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A ==US Government==Government think tanks are also important in the United States, particularly in the security and defense field. These include the Institute for National Strategic Studies, Institute for Homeland Security Studies, and the Center for Technology and National Security Policy, at the [[National Defense University]]; the Center for Naval Warfare Studies at the [[Federally Funded Research and Development CentersNaval War College]] (and the [[FFRDCStrategic Studies Institute]]) is a special category of think tank. As described by at the National Science Foundation [http://www[U.nsfS.gov/sbe/srs/nsf02321/secta.htmArmy War College]], FFRDCs are "R&D-performing organizations that are exclusively or substantially financed by the Federal Government and are supported by the Federal Government either to meet a particular R&D objective or, in some instances, to provide major facilities at universities for research and associated training purposes. Each center is administered either by an industrial firm, a university, or another nonprofit institution."
*[[Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy]]
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{{Show badges| Tobaccowiki}}A '''Think Tank''' is an organization that claims to serve as a center for research and/or analysis of important public issues. In reality, many think tanks are little more than public relations fronts, usually headquartered in state or national seats of government and generating self-serving scholarship that serves the advocacy goals of their industry sponsors; in the words of [http://www.yellowtimes.org/ Yellow Times.org] columnist John Chuckman, "phony institutes where ideologue~propagandists pose as academics ... [into which] money gushes like blood from opened arteries to support meaningless advertising's suffocation of genuine debate". [http://www.yellowtimes.org/article.php?sid=1442&mode=thread&order=0]
A '''think tank''' (also called a '''policy institute''') is an organization, institute, corporation, or group that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas of public relations and/or public policy.<ref>See ''The American Heritage Dictionary.'' "Think Tank." 2000. and ''Merriam Webster's Dictionary.'' "Think Tank."</ref> Anyone can set up any organisation and call it a '''think-tank''' -- there is no way of knowing what is a legitimate organisation with many actually members, and what is just a group of corporate lobbyists, perhaps with an ideological slant. <b>Non-Profit:</b> Many think tanks claim to be non-profit organizations, which the [[United States]] and [[Canada]] and some other countries register and provide with tax exempt status. Some are little more than social clubs and associations; some claim the title of "Institutions"; other think tanks are funded by governments, special political or economc interest groups, or businesses and industry associations. Many derive income from consulting, lobbying or research work related to their mandate.<ref>Diane Stone 'Think Tanks and Policy Analysis', in Frank Fischer, Gerald J. Miller. & Mara S. Sidney (eds.) ''Handbook of Public Policy Analysis: Theory, Methods, and Politics'', New York, Marcel Dekker Inc. 2006, pages 149-157.</ref> In some cases, think tanks are little more than public relations fronts, usually headquartered at a state or national seats of government, and providing self-serving scholarship and awards that serve to promote the advocacy goals of their industry sponsors. Usually the whole purpose of 'awards' is to hold a public celebration which will win approval for sponsors an attract the media (print and broadcast) to carry a favourable message to the public. Most think-tanks are reasonably independent, and are created by special interest groups to promote a particular policy, but others are far more organised, planned, funded and utilized. ==Atlas Network==The [[Atlas Group]], named after the cult Objectivist book of [[Ayn Rand]] ''Atlas Shrugged'' has been systematically developed and expanded over 60 years. Many of the best-known think-tanks are part of this global [[Libertarian]] organisation which now has, perhaps, 250 to 300 think-tank members. It exists primarily to promote the economic philosophy of [[Friedrich von Hayek]] and [[Milton Friedman]] and it was founded by [[Antony Fisher]] in association with [[Ralph Harris]] (Now Lord Harris of HighCross); Fisher's daughter, [[Linda Whetstone]] through the [[Atlas Economic Research Foundation]] Don't confuse the two strands of right-wing political philosophy: the "Conservatives" tend to promote historical class differences and views, while the "Libertarians" see themselves as progressives, promoting privatisation of all government business operations and deregulation of health, environmental and trade rules in the interests of a "free market"; they believe that financial benefits given to the wealth "trickle down" to the workers. They usually call themselves "neo-liberal" to emphasise a small government, low-tax, less restrictive culture. Harris and Fisher (and Arthur Seldon) set up the [[Institute of Economic Affairs]] in London in 1955, which still remains a major node in the network. The IEA was UK PM [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s favourite policy generator. Fisher, a multi-millionairre who owned the UK's battery-chicken operation (Buxted Chickens) had been invited to speak at the Mont Pelerin Society (run by von Mises/von Hayek) in Venice in September 1954, and became an evangelical promoter of the free-market/deregulation philosophy. In the 1970s