What Is a Think Tank? Think Tank Definition and Examples

A think tank is generally a nongovernmental organization (NGO) and nonprofit that draws on the expertise of people in academia and other qualified professionals to craft, recommend, and advocate certain policy objectives.

Some think tanks focus on specific policies (i.e., health care or national defense), while others cast a wider net, dealing with myriad issues related to the social sciences more broadly. Some have a decidedly ideological bent, whereas others aim for a more objective approach. In any case, nearly all think tanks produce papers, hold seminars, and conduct copious amounts of research into areas of public policy. Some even occasionally draft legislation.

Think tanks first began to sprout up in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but they began to take off in earnest after World War II. After the tumult of those years, these nonprofit organizations aimed to help policy makers make sense of the world’s increasingly more complex political, social, and economic environment.

The purpose of a think tank is to research policy issues and advocate for certain political and social objectives. For a think tank aligned with one political party, this might mean crafting well-researched arguments for policy change; for one aligned with another, they might focus on elucidating why to stay the current course. Regardless, they aim to inform decision-making in both the public and private sectors to shape civil society in a particular way.

For example, think tanks that are broad in scope might produce research about all sorts of human rights causes. Others might take a more singular approach to a given issue, such as the dangers of nuclear proliferation or the importance of sustainable development. No matter how wide or narrow their focus, think tanks aim to inform and persuade the influential individuals of cultures and countries to pursue specific courses of action.

There are countless examples of think tanks working to influence and shape the perspectives and actions of the powerful. Consider these ten:

1. 1. American Enterprise Institute: This think tank has set the agenda for numerous Republican policy makers over the years. For example, President George W. Bush’s administration contained dozens of alumni from the American Enterprise Institute.
2. 2. Brookings Institution: This social policy research center focuses primarily on bettering the lives of citizens in the United States, occasionally branching out into the realms of international economics and politics.
3. 3. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Founded by nineteenth-century philanthropist and titan of industry Andrew Carnegie, this advocacy group operates headquarters worldwide. It aims to promote peaceful dealings in foreign affairs and diplomatic resolutions to conflicts.
4. 4. Cato Institute: This research institute offers free market economic policy analysis. The Cato Institute takes a more conservative approach to economic issues yet leans liberal on certain matters of social policy (i.e., immigration and drug decriminalization).
5. 5. Center for American Progress: Focusing on both domestic and international development, the Center for American Progress is a policy think tank whose research and advocacy undergirds many of the objectives for recent Democratic presidential administrations. Prominent CAP members have served in the Obama White House as well as in the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.
6. 6. Council on Foreign Relations: Stationed in New York City and Washington, DC, the Council on Foreign Relations helps inform policy makers about international affairs. CFR members also make recommendations as to specific foreign policy objectives for whoever resides in the White House or on Capitol Hill at any given time.
7. 7. Hoover Institution: Located in Stanford, California, the Hoover Institution is a conservative research organization. Herbert Hoover founded the entity before he became president of the United States. This policy center still advocates for the same beliefs Hoover took into his own presidency: limited government and an emphasis on letting the market do what it will without much (if any) federal intervention.
8. 8. The Heritage Foundation: Although founded in the 1970s, this think tank came to prominence in the following decade, during which it shaped the policy process for the Ronald Reagan administration. It remains influential within the Republican Party to this day.
9. 9. RAND Corporation: The RAND Corporation (or Research and Development Corporation) is a nonprofit policy institute. It focuses on providing the United States government and military with advice to maintain its common security and general welfare.
10. 10. Urban Institute: This public policy research center brings together economists, social scientists, and other academics to make recommendations about how to address social mobility in society as a whole. The Urban Institute is also the parent organization to other think tanks, including the Housing Finance Policy Center and the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy.

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