Wednesday, January 22, 2014

2014 Think Tank Rankings - Cheat Sheet

The 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index was released today by Dr. James McGann, Director of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania.

This year, the report was jointly released in 25+ cities around the world, in conjunction with the launch that Dr. McGann gave at the World Bank in Washington, DC.

It was the 7th annual report of the think tank rankings (technically, it is the 2013 report released in 2014), and it ranks think tanks in various categories such as "top think tanks in the US," "top think tanks in Mexico and Canada," and "top health policy think tanks."

The rankings are considered the most comprehensive and most well-known think tank ratings in the world, but it certainly is not the only ranking out there.  For example, last year, the Center for Global Development (CGD) came up with its own rankings.

In terms of the world's best think tanks, Brookings Institution remained #1, Chatham House remained #2, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) remained #3.  But this year, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) climbed one spot to #4, and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) dipped one spot to #5.

Although the full report has not been officially released, Think Tank Watch has put together this list from an abridged copy of the report.  I will be adding more over the next few hours and days.


Top Think Tanks World Wide (US and Non-US):
  1. Brookings Institution
  2. Chatham House
  3. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP)
  4. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
  5. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

Top Think Tanks World Wide (Non-US):
  1. Chatham House
  2. Bruegel
  3. SIPRI
  4. International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)
  5. Transparency International (TI)

Top Think Tanks (US):
  1. Brookings
  2. CEIP
  3. CSIS
  4. RAND Corporation
  5. Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) 

Top Think Tanks with Outstanding Policy-Oriented Public Programs:
  1. RAND 
  2. Brookings
  3. CEIP

Think Tanks with the Most Significant Impact on Public Policy:
  1. Brookings
  2. CEIP
  3. Bruegel

Think Tanks with the Most Innovative Policy Ideas/Proposals:
  1. CEIP
  2. Brookings
  3. Fundar, Centro de Analisis e Investigacion

Think Tanks with the Best Use of the Media (Print or Electronic):
  1. Pew Research Center
  2. CFR
  3. Brookings

Think Tanks with the Best Use of the Internet:
  1. Amnesty International
  2. Cato Institute
  3. Pew Research Center

Think Tank to Watch:
  1. BRICS Policy Center
  2. Australian Strategy Policy Institute
  3. Association for International Affairs

Best University Affiliated Think Tanks:
  1. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
  2. IDEAS/Policy Group, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
  3. Center for International Studies and Research (CERI)

Best New Think Tank:
  1. Instituto PVBLICA
  2. Russian Council on International Affairs (RSMD)
  3. Centre Africain des Estudes Asiatiques (CAEA)

Best Government Affiliated Think Tanks:
  1. World Bank Institute (WBI)
  2. United States Institute for Peace (USIP)
  3. Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)

Best For-Profit Think Tanks (Unranked):
  1. Economist Intelligence Unit
  2. McKinsey Global Institute
  3. Google Ideas 

Top Think Tanks in Mexico and Canada:
  1. Fraser Institute
  2. Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales (COMEX)
  3. North-South Institute
  4. Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
  5. Centro Analisis e Investigacion (FUNDAR) 

Top Think Tanks in Central America and South America:
  1. Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV)
  2. Centro de Divulgacion del Conocimineto Economico para Libertad (CEDICE Libertad)
  3. Centro de Estudios Publicos (CEP)
  4. Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean (ECLAC/CEPAL)
  5. Centro de Implementacion de Politicas Publicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC)

Top Think Tanks in Central Asia:
  1. Center for Economic and Social Development
  2. Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies
  3. Alternate Solutions Institute
  4. Caucasus Research Resource Center
  5. Sustainable Development Policy Institute

Top Think Tanks in China, India, Japan, and Korea:
  1. Korea Development Institute (KDI)
  2. Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA)
  3. China Institute of International Studies (CIIS)
  4. Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)
  5. Korea Institute for Economic Policy (KIEP)

Top Think Tanks in Asia and the Pacific (Excluding China, India, Japan, and Korea):
  1. Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA)
  2. Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS)
  3. Lowy Institute
  4. Australian Institute for International Affairs (AIIA)
  5. East Asian Institute

Top Think Tanks in Western Europe:
  1. Chatham House
  2. Bruegel
  3. SIPRI
  4. Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
  5. IISS

Top Think Tanks in Middle East and North Africa:
  1. Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies
  2. Brookings Doha Center
  3. Center for Economic and Policy Studies
  4. Carnegie Middle East Center
  5. Institute for National Security Studies (INSS)

Top Defense and National Security Think Tanks:
  1. CSIS
  2. RAND
  3. IISS
  4. Brookings
  5. Chatham House

Top Foreign Policy and International Affairs Think Tanks:
  1. Brookings
  2. CEIP
  3. Chatham House
  4. CFR
  5. CSIS 

Top Energy and Resource Policy Think Tanks:
  1. Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES)
  2. World Resources Institute
  3. RAND Corp.
  4. Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR)
  5. James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy

Top Environment Think Tanks:
  1. World Resources Institute
  2. Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
  3. Worldwatch Institute
  4. Brookings
  5. Resources for the Future (RFF)

Top Health Policy Think Tanks:
  1. Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research
  2. Bloomberg School of Public Health Research Centers (JHSPH)
  3. RAND Corp.
  4. Brookings
  5. Fraser Institute

Top Domestic Economic Policy Think Tanks:
  1. Brookings
  2. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
  3. Adam Smith Institute
  4. Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
  5. Cato Institute

Top International Economic Policy Think Tanks:
  1. Brookings
  2. Bruegel
  3. NBER
  4. PIIE
  5. Chatham House

Here are the think tank rankings from 2012, which were released in 2013.