**INDIA'S THINK TANK FAILURE**
**INDIA'S THINK TANK FAILURE**
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http://the-diplomat.com/the-editor/2012/01/19/indias-think-tank-failure/
India’s Think Tank Failure
January 19, 2012
By Jason Miks
Diplomatic Courier* has released its new list [Global Think Tanks, Policy Networks and Governance http://www.gotothinktank.com/] of the world’s leading think tanks, which always makes for interesting reading. In top spot this year in their global list is Washington-based Brookings Institution, which also came in second overall in the United States on the specific area of international affairs, behind the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The list is drawn up largely by the University of Pennsylvania, and this year included nominations for 5,329 think tanks around the world.
“Our rankings process, as in the past, relies on a shared definition of public policy research, analysis, and engagement organizations, a detailed set of selection criteria, and an increasingly open and transparent nomination and selection process,” said James McGann, director of the university’s think tank and civil societies program, in announcing the results.
It’s no surprise on the overall list to see organizations like Brookings, Chatham House in the U.K., Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Council on Foreign Relations and CSIS making up the top five. But what is in some ways surprising is the failure of India to place a single think tank in the global top 30.
That American think tanks dominate the top 30, taking 12 spots, isn’t a surprise – they are extremely well-funded here, and there’s a long-established culture of ideas generation based around this format in Washington and elsewhere that’s boosted by the ease with which former politicians and government officials move in and out of the “circuit.” U.S. think tanks undoubtedly benefit from the U.S.-style of government, which often involves officials being appointed, serving a relatively short period in government, making contacts and then returning to the research sector. You only have to look at the staff line-up of any of the top organizations to see a host of former (often very senior) government officials making up the ranks.
This is in stark contrast to parliamentary systems such as the U.K., where cabinet positions are typically filled by members of parliament – a British Foreign Office minister whose term in government has ended returns to the back benches rather than becoming a fellow at, say, Chatham House.
But none of this explains the absence of India on the list – an absence that should trouble Indian policymakers. At their best, think tanks can be a hotbed of ideas for government to draw upon, and if India has aspirations toward looking past its neighborhood and stepping up on the global stage it will need to draw upon the vigorous exchange and debate of ideas and policy proposals that such research centers can offer. And yet clearly, in the eyes of their peers, Indian think tanks lack the rigor and influence of a Germany, Canada or indeed Kenya, at least according to the latest list.
I’m going to quote here at some length from one of our writers on this issue from a couple of years back:
“Apart from (the) persistence of endemic poverty and poor infrastructure, India faces other critical challenges in its search for great power status: its acute shortage of critical human capital. At one level, the country can justifiably claim that it has some institutions of higher education which can compete with their peers on a global basis. But these institutions are mostly confined to the realms of science, engineering and management and despite the existence of these centers of excellence, mediocrity is the hallmark of many of India’s other educational institutions.
“For example, with the possible exception of the discipline of economics, India lags woefully behind in the other social sciences such as sociology, anthropology and political science. Few, if any, significant contributions to these fields of intellectual endeavor have emerged from India in recent decades. Most scholarship in these areas is either derivative, or worse, still mostly descriptive and hortatory.”
It’s the kind of damning indictment I’ve come to expect from those engaged in the China vs India debate that rages on our site and elsewhere. And yet these words were written by one of our Indian Decade bloggers, Sumit Ganguly.
And he’s right. When we’re sourcing material for the site, too often we find Indian think tank analyses littered with basic errors, unsubstantiated claims or rehashings of long debunked theories (Flashpoints contributor James Holmes is just one of many to have expressed frustration at how a likely non-event involving the Chinese and Indian navies last summer is still treated as fact in Indian media and policy circles).
It goes without saying that India has an enormous amount to offer the international community. But there’s no excuse for its absence on a list like this.