Fisher migrated to the USA and married a wealthy widow with similar extreme free-market ideas. Together they began funding new Libertarian think-tanks which were each expected to create subsidiaries themselves. They all attracted funding from large corporations, wealthy individuals, and family foundations; Multimillionairres like [[Ricahrd Mellon Scaife]] and the [[Koch Brothers]] added their financial weight to these developments. Fisher was responsible for the primary funding of the [[Center for Humane Studies]], the [[Fraser Institute]], [[Manhattan Institute]], the [[Pacific Research Institute]], [[Cato Institute]], [[Heritage Foundation]], [[American Enterprise Institute]], [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]], [[Citizens for a Sound Economy]], [[Centre for Independent Studies]] (Australia) and hundreds of others which followed over the next 50 years. The most obvious characteristic about this extraordinarily influential Libertarian network is that -- while it is as closely interlinked as the Freemasons, Knights of Columbia, Comintern, etc. -- yet it never uses any identifying name which is a common identifier, so every think-tank appears to be local and independent. =='Scholar' members==The people associated with think-tanks divide roughly into three categories: a) The administrators (often including an Advisory Board) b) the "Adjunct Scholars" or "fellows" who are promoted as the main researchers and writers of reports, and c) the normal members who are recruited from aligned political parties, corporations, and the general public. They usually pay an annual fee -- but most of the funding comes from three sources:<UL><li> 1. Annual grants, usually from large corporations aligned to their special interests<li> 2. Corporate commissions to the think-tank entity to run conferences, seminars, etc.<li> 3. Commissions paid directly (or via laundry-channels) to the 'research staff' for various lobbying/advocacy work.</ul> Of course, some think tanks are more legitimate than thatothers. Private funding does not necessarily make a researcher a shill, and some think-tanks produce worthwhile public policy research. In general, however, research from think tanks is ideologically driven in accordance with the interests of its funders.
"We've got think tanks the way other towns have firehouses," ''Washington Post'' columnist Joel Achenbach says. "This is a thoughtful town. A friend of mine worked at a think tank temporarily and the director told him when he entered, 'We are white men between the ages of 50 and 55, and we have no place else to go.'"
Think tanks are funded primarily by large businesses and major foundations. They devise and promote policies that shape the lives of everyday Americans: Social Security privatization, tax and investment laws, regulation of everything from oil to the Internet. They supply experts to testify on Capitol Hill, write articles for the op-ed pages of newspapers, and appear as TV commentators. They advise presidential aspirants and lead orientation seminars to train incoming members of Congress.
Think tanks may have a decided political leaning. There are twice as many conservative think tanks as liberal ones, and the conservative ones generally have more money. This is no accident, as one One of the important functions of think tanks is to provide a backdoor way for wealthy business interests to promote their ideas or to support economic and sociological research not taking place elsewhere that they feel may turn out in their favor. Conservative think tanks also offer donors an opportunity to support conservative policies outside academia, which during the 1960s and 1970s was accused of having a strong "collectivist" bias.
"Modern think tanks are nonprofit, tax-exempt, political idea factories where donations can be as big as the donor's checkbook and are seldom publicized," notes Tom Brazaitis, writing for the ''Cleveland Plain Dealer''. "Technology companies give to think tanks that promote open access to the internet. Wall Street firms donate to think tanks that espouse private investment of retirement funds." So much money now flows in, that the top 20 conservative think tanks now spend more money than all of the "soft money" contributions to the Republican party.
In the wake of the re-election of [[George W. Bush]] in 2004 Democratic-inclined supporters sought to bolster funding for centre-left think tanks. "Scores of the US's richest people have pledged $1 million or more towards a new attempt to reinvigorate the American left and counter the powerful Republican political machine," writes David Teather in ''The GUardian'' (UK). "The money will be funnelled through an organisation called the [[Democracy Alliance]] which, according to a report in the Washington Post, will help fund a network of thinktanks and advocacy groups seeking to halt the shift to the cultural and political right." Democratic strategist [[Rob Stein]], who organized the effort, thinks "there is a big imbalance in the amount of cash that goes into left and rightwing thinktanks. Over the past two years, he said, think tanks pushing the conservative agenda had received $295 million, while leftwing institutions were given just $75 million." [http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1544680,00.html]
A think tank's resident experts carry titles such as "senior fellow" or "adjunct scholar," but this does not necessarily mean that they even possess an academic degree in their area of claimed expertise. Outside funding can corrupt the integrity of academic institutions. The same corrupting influences affect think tanks, only more so.
