Checklist

Establishing a think tank

Starting a new think tank is a daunting process and will require commitment and hard work from you and your team. But it is an objective worth pursuing. And to do it we advocate for this approach:

Think–Plan–Start–Adapt

With this guide you have started thinking (and learning what needs to be done), and ideally you might have also started developing a plan. Now is the time to start, and if the approach taken does not work, have the monitoring mechanisms and reflection spaces to think and plan how to adapt to the challenges that you are facing.

We have covered many questions in this guide. Here is a summary to help you bring it all together. When thinking about setting up your own think tank, we recommend that you:

Have a clear understanding of why you want to set up a think tank:

Reflect on and clarify your motivations. Further reading on the Why? section: Why do you want to set up a think tank?

Learn from other think tank founders about what moved them to set up a think tank. Further reading on the Why? section: Boxes 4 to 9

Understand what a think tank is and what its most common functions are. Further reading on the Introduction section: What’s in the name? / Defining think tanks / Think tank functions / Summing up

Reflect and define on what kind of organisation it will be and what it will do:

Understand the context in which your think tank will operate and how it will affect the organisation. Further reading on the What? section: What is the context?

Reflect and define the mission, vision and values of your organisation. Further reading on the What? section: Vision / Mission / Values

Have clarity on the topics and themes the think tank will focus on. Further reading on the What? section: What issues will the think tank focus on?

Define the levels and types of impact the think tank aims to achieve. Further reading on the What? section: What will the think tank want to influence?

Identify the sort of activities it will carry out.

All of this will help you clarify your organisation’s business. Further reading on the What? section: Comparison of think tank business models / Type of think tanks

Define who will be involved in it:

Understand the different roles that a board can play for a think tank and the different types that exist. Further reading on the Who? section: Board functions / Board types / Who should be on your board?

Think about who you can reach out to be part of, or support the setup of, your think tank Further reading on the Who? section: Who will support it?

Understand the functions of the leader, the challenges the role faces and the different skills he or she needs to have to deal with them. Then define whether it will be you or someone else who will take on this role. Further reading on the Who? section: Who will lead the think tank? (key responsibilities, profile, challenges)

Reflect on your audiences and begin mapping the best ways to reach them. Further reading on the Who? section: Who will engage with it? (Engaging with stakeholders and counterparts)

Define the staff that you will need and how you will hire them. Further reading on the Who? section: Who will work for it? (Researchers’ skills, How will you hire your team?, Young talent, Consultants)

Begin a reflection on the best types of funding streams, based on what you want to achieve. Further reading on the Who? section: Who will fund it? / Funding models / Who will do the fundraising?

Plan how you will manage your think tank:

Reflect on office locations (and whether an office is even needed) and what approach best suits your needs. Further reading on the How? section: How will it carry out research? (How will you ensure that your research is policy relevant?) / Positioning your think tank for policy influence / Research agendas / How will it ensure the quality of the research / Options for ensuring research quality / Workspace

Understand the different ways to carry out research, the importance of policy-relevant research, and the options to ensure its quality. Further reading on the How? section: How will it carry out research? (How will you ensure that your research is policy relevant?)

Know the concept of credibility and how to cultivate it. Further reading on the How? section: How will you ensure its credibility?

Plan communications from the beginning. Highlight the importance of communications for a think tank and reflect on the different channels and tools available for it. Further reading on the How? section: How will it communicate? / Deciding on tools and channels / Size matters / Think tank branding

Think about a MEL system and process. Further reading on the How? section: How will it monitor its progress? / Monitoring your communications

Reflect on the factors that relate to the credibility of your think tank. The quality of your research is important, but it is not the only factor that matters. Further reading on the How? section: How will you ensure its credibility?