DocuTicker GreyGuide on Think Tanks

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What is a think tank? According to the Lehman Social Sciences Library at Columbia University:

The term 'think tanks' is an imprecise phrase used to describe a wide range of non-profit research organizations which engage in public policy analysis and research, and often advocate solutions. Some are strictly nonpartisan, researching policy issues without regard to political outcomes, while others see one of their main functions as that of providing intellectual support to politicians or parties. They are as ubiquitous in the American political scene as interest groups, media consultants, 'spin doctors,' and the political parties themselves.

You'll find a related bibliography and a selected list of think tanks and policy centers at the link above.

We regularly mine a wide range of think tanks as a source of full-text reports for DocuTicker. Some diverse examples:

• The Brookings Institution:
  

  The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Our mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations that advance three broad goals:
  
  

  • Strengthen American democracy
    
    
  • Foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans
    
    
  • Secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system.

  Founded in 1916, Brookings is one of the oldest public policy institutes. Its political leanings are generally regarded as centrist.
  
  
• The RAND Corporation:
  

  For more than 60 years, the RAND Corporation has pursued its nonprofit mission by conducting research on important and complicated problems. Initially, RAND (the name of which was derived from a contraction of the term research and development) focused on issues of national security. Eventually, RAND expanded its intellectual reserves to offer insight into other areas, such as business, education, health, law, and science. No other institution tackles tough policy problems across so broad a spectrum.

  RAND is a 'Federally Funded Research & Development Center,' or FFRDC. According to the 'Congressional Research Service (PDF; 249 KB), 'The FFRDC is a hybrid organization designed to meet a federal need through the use of private organizations.'
  
  
• The Fraser Institute:
  

  We are an independent international research and educational organization with offices in Canada and the United States and active research ties with similar independent organizations in more than 70 countries around the world.
  
  In raising the level of understanding about the effects of economics and public policy, the Institute's ideas contribute directly to improving the quality of life for people of all ages and income levels. People should have choices as opposed to government telling them what to do.

  Generally regarded as conservative/libertarian, the Fraser Institute has been around since 1974. One of its more interesting projects is keeping track of
  waiting times at Canadian hospitals.
  
  
• Chatham House (Royal Institute of International Affairs)
  

  Research is core to all Chatham House activities. We undertake independent and rigorous analysis with the aim of setting the agenda and shaping policy by encouraging new ideas and forward thinking in international affairs.
  
  Research is structured around three areas:
  
  

  • Energy, Environment and Resource Governance, incorporating work on energy, environment and development policy and food supply;
    
    
  • International Economics; and
    
    
  • Regional and Security Studies, which includes work on Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, International Law, International Security, the Middle East and North Africa and Russia and Eurasia.

  Chatham House, whose origins date back to the 1920s, is regarded as one of Europe's leading foreign policy think tanks. The venerable Chatham House Rule is designed to foster openness and protect confidentiality:

  When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.

We also keep track of a number of think thanks with a narrow focus, such as:

• AARP Policy & Research ('authoritative information on issues affecting the 50+ population')
  
  
• The Center for Studying Health System Change ('designs and conducts studies focused on the U.S. health care system to inform the thinking and decisions of policy makers in government and private industry')
  
  
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities ('working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals')
  
  
• Education Sector ('an independent think tank that challenges conventional thinking in education policy')
  
  
• Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy ('works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems')
  
  
• World Resources Institute ('an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to find practical ways to protect the earth and improve people's lives')

How can you locate think thanks that perform research in your particular area of interest? One way is to search Google -- "think tank" and education, or "think tank" and poverty. Or you can browse various lists of policy institutes, such as:

• Political Science Resources: Think Tanks (University of Michigan Documents Center)
  
  
• Think tanks (SourceWatch)
  
  
• The Think Tank Index (Foreign Policy)
  
  
• Think Tanks and N.G.O.s (WorldPress.org)
  
  
• NIRA World Directory of Think Tanks (National Institute for Research Advancement/Japan; note, apparently not updated since 2005)