Thursday, December 15, 2022

Meet "Double Helix Methodology": China's New Approach to Think Tank Research

Here is more from a press release:

This fall, "Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences" (BCAS, in Chinese) journal discussed the status of Chinese think tanks and a new approach to think tank research known as double helix methodology in an exclusive interview with Professor Pan Jiaofeng, president of the Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASISD).

The CASISD president mentioned that the new approaches that have emerged in recent years, such as the double helix methodology that he and his team first proposed in 2020, have made it possible "to unravel think tank problems and for think tanks to better engage in scientification and advance towards disciplinization amidst the formation of think tank science and engineering."

Like a strand of DNA, the double helix methodological system put forth by Pan's team features two main interconnected components –an integrated model concerned with data, information, intelligence, and solutions (DIIS) and one covering mechanisms, impact, policy and solutions (MIPS). The model includes an internal process consisting of the interaction between DIIS and MIPS and an external process comprising decomposition, fusion and restoration.

The trailblazer stated that he and his team have participated in pilot construction of high-end Chinese think tanks that utilize double helix methodology and that they formulated more-in-depth problem-, evidence-, and science-oriented DIIS methodology in order to address think tank problems after summarizing the experience that was gained and abstracting essential standardized research processes.

Published in 2021, the English version of Pan's book "DIIS Theory and Methodology in Think Tanks" elaborates on the DIIS aspect of the framework, explaining that it aims to improve the scientificity, efficacy, and reliability of think tank research results, facilitate systematic theoretical analysis, and promote think tank development.

 

Here is a link to Pan's book, DIIS Theory and Methodology in Think Tanks.