A think net is not a network of think tanks
Enrique Mendizabal | August 05, 2010
Thanks for the comments Pri, it gives me the opportunity to clarify some things.
Maybe we should have clarified that a think net is NOT the same as a network of think tanks or entirely loosely associated researchers. A think net is a single organisation that uses human resources based in other organisations. I believe we said that. And it is not a new idea (Stephen wrote about this almost a decade ago).
Also, as we suggested, a think net is unlikely to work where differences of capacity and focus are too large.
So in a think net the 'members' are not likely to be organisations; they are individuals. And the 'members' are all relatively similar and likely to be vetted by their peers according to their capacity. And this is all managed by a formal organisation that is the secretariat (which in some cases could have a small core number of researchers).
The whole point of taking this path is that the think tank will be able to guarantee the quality of its outputs.
A less extreme version could be the Center for Global Development model that attracts visiting fellows for short term projects -these fellows are based in other research or policy organisations. This means that they can benefit from the contributions of experts without having to cover the high costs of employing them full time.
But they must give something in return. nobody is forced to join.
So no need to worry. In fact, many think tanks in developing countries, where research communities are smaller and tighter, and where domestic funding pressures are even higher, might find this a very useful model to make better use of the capacity that exists within universities for more strategic policy purposes.
And as Dominique suggests, this discussion is necessary. These challenges are not going to go away and think tanks, think nets, networks of think tanks, etc. need to, well, think about this.
Maybe we should have clarified that a think net is NOT the same as a network of think tanks or entirely loosely associated researchers. A think net is a single organisation that uses human resources based in other organisations. I believe we said that. And it is not a new idea (Stephen wrote about this almost a decade ago).
Also, as we suggested, a think net is unlikely to work where differences of capacity and focus are too large.
So in a think net the 'members' are not likely to be organisations; they are individuals. And the 'members' are all relatively similar and likely to be vetted by their peers according to their capacity. And this is all managed by a formal organisation that is the secretariat (which in some cases could have a small core number of researchers).
The whole point of taking this path is that the think tank will be able to guarantee the quality of its outputs.
A less extreme version could be the Center for Global Development model that attracts visiting fellows for short term projects -these fellows are based in other research or policy organisations. This means that they can benefit from the contributions of experts without having to cover the high costs of employing them full time.
But they must give something in return. nobody is forced to join.
So no need to worry. In fact, many think tanks in developing countries, where research communities are smaller and tighter, and where domestic funding pressures are even higher, might find this a very useful model to make better use of the capacity that exists within universities for more strategic policy purposes.
And as Dominique suggests, this discussion is necessary. These challenges are not going to go away and think tanks, think nets, networks of think tanks, etc. need to, well, think about this.
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