The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) was a non-profit program at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, that operated from 1989 to 2021. TTCSP was originally established at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in 1989. The director was James McGann. The program conducted research on policy institutes around the world, and maintained a database of over 8,200

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

s from across the world.

History

TTCSP was established at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in 1989. It began with its focus on

think tanks A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-gov ...

in the US. In the 1990s, the program became increasingly global as a result of the political and economic transformation that took place in Central and Eastern Europe.Foreign Policy Research Institute, "Selected List of Publications", 2001–2010,
Source 5
", 6 July 2010 R. Kent Weaver of the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

and James McGann of the Foreign Policy Research Institute were asked to help conceptualize what became the

Global Development Network The Global Development Network (GDN) is a worldwide network of research and policy institutes working to provide new perspectives to the development challenges of our time. A spin-off of the World Bank, GDN works to make policy-relevant research a ...

, a

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

''Global Go To Think Tank Index''

McGann and the Program published the annual ''Global Go To Think Tank Index''. As of 2010, the Index is based on a three-phase survey whose participants include politicians, scientists, think tank donors, and think tanks.Seiler, Christian, and Klaus Wohlrabe. "A critique of the 2009 global 'Go-to Think Tanks' ranking". ''CESifo DICE Report'' 8.2 (2010): 60. However, this method of the study and assessment of policy institutes has been criticized by researchers such as Enrique Mendizabal and Goran Buldioski, Director of the Think Tank Fund, assisted by the

Open Society Institute Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...

. In 2018, the ''Index'' listed the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as the nation with the largest number of think tanks (1871), followed by

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(509),

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(507),

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(321),

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

(227),

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(218),

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(215),

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(203),

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

(128),

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(114),

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

(103),

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(100), and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

(93).

References

External links

Think Tanks and Civil Societies Website

Foreign Policy Research Institute - International Policy Think Tank
– provides information on the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), including scholar bios and works published.
Foreign Policy Think Tank - Foreign Policy Research Institute
– provides information on the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, including history and background, program goals, research priorities, and publications.

– a biography of James McGann, Director of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program.
R. Kent Weaver - Brookings Institution
– a biography of R. Kent Weaver, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution

– provides information on the Global Development Network, including its mission, history, research priorities, and publications.
International Relations Program at the University of Pennsylvania
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Think Tanks And Civil Societies Program (Ttcsp) 1989 establishments in Pennsylvania 2021 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Think tanks based in the United States University of Pennsylvania

History

''Global Go To Think Tank Index''

See also

References

External links