*I mistakenly referred to this year’s list as being published by Foreign Policy as it was in previous years. This year, it’s being being published by Diplomatic Courier, although the report is also being hosted on Foreign Policy. My apologies for any confusion. ___________________________________
AN EXPLANATORY NOTE FROM RAM NARAYANAN
The report on Global Think Tanks, Policy Networks and Governance (http://www.gotothinktank.com/), runs to some 96 pages. It can be down loaded at http://www.gotothinktank.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/2011_Global_Go_To_Think_Tanks_Report_-_January_20_Edition_WITH_LETTEr-1.pdf
COUNTRIES WITH THE LARGEST NUMBER OF THINK TANKS:
USA 1815; CHINA 425; INDIA 292; UK 286; GERMANY 194; FRANCE 176; ARGENTINA 137; RUSSIA 112; JAPAN 103; CANADA 97; ITALY 90; SOUTH AFRICA 85; BRAZIL 82; ISRAEL 54; S. KOREA 35.
In spite of the presence of 192 think tanks in India, only some figure among the various categories of think tanks surveyed in this report, and they too not among the top ones.
The top think tank of the year 2011 – the top think tank in the world – is Brookings Institution of the US.
The top fifty think tanks – worldwide (non-US) - include U K 14, Germany 8, Belgium 4, France 2, China 2, Canada 2, Norway 2, Poland 2, Sweden 1, Russia 1, Lebanon 1, Denmark 1, The Netherlands 1, Brazil 1, Australia 1, Azerbaijan 1, India 1, Egypt 1, Indonesia 1, Japan 1, Singapore 1, South Africa 1.
The solitary India think tank is listed number 34 and it is, none of the well known ones such as Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) or Observer Research Foundation (ORF) or Institute of Peace & Conflict Studies (IPCS) or Centre for Policy Research (CPR), but the Center for Civil Society which does not even focus on foreign policy or national security issues.
IDSA, ORF, IPCS and CPR owe an explanation to the people of India as to why, in spite of the transparent procedure adopted by the University of Pennsylvania team which did the research and prepared the report, they failed to qualify for entry into the list of the top 50 think tanks in the world.
CPR (Centre for Policy Research) does figure as number 4 among the top thirty think tanks in Asia, a think tank which specializes in Economics (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations -ICRIER) occupies the 15th place, The Energy Research Institute (TERI) takes the 17th place, the Centre for Civil Society (CCS) the 18th place and Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA) the 24th place -- in all 5 Indian think tanks figure among the 30 Asian think tanks. The first place is taken by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the second by Japan Institute of International Affairs and the third by Centre for Strategic and International Studies of Indonesia. The Chinese in all have 7 think tanks among the thirty Asian ones, the Japanese 4, Singapore 4, Australia 2, Korea 2, Malaysia 2, Indonesia 1, Taiwan 1, Uzbekistan 1, Bangladesh 1.
Surprisingly, neither IDSA nor any other Indian think tank figures in the list of top fifty security and international affairs think tanks, worldwide -- US 18, UK 4, France 4, Germany 3, Belgium 3, China 2, Norway 2, the Netherlands 1, Sweden 1, Brazil 1. Korea 1, Indonesia 1, Australia 1, Poland 1, Singapore 1, Japan 1, Jordan 1, South Africa 1, Russia 1, Spain 1, Israel 1.
Of the top thirty international development think tanks, one is from India -- Center for Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad, which ranks # 34.
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore is # 19 among the top thirty environment think tanks in the world.
Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi which specializes in economic and social development, surprisingly, figures under top thirty health policy think tanks and it holds, obviously an error, both ranks 25 and 29.
Not a single Indian think tank is counted among the top thirty domestic economic policy think tanks.
India Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) is placed # 25 among the top thirty international economic policy think tanks.
Centre for Policy Research (CPR) is part of a list of top thirty social policy think tanks, ranking # 27. A think tank each from Bangladesh, Peru, South Africa and Singapore rank above CPR.
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), # 16, and the Telecom Center of Excellence (TCOE), # 30, figure among the top thirty science and technology think tanks. India has many other excellent scientific and technological think tanks. It is not clear why none of them made it to the list.
