hurdles

    On the fifth post from the Think Tanks and University series, Shannon Sutton, editor of the series, explores the challenges that think tanks and universities face when it comes to working together. Read full article
On Think Tanks has produced additional content on the relationship between think tanks and universities that may be worth considering here.
  1. 6

    A case for funding university-based/linked think tanks: more and better staff for others

    I rarely write about individual think tanks -mainly because I do recognise that, given think tanks' complexities, it is very easy to get it wrong. But on this issue I am using the case of Peru mainly to help in presenting the argument with clarity. Just for the record, and hopefully to get a... Read full article
  2. 7

    Think Tanks and Universities: not just a communications’ partnership

    Think tanks and universities can work together to maximise the impact of the latter's research. They may also undertake research together and can provide interesting career paths for their own staff. But think tanks and universities can also come together in a win-win funding for research partnership. This post takes inspiration from IDS' model in the UK to suggest a model of collaboration relevant for some developing countries. Read full article
  3. 8

    Think Tanks and Universities: Practical Considerations

    From what I have seen both from my time at CRRC and more recent encounters with think tanks, I entirely agree with Enrique on the synergies between think tanks and universities (see Enrique’s post on funding university based think tanks). I want to follow up by drawing attention to the more... Read full article

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