In this second of three posts on Governance and Management I will address 5 of the main issues outlines in the previous post.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0last post dealt with the importance of addressing Governance and Management<\/a>\u00a0as soon as possible \u2013before accepting core funds or engaging in capacity building exercises.<\/p>\n So what are these Governance and Management issues that think tanks need to address early on? This is not a complete list. Over the years I have gathered some cases and anecdotes that suggest that the following are important. The following are just short summaries of some of the main challenges and questions for each governance and management issue:<\/p>\n I like to repeat that Boards own the think tanks. This comment required clarification at the event. By this I mean that, ultimately, boards tend to be either legally or organisationally responsible for the organisations. In the US, whose NGO legislation is the basis for Indonesian (I was told), boards are legally responsible; in Indonesia they are also responsible for their funding \u2013but this is not something that is taken up much.<\/p>\n There are\u00a0many kinds of boards<\/a>. Some are made up of the think tank\u2019s researchers (internal boards) and some are entirely external. Some have been set up by the think tanks and some by donors and some were set up by the founders before the think tanks were created.<\/p>\n Whatever their shape or form, the boards are ultimately responsible for the organisations. They must therefore be strong, competent and committed to them.<\/p>\n Some of the common challenges we find with boards include:<\/p>\n Executive Directors\u00a0<\/a>(EDs) in many think tanks are usually the most senior researchers. They do not always get\u00a0recruited<\/a>\u00a0or headhunted from a broad short list of professional directors but, instead, it is often that it was their turn to take on the position. Few that I have met really enjoy being the EDs \u2013they rather be doing their own researcher. As a consequence few have developed the leadership and management skills that such a complex organisation like a think tank needs and demands from them. (Simon Maxwell said\u00a0that Think Tank Directors are doomed to fail<\/a>\u00a0because their job descriptions are too wide.)<\/p>\n They may be intellectual leaders and in many cases highly influential in their own right but they may still lack the skills and experience to do some of the most important aspects of the job:<\/p>\n These challenges are just some of those that directors face. A few years ago, also based on an event at SMERU I outlined\u00a0some other concerns.<\/a>\u00a0The solution to this \u201cimpossible role\u201d may be in finding the right support mechanisms and mentors. Or in combining intellectual leadership of \u2018research directors\u2019 with more managerial competencies of deputy directors or CEOs.<\/p>\n This may be difficult to accept but it would be a mistake to think that asking for help of this kind is s sign of weakness or unfitness for the job. The CEOs of the most successful companies have teams of people supporting them in every respect.<\/p>\n Supporting the EDs is the Senior Management Team. These are different in every organisation but play a similar role. They are the first management\/leadership layer below the ED and can define the overall structure of the organisation: an SMT that includes a head of communications represents a very different organisation than one where all the members are senior researchers or one where the ED has appropriated all SMT roles for him or herself.<\/p>\n The board owns the organisation and must support the ED. But the ED must be able to count on his or her SMT to deliver his\/her and the board\u2019s vision. And ideally, EDs can count on their SMTs to help them develop the most appropriate vision for the organisation.<\/p>\n Common challenges that need to be addressed include:<\/p>\n Some of the challenges here are the same as those faced by the directors. Think tanks are not always the most attractive employers in their countries. The private sector is likely to offer higher salaries for the core central services, without which a think tank cannot operate. As a consequence, these aspects of the organisation are often under funded, understaffed, and under skilled. In practice, the roles of heads of communication, management, and finance are held by senior researchers who may at some point shown an interest in these issues or were simply unlucky in the way that roles were allocated.<\/p>\n Think tanks are\u00a0working around the problem of limited skills in communications<\/a>. These are highly transferable skills and the supply of local communications experts is sufficient for the needs of think tanks \u2013they may need some guidance on working for think tanks but that is about it. Far more important is that these communicators are hired into the right positions rather than as very junior assistants.<\/p>\n But management and finance functions still remain a challenge. The business of think tanks isn\u2019t a straightforward one. These are not easy organisations to run. By their very nature they face complex legal frameworks than demand a great deal more from their accountants that would be at first expected.\u00a0 Their funding models pose important questions about their financial sustainability that require far more expertise and experience than most administrative assistants or accountants charged with them may be capable of.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, researchers have a way of thinking, sometimes, that if it is not about research it cannot be \u2018that\u2019 important or difficult -well, they\u2019d be wrong.\u00a0So rather than a problem of skills alone, the challenge really lies in the combination of their limited skills and the relatively low importance awarded to these roles within the organisation. \u00a0They often isolated, sat in a dark corner of the office, instead of having an ever present position, mingling with the researchers, and engaging in exiting and even emotional discussions with them.<\/p>\n Think tanks do not just manage projects; they do not just pay invoices; nor do they simply public briefing papers. Their projects have to generate ideas; their have to encourage the best minds to work with them; and they have to communicate complex arguments and ideas. To achieve this they need more than just good researchers.<\/p>\n The Indonesian think tanks were interested in the opportunities that more experienced financial managers could offer them. Could they help develop alternative business models, develop parallel income-generating enterprises,\u00a0secure loans for them<\/a>, etc.<\/p>\n This demands a kind of interaction and familiarity of each other\u2019s work that is rare to find in a think tank.<\/p>\n Of course, the usual reaction to this is that it\u2019s not only hard to find competent managers and financiers it\u2019s also expensive. Why would an MBA graduate want to join a think tank or manage its rather limited funds? The solution may lie in putting together a more diverse board that incorporates these skills; using consultants to help set put basic systems, partnering with other think tanks to pool resources, etc.<\/p>\n Still, research is at the centre of any think tank. Some think tanks organise themselves along disciplines, others according to research areas, others based on policy issues, a\u00a0few on initiatives<\/a>, and some as a loose group of experts. Research, you see, is\u00a0about more than just the research agenda<\/a>.<\/p>\n The choice often has less to do with strategy and more with\u00a0history<\/a>. Along the way, each think tank has tried to balance several interests: those of their researchers, those of their audiences, and of their funders. They have also had take into account their own resources, their capacity to imagine and design the best possible arrangement, and the influences they were subject to in this field.<\/p>\n Some challenges to consider are:<\/p>\nBoards<\/h2>\n
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Executive Directors<\/h2>\n
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Senior Management Teams<\/h2>\n
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Communications, Management, and Finance (competences and links)<\/h2>\n
Organising research teams<\/h2>\n
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