Development Alternatives, # 22, and Common Cause, # 28, are among the top thirty transparency and good governance think tanks.
Development Alternatives, again, ranks # 23 among the 30 think tanks with the most innovative policy ideas/proposals.
No Indian think tank figures as part of the 20 best new think tanks (established in the last 18 months).
Again, not a single Indian think tank is included among the 30 think tanks worldwide with outstanding policy-oriented public policy research programs.
Even more distressing for a software giant, no Indian organization figures among the 30 think tanks with the best use of the internet or social media to engage the public.
Development Alternatives of India is the only one and counts as # 30 among the 30 think tanks with the best use of the media (print or electronic) to communicate programs and research.
Again, Development Alternatives at # 21, is the only Indian organization to be counted among the 30 think tanks with the best external relations/public engagement programs.
To its credit, but otherwise not really much of an achievement for India’s think tanks, Development Alternatives ( the sole Indian think tank) ranks at # 44 to figure among the 50 think tanks worldwide with the greatest impact on public policy (global). Does that mean Indian policymakers pay no attention whatsoever to the work done by think tanks such as IDSA, ORF, ICRIER, CPR and IPCS?
Of the 30 best university affiliated think tanks (global), not one is from India.
Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) is # 20 among the 30 best government affiliated think tanks, Congressional Research Service of the US secures the first place. Four Chinese think tanks are on this list with ranks #s 12, 17, 18 and 21.
No Indian organization figures among the 30 best worldwide party affiliated think tanks. Indian political parties no doubt do not need think tanks to advise them on what they focus on, viz. fissiparous issues!
Finally, one Indian institution figures among the 15 top think tanks with annual operating budgets of less than $5 million USD -- Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe) at # 15. IRADe of New Delhi "conducts research and policy analysis and connects various stakeholders including government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), corporations, and academic and financial institutions. Its research covers many areas including energy & power systems, urban development, climate change & environment, poverty lleviation & gender, food security & agriculture, as well as the policies that affect these areas". ______________________
http://the-diplomat.com/the-editor/2012/01/19/indias-think-tank-failure/
India’s Think Tank Failure
January 19, 2012
By Jason Miks
Diplomatic Courier* has released its new list [Global Think Tanks, Policy Networks and Governance http://www.gotothinktank.com/] of the world’s leading think tanks, which always makes for interesting reading. In top spot this year in their global list is Washington-based Brookings Institution, which also came in second overall in the United States on the specific area of international affairs, behind the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The list is drawn up largely by the University of Pennsylvania, and this year included nominations for 5,329 think tanks around the world.
“Our rankings process, as in the past, relies on a shared definition of public policy research, analysis, and engagement organizations, a detailed set of selection criteria, and an increasingly open and transparent nomination and selection process,” said James McGann, director of the university’s think tank and civil societies program, in announcing the results.
It’s no surprise on the overall list to see organizations like Brookings, Chatham House in the U.K., Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Council on Foreign Relations and CSIS making up the top five. But what is in some ways surprising is the failure of India to place a single think tank in the global top 30.
That American think tanks dominate the top 30, taking 12 spots, isn’t a surprise – they are extremely well-funded here, and there’s a long-established culture of ideas generation based around this format in Washington and elsewhere that’s boosted by the ease with which former politicians and government officials move in and out of the “circuit.” U.S. think tanks undoubtedly benefit from the U.S.-style of government, which often involves officials being appointed, serving a relatively short period in government, making contacts and then returning to the research sector. You only have to look at the staff line-up of any of the top organizations to see a host of former (often very senior) government officials making up the ranks.
This is in stark contrast to parliamentary systems such as the U.K., where cabinet positions are typically filled by members of parliament – a British Foreign Office minister whose term in government has ended returns to the back benches rather than becoming a fellow at, say, Chatham House.
