The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Programme (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania, in association with the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), since 2007 has been ranking think tanks across the world based on a set of characteristics including output, reach, and policy impact. Its 2008 Survey, “The Global ‘Go To Think Tanks’: The Leading Public Policy Research Organizations in the World,” considers 407 think tanks (out of a total of nearly 5,500 think tanks around the world) nominated by a panel of experts in peer institutions, and heads of think tanks across the world. The Director General, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) also took part in the exercise to nominate and judge peer institutions, based on a detailed set of selection criteria developed by TTCSP to guide the nomination and selection process. The results of this survey will be published in Foreign Policy, January/February 2009. They are also available at http://www.sas.upenn.edu/irp/documents/2008_Global_Go_To_Think_Tanks.pdf

The survey notes that out of the 5,465 think tanks across the world, North America and Europe account for the majority, with 56 per cent of the total while Asia has 12 per cent. India with 121 think tanks is ranked sixth among countries with the largest number of think tanks. The United States leads the list with 1,777. Russia has 107, Japan 105, and China has 74. The report however ranks think tanks in the United States separately in order not to distort the overall rankings.

Among the reasons the report cites for the growth of the think tanks include the information revolution, globalization, complexity and technical nature of policy problems and the need for timely and concise information and analysis. It does note that hostile political and regulatory environment, changes in funding priorities, underdeveloped institutional capacities among other factors were impinging negatively on the performance of the think tanks.

While the Brookings Institution is ranked first among think tanks in the US, the top 10 think tanks in the world (non-US) include the Chatham House, United Kingdom, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. IDSA is among the top 50 think tanks in the world, placed at the 46th position. Only 3 other institutions from Asia – one from Japan (the Japan Institute for International Affairs, ranked 21st) and 2 from China (the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ranked 25th and the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, ranked 34), make this list.

Among the top 25 think tanks in Asia, IDSA is placed at third position, with the top two places going to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA). Other think tanks in India which make the cut include the Centre for Civil Society (8), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI, ranked 11) and the Liberty Institute (24).

Among think tanks by research area (global), Brookings occupies the first position in the categories of International Development, Heath Policy, Security and International Affairs, Domestic Economic Policy, International Economic Policy, and Social Policy. The Brookings Institution is also ranked as the top think tank in the world as well as one having an outstanding policy-oriented public policy research programme.

The report notes that think tanks operate in a highly competitive marketplace of ideas and influence and are being tasked to find new ways to convey their ideas to policy makers and the public. Pointing out the vital role that think tanks play in the policy making process, the report concludes by stating that think tanks that have done well in the survey were “high-performance institutions” which have mastered the 3R’s of rigor, relevance, and reliability.

For the full report in PDF format, click here.