Think tanks are like universities minus the students and minus the systems of peer review and other mechanisms that academia uses to promote diversity of thought. Real academics are expected to conduct their research first and draw their conclusions second, but this process is often reversed at most policy-driven think tanks. As writer Jonathan Rowe has observed, the term "think" tanks is a misnomer. His comment was directed at the conservative [[Heritage Foundation]], but it applies equally well to many other think tanks, regardless of ideology: "They don't think; they justify."
A [[Federally Funded Research and Development Centers]] ([[FFRDC]]) is a special category of think tank. As described by the National Science Foundation [http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf02321/secta.htm], FFRDCs are "R&D-performing organizations that are exclusively or substantially financed by the Federal Government and are supported by the Federal Government either to meet a particular R&D objective or, in some instances, to provide major facilities at universities for research and associated training purposes. Each center is administered either by an industrial firm, a university, or another nonprofit institution." The government funds, wholly or in part, activities at approximately 30 [[Federally Funded Research and Development Centers]] (FFRDCs). FFRDCs typically assist government agencies with scientific research and analysis, systems development, and systems acquisition. They bring together the expertise and outlook of government, industry, and academia to solve complex technical problems. These FFRDCs include the [[RAND Corporation]], the [[MITRE Corporation]], the [[Institute for Defense Analyses]], the [[Aerospace Corporation]], the [[MIT Lincoln Laboratory]], and other organizations supporting various departments within the U.S. Government. The [[Department of Defense ]] (DOD) sponsors ten FFRDCs, which are listed below with other North American think tanks. Many of these DOD FFRDCs, and the institutions that operate them, have used their privileged status, and tax dollars, to venture beyond their charters. Such ventures have incurred the wrath of the [[Professional Services Council ]] (PSC), an association of for-profit consulting firms, which has fought the aggrandizement of FFRDCs since the early 1970s. PSC's task force on FFRDCs "is charged with the challenging task of containing [FFRDCs] and similar quasi-governmental entities that benefit from sole-source contracting or otherwise are subsidized unfairly by the federal government..." [http://www.pscouncil.org/committees/ffrdctf.asp]. The efforts have paid off, to some extent, in tighter controls on the funding of FFRDCs and the types of research they are allowed to undertake. Similar to the above quasi-governmental organizations are [[Federal Advisory Committee Act|Federal Advisory Committees]]. These groups, sometimes referred to as commissions, are a form of think tank dedicated to advising the US Presidents or the Executive branch of government. They typically focus on a specific issue and as such, might be considered similar to special interest groups. However, unlike special interest groups these committees have come under some oversight regulation and are required to make formal records available to the public. Approximately 1,000 these advisory committees are described in the FACA [http://fido.gov/facadatabase/search.asp searchable database].
==Global examples==
*[[Club of Rome]]
*[[Global Business Dialogue on e-Commerce]]/[[GBDe]]
*[[International Crisis Group]]
*[[Center for Security Policy]]
*[[Center for State Homeland Security]]
*[[Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments]][www.csbaonline.org]
*[[Center for Strategic and International Studies]]
*[[Center for the American Founding]]
*[[Center for the Study of Terrorism]]
*[[Center for the Study of the Presidency]]
*[[Center for Vision & Values]][www.visionandvalues.org]
*[[Center for The 21st Century]]
*[[Center of International Studies]], Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
*[[Gorbachev Foundation of North America]]
*[[Greening Earth Society]]
*[[Healthcare Leadership Council]]
*[[Heartland Institute]]
*[[Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs]]
*[[John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies]]
*[[Joint Center]]
*[[Lexington Institute]]
*[[Lincoln Laboratory (FFRDC) at M.I.T.]]