But none of this explains the absence of India on the list – an absence that should trouble Indian policymakers. At their best, think tanks can be a hotbed of ideas for government to draw upon, and if India has aspirations toward looking past its neighborhood and stepping up on the global stage it will need to draw upon the vigorous exchange and debate of ideas and policy proposals that such research centers can offer. And yet clearly, in the eyes of their peers, Indian think tanks lack the rigor and influence of a Germany, Canada or indeed Kenya, at least according to the latest list.
I’m going to quote here at some length from one of our writers on this issue from a couple of years back:
“Apart from (the) persistence of endemic poverty and poor infrastructure, India faces other critical challenges in its search for great power status: its acute shortage of critical human capital. At one level, the country can justifiably claim that it has some institutions of higher education which can compete with their peers on a global basis. But these institutions are mostly confined to the realms of science, engineering and management and despite the existence of these centers of excellence, mediocrity is the hallmark of many of India’s other educational institutions.
“For example, with the possible exception of the discipline of economics, India lags woefully behind in the other social sciences such as sociology, anthropology and political science. Few, if any, significant contributions to these fields of intellectual endeavor have emerged from India in recent decades. Most scholarship in these areas is either derivative, or worse, still mostly descriptive and hortatory.”
It’s the kind of damning indictment I’ve come to expect from those engaged in the China vs India debate that rages on our site and elsewhere. And yet these words were written by one of our Indian Decade bloggers, Sumit Ganguly.
And he’s right. When we’re sourcing material for the site, too often we find Indian think tank analyses littered with basic errors, unsubstantiated claims or rehashings of long debunked theories (Flashpoints contributor James Holmes is just one of many to have expressed frustration at how a likely non-event involving the Chinese and Indian navies last summer is still treated as fact in Indian media and policy circles).
It goes without saying that India has an enormous amount to offer the international community. But there’s no excuse for its absence on a list like this.
*I mistakenly referred to this year’s list as being published by Foreign Policy as it was in previous years. This year, it’s being being published by Diplomatic Courier, although the report is also being hosted on Foreign Policy. My apologies for any confusion. ___________________________________
AN EXPLANATORY NOTE FROM RAM NARAYANAN
The report on Global Think Tanks, Policy Networks and Governance (http://www.gotothinktank.com/), runs to some 96 pages. It can be down loaded at http://www.gotothinktank.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/2011_Global_Go_To_Think_Tanks_Report_-_January_20_Edition_WITH_LETTEr-1.pdf
COUNTRIES WITH THE LARGEST NUMBER OF THINK TANKS:
USA 1815; CHINA 425; INDIA 292; UK 286; GERMANY 194; FRANCE 176; ARGENTINA 137; RUSSIA 112; JAPAN 103; CANADA 97; ITALY 90; SOUTH AFRICA 85; BRAZIL 82; ISRAEL 54; S. KOREA 35.
In spite of the presence of 192 think tanks in India, only some figure among the various categories of think tanks surveyed in this report, and they too not among the top ones.
The top think tank of the year 2011 – the top think tank in the world – is Brookings Institution of the US.
The top fifty think tanks – worldwide (non-US) - include U K 14, Germany 8, Belgium 4, France 2, China 2, Canada 2, Norway 2, Poland 2, Sweden 1, Russia 1, Lebanon 1, Denmark 1, The Netherlands 1, Brazil 1, Australia 1, Azerbaijan 1, India 1, Egypt 1, Indonesia 1, Japan 1, Singapore 1, South Africa 1.
The solitary India think tank is listed number 34 and it is, none of the well known ones such as Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) or Observer Research Foundation (ORF) or Institute of Peace & Conflict Studies (IPCS) or Centre for Policy Research (CPR), but the Center for Civil Society which does not even focus on foreign policy or national security issues.
IDSA, ORF, IPCS and CPR owe an explanation to the people of India as to why, in spite of the transparent procedure adopted by the University of Pennsylvania team which did the research and prepared the report, they failed to qualify for entry into the list of the top 50 think tanks in the world.
