PHILADELPHIA –- For the third consecutive time, the Brookings Institution has been ranked Think Tank of the Year in the University of Pennsylvania Global Go-To Think Tank Report. The Report, begun in 2006, ranks more than 6,500 institutions worldwide that help bridge the gap between knowledge and public policy. 

In the category of Top 100 Think Tanks Worldwide (non-U.S.), Chatham House (United Kingdom) ranks No. 1. Brookings, in the United States, is No. 1 overall.

The annual report is based on an international survey of more than 1,950 scholars, public and private donors, policy makers and journalists utilizing a set of 23 criteria in 38 category rankings.  More than 180 countries were invited to participate in the process.

“The purpose of the rankings is to help improve the profile and performance of think tanks while highlighting the important work they do for governments and civil societies around the world,” said James McGann assistant director of Penn’s International Relations Program and director of Penn’s Think Tanks and Civil Society Program. 

The 2012 Global Go To Think Tank Report is available at http://repository.upenn.edu/think_tanks/7/.

TTCSP examines the role policy institutes play in governments and in civil societies around the world. Often referred to as the “think tanks’ think tank,” TTCSP examines the evolving role and character of public policy research organizations.   

“As we move forward, TTCSP will continue to engage think tanks, policy makers and other stakeholders in a peer-to-peer dialogue and knowledge exchange on major policy issues while discussing issues of capacity-building and the organizational and environmental challenges facing think tanks,” McGann said. “Our broader objective is to build partnerships across regions and sectors in order to encourage international cooperation. It is our hope that together we can develop a number of global public goods that will lead to collective action on some of the key transnational issues we face today.”                  

Last year TTCSP organized two major think tank summits in the U.S. and Europe.  A third summit will take place in Latin America in March, with additional ones planned for Africa, Asia and the Middle East.