*[[Logistics Management Institute]]
*[[Ludwig von Mises Institute]]
*[[Manhattan Committee on Foreign Relations]] [http://www.nyccfr.org/]
*[[Manhattan Institute for Policy Research]]
*[[George C. Marshall Institute]]
*[[National Bureau of Economic Research]]
*[[National Center for Policy Analysis]]
*[[National Center for PrivitizationPrivatization]]
*[[National Center for Public Policy Research]]
*[[National Council Against Health Fraud]]
*[[New World Foundation]]
*[[Nixon Center]]
*[[North Florida Committee on Foreign Relations]] [http://www.nfcfr.org/]
*[[Nuclear Threat Initiative]]
*[[Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine]]
*[[World Water Council]]
*[[Workplace Health & Safety Council]]
*[[Yankee Institute for Public Policy]]
*[[Zionist Organization of America]]
*[[Atlantic Institute for Market Studies]]
*[[Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies]]
*[[The Centre for International Governance Innovation]] [http://www.cigionline.org The Centre for International Governance Innovation ]
*The [[Fraser Institute]]
*[[Frontier Centre for Public Policy]]
*[[Asia-Pacific Foundation]]
*[[The Bow Group]]
*[[Catalyst (think tank)]]
*[[Catalyst]]
*[[Centre for European Reform]]
*[[International Institute for Strategic Studies]] [http://www.iiss.org/]
*[[Institute for Public Policy Research]] [http://www.ippr.org.uk/]
*[[Labour Left]]
*[[Localis]]
*[[mi2g]] [http://www.mi2g.net/]
*[[Centre for the New Europe]] [http://www.cne-network.org/]
*[[Civita]] [http://www.civita.no/civ.php?mod=content&id=6]
*[[Club des Vigilants]] [http://www.clubdesvigilants.com]
*[[Copenhagen Institute]] [http://www.coin.dk/]
*[[Economic and Social Research Institute]]
*[[European Science and Environment Forum]]
*[[Edmund Burke Foundation]] [http://www.burkestichting.nl/]
*[[Studienzentrum Weikersheim]]
*[[Federation of European Employers]] [http://www.fedee.com/ Federation of European Employers]
*[[Globalisation Institute]] [http://www.globalisation.eu/]
*[[Instytut Sobieskiego]] [http://www.sobieski.org.pl/ Instytut Sobieskiego]
*[[Istituto Bruno Leoni]]
*[[Libres]] [http://www.libres.org/ Libres]
*[[Madariaga European Foundation]]
*[[Open Republic Institute]] [http://www.openrepublic.org/ Open Republic Institute] *[[Real Instituto Elcano]] [http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/ Real Instituto Elcano]*[[Center for Social and Economic Research]] (CASE) [http://www.case.com.pl CASE - the Center for Social and Economic Research]
*[[Timbro]] [http://www.timbro.com/]
*[[US Matters Club]] (Poland) [http://www.usmatters.republika.pl/ US Matters Club (Poland)]
===Denmark===
*[[Per Capita]]
*[[Sydney Institute]]
*[[The Natural Edge Project]]*[[World Growth]]
(See also [[Think Tanks/Australia]])
==Books==
*"[http://www.thinktankdirectory.com ''Think Tank Directory: A Guide to Independent Nonprofit Public Policy Research Organizations'']", Government Research Service, 2nd Edition, 2006. Profiles of over 1,100 think tanks in Washington, D.C. and the 50 states.
*Alex Carey, "[http://www.press.uillinois.edu/s97/carey.html Taking the risk out of democracy: Propaganda in the US and Australia]", NSW Press/ Illinois Press, 1995.
*Jacques Kinau, ''Start Your Own Tax-Exempt Think Tank : Effective Self-Defense Against Corporate and Political Donor Class Tax Predation, Institute for Research, May 2005. ISBN 0976443708
*[[James A. Smith]], ''Idea Brokers : Think Tanks And The Rise Of The New Policy Elite'', Free Press, Reprint November 1993. ISBN 0029295556
*Richard Cockett, ''Thinking the unthinkable: think-tanks and the economic counter-revolution, 1931-1983'', Fontana Press, London, 1994. ISBN: 0006375863
*David M. Ricci, ''The Transformation of American Politics: The New Washington and the Rise of Think Tanks'', Yale University Press, August 1994. ISBN 0300061234
== External links ==
*Richard Morin and Claudia Deane, "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/fedpage/columns/ideasindustry/ The Ideas Industry]", ''Washington Post''. (The Ideas Industry column ran between July 2002 and April 2003 and has been discontinued but an archives of the columns is still accessible).