CPR (Centre for Policy Research) does figure as number 4 among the top thirty think tanks in Asia, a think tank which specializes in Economics (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations -ICRIER) occupies the 15th place, The Energy Research Institute (TERI) takes the 17th place, the Centre for Civil Society (CCS) the 18th place and Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA) the 24th place -- in all 5 Indian think tanks figure among the 30 Asian think tanks. The first place is taken by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the second by Japan Institute of International Affairs and the third by Centre for Strategic and International Studies of Indonesia. The Chinese in all have 7 think tanks among the thirty Asian ones, the Japanese 4, Singapore 4, Australia 2, Korea 2, Malaysia 2, Indonesia 1, Taiwan 1, Uzbekistan 1, Bangladesh 1.
Surprisingly, neither IDSA nor any other Indian think tank figures in the list of top fifty security and international affairs think tanks, worldwide -- US 18, UK 4, France 4, Germany 3, Belgium 3, China 2, Norway 2, the Netherlands 1, Sweden 1, Brazil 1. Korea 1, Indonesia 1, Australia 1, Poland 1, Singapore 1, Japan 1, Jordan 1, South Africa 1, Russia 1, Spain 1, Israel 1.
Of the top thirty international development think tanks, one is from India -- Center for Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad, which ranks # 34.
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore is # 19 among the top thirty environment think tanks in the world.
Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi which specializes in economic and social development, surprisingly, figures under top thirty health policy think tanks and it holds, obviously an error, both ranks 25 and 29.
Not a single Indian think tank is counted among the top thirty domestic economic policy think tanks.
India Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) is placed # 25 among the top thirty international economic policy think tanks.
Centre for Policy Research (CPR) is part of a list of top thirty social policy think tanks, ranking # 27. A think tank each from Bangladesh, Peru, South Africa and Singapore rank above CPR.
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), # 16, and the Telecom Center of Excellence (TCOE), # 30, figure among the top thirty science and technology think tanks. India has many other excellent scientific and technological think tanks. It is not clear why none of them made it to the list.
Development Alternatives, # 22, and Common Cause, # 28, are among the top thirty transparency and good governance think tanks.
Development Alternatives, again, ranks # 23 among the 30 think tanks with the most innovative policy ideas/proposals.
No Indian think tank figures as part of the 20 best new think tanks (established in the last 18 months).
Again, not a single Indian think tank is included among the 30 think tanks worldwide with outstanding policy-oriented public policy research programs.
Even more distressing for a software giant, no Indian organization figures among the 30 think tanks with the best use of the internet or social media to engage the public.
Development Alternatives of India is the only one and counts as # 30 among the 30 think tanks with the best use of the media (print or electronic) to communicate programs and research.
Again, Development Alternatives at # 21, is the only Indian organization to be counted among the 30 think tanks with the best external relations/public engagement programs.
To its credit, but otherwise not really much of an achievement for India’s think tanks, Development Alternatives ( the sole Indian think tank) ranks at # 44 to figure among the 50 think tanks worldwide with the greatest impact on public policy (global). Does that mean Indian policymakers pay no attention whatsoever to the work done by think tanks such as IDSA, ORF, ICRIER, CPR and IPCS?
Of the 30 best university affiliated think tanks (global), not one is from India.
Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) is # 20 among the 30 best government affiliated think tanks, Congressional Research Service of the US secures the first place. Four Chinese think tanks are on this list with ranks #s 12, 17, 18 and 21.
No Indian organization figures among the 30 best worldwide party affiliated think tanks. Indian political parties no doubt do not need think tanks to advise them on what they focus on, viz. fissiparous issues!
Finally, one Indian institution figures among the 15 top think tanks with annual operating budgets of less than $5 million USD -- Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe) at # 15. IRADe of New Delhi "conducts research and policy analysis and connects various stakeholders including government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), corporations, and academic and financial institutions. Its research covers many areas including energy & power systems, urban development, climate change & environment, poverty lleviation & gender, food security & agriculture, as well as the policies that affect these areas". ______________________
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