{"id":2229,"date":"2010-11-09T19:12:59","date_gmt":"2010-11-10T00:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/\/"},"modified":"2021-11-11T05:44:26","modified_gmt":"2021-11-11T10:44:26","slug":"on-the-definition-of-think-tanks-towards-a-more-useful-discussion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/on-the-definition-of-think-tanks-towards-a-more-useful-discussion\/","title":{"rendered":"On the definition of think tanks: Towards a more useful discussion"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is the presentation I gave at a recent meeting of think tanks hosted by ODI in London<\/a>. It draws from other posts in this blog but, I hope, provides a stronger argument.<\/p>\n From:\u00a0Rory Steward:<\/a><\/p>\n I do a lot of work with policymakers, but how much effect am I having? It\u2019s like they\u2019re coming in and saying to you, \u2018I\u2019m going to drive my car off a cliff. Should I or should I not wear a seatbelt?<\/p>\n And you say, \u2018I don\u2019t think you should drive your car off the cliff.’<\/p>\n And they say, \u2018No, no, that bit\u2019s already been decided\u2014the question is whether to wear a seatbelt.\u2019<\/p>\n And you say, \u2018Well, you might as well wear a seatbelt.\u2019 And then they say, \u2018We\u2019ve consulted with policy expert Rory Stewart and he says . .\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The common definition, employed \u00a0by experts in the field like\u00a0Diane Stone<\/a>, James McGann and others,\u00a0describes them as a distinctive class of organisations \u2013not-for-profit and different and separate from universities, markets and the state- that seek to use research to influence policy. \u00a0However, as I found in the study of\u00a0think tanks in Latin America<\/a>, Africa and Asia, these particular think tanks only exist in the imaginary of those who idealised the Brookings and Chatham Houses of this world; and more often than not, we find ourselves dealing with the exceptions rather than the rule -this was the point of my presentation on\u00a0think tanks at an event in ODI in 2009: hybrids are the norm<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tom Medvetz<\/a>\u00a0paper,\u00a0Think Tanks as an emergent field<\/a>, provides strong arguments against this view. He argues that this definition is limited because:<\/p>\n This last point is worth exploring further. The sudden rise of funding for think tanks has seen a rise in the number of organisations positioning (or-rebranding) themselves as think tanks.<\/p>\n Medvetz explains how this positioning as a think tank involves a necessary ‘complex performance of distancing and affinity’:<\/p>\n The act of definition is then the art of forging the identity -independent or dependent- that best suits the organisation\u2019s objectives; which, according to Medvetz’ analysis, is the accumulation of authority within the policy space. And in a multi-actor world, this is essentially a process that takes place in relation to others: we define Brookings in relation to the Heritage (U.S.), ODI in relation to IDS (U.K.), and CIUP to GRADE (Peru).<\/p>\n But also, And this is left out of his analysis, this definition takes place over time and is likely to change to fit the\u00a0chaining\u00a0context.<\/p>\n Another reason why the traditional definition of think tanks is flawed is that it does not offer us anything of practical value. What does one do with a definition that describes something as’something else’ or \u00a0\u2018not something else\u2019? And what do we do when the one thing it says think tanks do is also what lots of other organisations do, too? \u00a0How does a think tank use this definition to decide how to invest its resources, where to position itself, how to influence, etc?<\/p>\n To address this I attempt to\u00a0describe think tanks according to their functions as well as to their position in the knowledge policy space<\/a>. According to recent work by\u00a0ODI in Latin America<\/a>\u00a0\u2013and drawing form the\u00a0literature on think tanks<\/a>– we could argue that think tanks can fulfil at least six roles (or services) in their political context:<\/p>\n\n
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