Learning from the experience of West European think-tanks: a study in think tank management
Author: Dr Jacek Kucharczyk, President, Institute of Public Affairs, Warsaw, Poland Mr. Piotr Kazmierkiewicz
Publisher: Institute of Public Affairs, Warsaw, Poland
ul. Szpitalna 5, lok. 22
00-031 Warsaw
Poland
Tel: +48 22 556 4266
Fax: +48 22 845 6863
http://www.isp.org.pl
This report has its origins in the discussions during the meeting of heads of several Central European think-tanks organised by the Open Society Institute (OSI) Human Rights and Governance Grants Program in Budapest in March 2006.
It was concluded that Central European think-tanks had to face a double challenge: their countries’ membership of the European Union meant the withdrawal of their traditional (often American) institutional sponsors, while continuing political instability made it difficult to rely on government funding. The question was how to maintain financial sustainability and at the same time to keep at arm’s length from the national government? How to keep focused on the institution’s mission, while pursuing project funding in the areas defined by the often divergent donors’ interests?
The experience of London- and Brussels-based think-tanks is valuable to their counterparts in countries in transition for several reasons.
First, the policy research institutes from new EU Member States need to adopt their strategies for organisational efficiency to meet the demands of increasingly competitive trans-national environment – such competition has been daily bread to both the British and continental think-tanks.
Second, the adjustment to market conditions has brought about self-reflection on proper management of these institutions and led to the development of various ‘business models’. Selected lessons could be profitably used by think-tanks in our region as they face similar challenges.
Finally, the CEE think-tanks have at times been involved in projects funded by the same major donors which have supported their West European counterparts (the EU, large corporate and partisan foundations or international institutions). Thus, they have an opportunity to learn how to appropriately and successfully manage the relationships with these frequently much more powerful and demanding clients.
In the course of the interviews that were conducted at selected policy institutes, managers, researchers and administrative staff members have acknowledged that the challenges that were crucial to the development of Central European think-tanks were of primary significance for the growth and sustainability of their own institutions. Such issues as staff turnover, managing the logistics of projects and quality of experts’ work, acquisition, retention and nurturing of relationships with donors and the targeting of the consumers of the policy research for dissemination have all been recognised as fundamental to the management of think-tanks at all stages of their development.
Learning from West European think tanks IPA.pdf (1.01 MB)
