Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program

The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) was a non-profit program at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that operated from 1989 to 2021. TTCSP was originally established at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in 1989.^[1] The director was James McGann.^[2][3] The program conducted research on policy institutes around the world,^[4] and maintained a database of over 8,200 think tanks from across the world.^[5]

Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program

Abbreviation	TTCSP
Formation	1989
Dissolved	2021
Headquarters	University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Director (last)	James G. McGann
Parent organization	Lauder Institute, University of Pennsylvania
Website	repository.upenn.edu/think_tanks/

Program history

The TTCSP was established at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in 1989. It began with its focus on think tanks in the US. In the 1990s, the program became increasingly global as a result of the political and economic transformation that took place in Central and Eastern Europe.^[6] R. Kent Weaver^[7] of the Brookings Institution and James McGann of the Foreign Policy Research Institute were asked to help conceptualize what became the Global Development Network, a World Bank sponsored conference in Barcelona, Spain.^[8] This resulted in the publication Think Tanks and Civil Societies: Catalysts for Ideas and Action in 2000.^[6] In 2008, the TTCSP moved to the International Relations Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Global Go To Think Tank Index

McGann and the Program published the annual Global Go To Think Tank Index.^[9] As of 2010, the Index is based on a three-phase survey whose participants include politicians, scientists, think tank donors, and think tanks.^[10] However, this method of the study and assessment of policy institutes has been criticized by researchers such as Enrique Mendizabal and Goran Buldioski, Director of the Think Tank Fund, assisted by the Open Society Institute.^[11][12]

In 2018, this Index listed US the country with the largest number of Think Tanks (1871), followed by India (509), China (507), UK (321), Argentina (227), Germany (218), Russia (215), France (203), Japan (128), Italy (114), Brazil (103), Canada (100), South Africa (93).^[13]

See also

• List of think tanks

References

1. Foreign Policy Research Institute, "Think Tanks and Foreign Policy Program", 2001–2010, "Source 1 Archived 22 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine", 6 July 2010
2. "James G. McGann – Foreign Policy Research Institute". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
3. Bennett, Amanda (5 October 2015). "Are think tanks obsolete?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
4. "The Think Tanks and Civil Society Program | About Us". Gotothinktank.com. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
5. International Relations @ UPenn, "2009 Global Rankings of Think Tanks", 2010, "Source 7 Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine", 6 July 2010
6. Foreign Policy Research Institute, "Selected List of Publications", 2001–2010, "Source 5 Archived 22 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine", 6 July 2010
7. Brookings Institution, "R. Kent Weaver", 2010, "Source 3 Archived 15 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine", 6 July 2010
8. Global Development Network, "Global Development Network (GDN): Background and History", 2010, "Source 4 Archived 21 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine", 6 July 2010
9. Wermund, enjamin (17 September 2014). "A&M think tank aims to solve state issues". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
10. Seiler, Christian, and Klaus Wohlrabe. "A critique of the 2009 global 'Go-to Think Tanks' ranking". CESifo DICE Report 8.2 (2010): 60.
11. Mendizabal, Enrique (21 January 2011). "Another year, another ranking of think tanks (and surprise surprise, Brookings is still the best)". On Think Tanks. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
12. Buldioski, Goran (23 January 2011). "Mirror, mirror on the wall... tell me who is the best think tank in the world?". Goran's Musings. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
13. McGann, James G. (29 January 2019). "2018 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report". ScholarlyCommons University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2019.

External links

• Think Tanks and Civil Societies Website
• Foreign Policy Research Institute - International Policy Think Tank – provides information on the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), including scholar bios and works published.
• Foreign Policy Think Tank - Foreign Policy Research Institute – provides information on the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, including history and background, program goals, research priorities, and publications.
• James McGann - FPRI – a biography of James McGann, Director of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program.
• R. Kent Weaver - Brookings Institution – a biography of R. Kent Weaver, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution
• Archived 8 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine – provides information on the Global Development Network, including its mission, history, research priorities, and publications.
• International Relations Program at the University of Pennsylvania
• James G. McGann (Director) (28 January 2013). "The Global Go To Think Tank Report, 2011" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2013.
• James G. McGann (4 February 2015). "2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report". Archived from the original on 18 June 2022 – via University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons.