Think tanks are proliferating all around the world. The fact is that over 5,500 think tanks exist in nearly 170 countries. These research-driven entities, operating at the forefront of applied knowledge, come in many different shapes and sizes and offer solutions to almost everything. Some of them are organizations committed to objective analysis of policy problems, giving big ideas that are already changing the world, while others merely aspire to. They can be viewed as policymakers, partisans, phantoms, activists or independents. We want to devote the latest issue of our Library Newsletter to the stars of the “idea factories” world, the scholars’ think tanks. Most of them are university-based or otherwise non-aligned organizations largely devoted to undertaking and disseminating scientific research, and seeking to provide input in public policy discussions. Don’t forget, great projects always start with the idea that opens the way!

• Top Scholars’ Think Tanks

Brookings Institution, USA
Conducts high-quality, independent research to provide innovative, practical recommendations that advance three broad goals: to strengthen American democracy; to foster economic and social welfare, security and opportunity for all Americans; and to secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system. Its five priority research areas — competitiveness, education, energy security, health care and migration — bridge the local and the global, the public and the private, the political and the economic and the hard and the soft sciences.

Council of Foreign Relations, USA
Covers the major regions and key issues shaping today's international agenda. The institution focuses on the most significant foreign policy issues facing the United States and the international community today, including conflict in the Middle East, rising powers in Asia, and globalization. The fellows' research output covers all the major geographical regions of the world as well as the following policy areas: energy security and climate change, global health, international institutions and global governance, national security and defence, science and technology, and U.S. foreign policy.

Chatham House, U.K.
Chatham House has been the home of the Royal Institute of International Affairs for nearly nine decades. It is a world-leading source of independent analysis, informed debate and influential ideas on how to build a prosperous and secure world for all.

Danish Institute of International Studies, Denmark
The Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) is an independent research institution engaged in research in international affairs. The institute draws up reports and analyses and follows developments in international affairs continuously in order to assess the security and foreign policy situation of Denmark.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA 
A private, non-profit organization dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the U.S. Its work is nonpartisan and dedicated to achieving practical results. It is considered the first truly multinational think tank, with operations in Moscow, Beijing, Beirut, Brussels, and Washington.

Peterson Institute for International Economics, USA 
A private, non-profit, nonpartisan research institution devoted to the study of international economic policy. It is one of the very few economics think tanks to be widely regarded as "nonpartisan" by the press and "neutral" by the US Congress, and is cited by the quality media more than any other such institution.

Center for Global Development, USA
An independent, non-profit policy research organization dedicated to reducing global poverty and inequality and to making globalization work for the poor. The center actively engages policymakers and the public to influence the policies of the U.S., other rich countries and institutions such as the World Bank, the IMF, and the World Trade Organization to improve the economic and social development prospects in poor countries.

Center for European Policy Studies, Belgium
Among the most experienced and authoritative think tanks operating in the European Union today. CEPS serves as a leading forum for debate on EU affairs, but its most distinguishing feature lies in its strong in-house research capacity, complemented by an extensive network of partner institutes throughout the world.

French Institute of International Relations, France 
The leading French independent research and debate institution, dedicated to international affairs, and the only French research institute listed among the top ten most influential think tanks in the world outside of the United States. Ifri aims at gathering decision-makers and researchers to develop thorough, non-partisan research and debate on current international issues by developing applied research in the field of public policy and fostering interactive and constructive dialogue between researchers, professionals, and opinion leaders.

• Best New Think Tanks

European Council on Foreign Relations, EU 
The first pan-European think tank. Launched in October 2007, its objective is to conduct research and promote informed debate across Europe on the development of coherent and effective European values-based foreign policy.

Bruegel, EU
'Bruegel' stands for "Brussels European and Global Economic Laboratory". A European think tank dedicated to the field of international economics, Bruegel was established in 2005 as both independent and non-doctrinal. It seeks to contribute to European and global economic policy-making through open, fact-based and policy-relevant research, analysis and debate.

• More information…

The Think Tank Index 
The first comprehensive ranking of the world’s top think tanks, published by the Foreign Policy Magazine. It is based on a worldwide survey of hundreds of scholars and experts compiled by James McGann, assistant director of the international relations program at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program.
Find detailed information in The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program. The Global “Go-To Think Tanks”

Training Sessions
Information sessions scheduled for this term, designed to introduce users to information research topics and related online resources.

E-Resources on Trial 
See a list of trial e-resources currently being evaluated at IESE Library.

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