*News from Reality: "[http://www.hereinreality.com/news/rand.html The People We Pay to Think] - a brief profile on the Rand Corporation and its links to the Carlyle Group.
*National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, ''[http://www.mediatransparency.org/conservativephilanthropy.php Moving a Public Policy Agenda: the Strategic Philanthropy of Conservative Foundations]'', a research report from the (NCRP)[http://www.ncrp.org/], July 1997. A hard copy of the report can be obtained for $US25 [http://www.ncrp.org/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/Store/p-013.html?L+scstore+yghf0237ff5e445e+1077846511 from here]
*National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy,''$1 Billion for Ideas: Conservative Think Tanks in the 1990s'', March 1999. A hard copy of the report can be purchased for $US25 [http://www.ncrp.org/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/Store/p-012.html?L+scstore+yghf0237ff5e445e+1077846511 from here]
* Dan Morgan, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A46598-2000Jan28 "Think Tanks: Corporations' Quiet Weapon"], ''Washington Post'', January 29, 2000; Page A1.
*Robert Kuttner,"[http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/13/kuttner-r.html Comment: Philanthropy and Movements]", ''The American Prospect'', July 15, 2002. Excellent article relating "think tank" summit meeting between funders and four major conservative "philanthropies" -- American Enterprise Institute, Cato Institute, Heritage Foundation, and Manhattan Institute -- observed by an invited guest "liberal". This is a virtual "how to" to build a movement.
*Jill Junnola, "[http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/243 Perspective: Who funds whom?]", ''CampusWatch.org'' from ''Energy Compass'', October 4, 2002. Re [[neo-conservative]] think tank funding/funders.
*[[Steven C. Clemons]], "[http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/9454 Thought Control]", ''Tom Paine'', November 19, 2003. "Money will always be part of the think-tank business. But when that money and the interests behind it lurk in the shadows of the policy debate, the nation's interests are put at risk."
*Lawrence Soley, "[http://www.fair.org/extra/9809/local-think-tanks.html Heritage Clones in the Heartland: Local think tanks' "research" comes pre-digested]", ''EXTRA!'', Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, September/October 1998.
*Sharon Beder, "[http://wwwherinst.uow.edu.au/arts/research/hegemonyorg/eventssbeder/2005-workshopPR/sharon-bedereconeduc.pdf html The Role of ‘Economic Education’ in Achieving Capitalist Hegemony]", University of Wollongong, 2005.
*Jacques Kinau, "[http://www.inre.org Start Your Own Tax-Exempt Think Tank]", Institute for Research, 2005.
*Allen S. Hepner, "[http://newmillenniumresearch.org/Impact_1004.pdf Next-Generation’ think-tank techniques can bolster issues management results]", ''Impact'', Public Affairs Council, October 2004.
*David Teather, "[http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1544680,00.html Liberals pledge millions to revive US left]", ''The Guardian'' (UK), August 8, 2005.
*Chris Mooney , "[http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050928/trust_us_were_experts.php Trust Us, We're Experts]", ''TomPaine.com'', September 28, 2005.
*Jim Boyd, [http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=100453 "Editorial Pages: Why Courage is Hard to Find,"] ''Nieman Reports'', Spring 2006.
*J.H. Snider, "[https://www.prwatch.org/node/8238/ Mixing Advocacy, Scholarly Research and Journalism: Can the New America Foundation Square the Circle?]", PR Watch, February 26, 2009.
*Eric Alterman and Danielle Ivory, [http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/05/ta052109.html "Think Again, Blogosphere to Mainstream Media: Get Off the Bus,"] Center for American Progress, May 21, 2009.
* THE CURSE OF TINA by Adam Curtis http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2011/09/the_curse_of_tina.html
[[Category:Think tanks]]
*[[Think Tanks/Researching think tanks]]
== Think Tank Research Links research links ==
*[http://www.thinktankdirectory.com/whitepaper.php ''Think Tank Explosion: Growth of the Independent Think Tank Industry in the United States''] - Short white paper charting the dramatic increase in the number of independent U.S. think tanks since the end of World War II.
*[http://www.why-war.com/news/2003/08/01/progress.html Statistics of Think Tank Citations]
*[http://schema-root.org/people/political/think_tank/ Schema-Root.org: Think Tanks] 140+ cross-referenced newsfeeds related to Think Tanks
==References==<references/> [[category:Lists]] [[category:think tanks]]
