Think tank/en

THINK TANK – a term adopted for describing organisations and institutions dealing professionally with advice for political subjects and independent development of proposals for the state and administration activities in public policy areas, such as economic policy, social policy, public finances, foreign and military policy. In the Polish language various terms are used, such as for example the forge of ideas, research and analytical institutions, analysis centre, etc. Th.t. perform various roles with regard to administration, such as: 1. expert – preparation of opinions, expert opinions, solutions for administration commissioned by administration units; 2. opinion-giving, monitoring and evaluating – an assessment independent of the administration of public policy conducted by the administration; 3. recruitment – th.t. constitute a source of recruitment for political, managerial and expert positions in public administration; 4. lobbying – part of th.t. act as activists with specific interests or solutions. In this situation, they fulfil the functions of → interest groups or advocacy of specific interests. Th.t. may have a legal status of → non-governmental organisations (foundations and associations) or companies. Most often the form of a foundation is used (e.g. in Germany or in the USA) or related forms (trust). In Poland, they can take the form of non-governmental organisations (including public benefit organisations). Polish th.t. are organisations that: 1. are affiliated with political parties, interest organisations or non-governmental organisations; 2. express a specific ideological profile (e.g. conservative, liberal, social-democratic), but remain independent of political parties, the degree of this independence varies; 3. emphasize their professional and to a lesser extent ideological character (specialisation e.g., in foreign policy, economic policy). The relationships of th.t. with public administration are usually consultative, expert and opinion-giving. They may perform contracted advisory services for the administration, be part of a wider coalition for specific solutions promoted by the administration, take part in the consultation processes organised by the administration and participate in public debate. However, one may observe the issue of potential conflict of interest arising from the role of an independent institution and the role of performing a paid assignment for the administration. The question is whether it is plausible to place the term “think tank” on the various institutions, analytical, research and expert centres created by and affiliated with administrative bodies. There are opinions that one of the most important features of th.t. is their independence from public administration (property, financial, personnel), because it allows them to fully implement their social function. [D. Długosz]

Literature: T.T. Kaczmarek, Kto kieruje globalizacją? Think Tanki – kuźnie nowych idei [Who is in charge of globalisation? Think Tanks – a forge of new ideas], Warszawa 2011 ■ P. Zbieranek, Polski model organizacji typu think tank [The Polish model of the think tank organisation], Warszawa 2011.