The Brookings Institution tops the list of the 2015 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, an annual ranking of the world’s top think tanks released today by the University of Pennsylvania Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program at the Lauder Institute. This is the eighth consecutive year that Brookings has been ranked first.

As the premier database and measure of world think tanks, the Index aims to increase the profile, performance and impact of think tanks and to create a transnational and interdisciplinary network of centers of public policy excellence.  The report will be translated into more than 20 languages.

Simultaneous 2015 Go To Think Tank Index launch events were held by 107 research organizations across 70 cities in 60 countries. A morning session today in Washington, D.C., hosted by the World Bank featured a discussion on “Why Think Tanks Matter: Helping Make People Centered Public Policy & Development a Priority.” An afternoon session at the United Nation Headquarters in New York City focused on arms control, trade, development, sustainable development goals, the environment and COP21.

“Flows of information for rich policy analysis and research today are often disparate and fractured, which leads to a vital need for resources that highlight the best policy research out there,” said James McGann, TTCSP director. “The independent Index is designed to help users of information and policy analysis identify the leading centers of excellence in public policy research around the world.”

Highlights of the 2015 rankings:

Top Think Tanks Worldwide (U.S. and non-U.S.)

• Brookings Institutions (United States)
• Chatham House (United Kingdom)
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (United States)
• Center for Strategic and International Studies (United States)
• Bruegel (Belgium)

Top Defense and National Security Think Tanks

• Center for Strategic and International Studies (United States
• International Institute for Strategic Studies (United Kingdom)
• RAND Corporation (United States)
• Brookings Institution (United States)
• Chatham House (United Kingdom)

Top Foreign Policy and International Affairs Think Tanks

• Chatham House (United Kingdom)
• Brookings Institution (United States)
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (United States)
• Council on Foreign Relations (United States)
• Center for Strategic and International Studies (United States)

The Index is also being distributed through a network of global partners, giving institutions an opportunity to highlight the crucial role they play in building and maintaining civil society in their countries and regions.

The annual report, compiled with assistance from more than 1,500 peer institutions and experts from the print and electronic media, academia, public and private donor institutions and governments around the world, ranks the top 150 global think tanks across four general categories: Top Think Tanks in the World, Top Think Tanks by Region, Top Think Tanks by Area of Research and Top Think Tanks by Special Achievement.

This year’s report also includes new regional studies categories as well as a category called Think Tank With the Best Practices, Policies and Procedures to Assure the Quality, Independence and Integrity of its Policy Research. There is also a Think Tank Innovation feature, a detailed analysis of innovative practices that think tanks are undertaking to generate new frontiers in policy research and influence.

TTCSP conducts research on the relationship between think tanks, politics and public policy; produces the annual Global Go To Think Tank Index; develops capacity-building resources and programs; supports a global network of almost 7,000 think tanks; and trains future think tank scholars and executives.

Index reports since 2008 are available at http://repository.upenn.edu/think_tanks/.