According to 2012 Global Go To Think Tanks Report and Policy Advice, released on 28 January 2013, “think tanks are public-policy research analysis and engagement organizations that generate policy-oriented research, analysis, and advice on domestic and international issues, which enable policymakers and the public to make informed decisions about public policy issues. The Report further adds that the think tanks may be affiliated or independent institutions and are structured as permanent bodies, not adhoc commissions, which often act as a bridge between the academic and policy making communities and between states and civil society, serving in the public interest as independent voices that translate applied and basic research into a language and form that is understandable, reliable, and accessible for policymakers and the public.
Viewed in broad spectrum, in a democratic and open society, think tanks, like the media, are called upon to shoulder two-fold responsibility: to inform and influence the government as well also to inform and influence the public. According to one opinion, in shaping the public understanding of socio-economic problems and government policy, the think tanks are in a position to affect policy indirectly, that is, via public opinion which exerts itself on the government through its representatives, the electoral process and other forms of pressure on officialdom.
Broadly speaking, the think tanks can be assigned six functions to perform. In the first place, a think tank can help create policy where there is none by directing government and public attention to an emerging or a neglected area of social life which necessitates policy intervention. Secondly, it can fundamentally change the direction or nature of existing policy by means of a paradigm shift and it can do so by showing that the original conditions that brought forth a policy intervention have changed or that existing policy is ineffective.
Thirdly, the think tanks can be helpful in altering prevalent policy for the same kinds of reasons changed conditions and lack of effectiveness. A fourth role to be performed by a think tank entails monitoring existing policy to see if it is implemented properly and to bring success and failure to the attention of the authorities and the public.
Another significant role for think tank pertains to the dissemination of information to the larger segments of the public. This role can be performed by a think tank by simply disseminating information to ordinary citizens, without critical commentary, what the government is doing in various areas of social policy and educate the man on the street the nature of various programmes.
Eventually, think tanks can incubate ideas for the future. According to some experts, this is a vital role for a think tank, one that focuses not on immediate policy concerns but rather has a more distant horizon. It is also perhaps a more theoretical function in the sense that the think tank in this role is concerned with constructing a whole new vocabulary and set of conceptions about various areas of social life with perhaps no immediate relevance or application.
Think Tanks in India
A vivacious presence of independent think tanks is often regarded the distinctive feature of a democratic environment and a cogent signal of how actively a government engages its citizens in the process of framing policies. It is lamentable that despite India being the world’s largest democracy only six think tanks are ranked among the world’s top 150, as per the 2012 Global Go To Think Tanks Report. Not a single think tank from India makes it to the top 50, a bracket in which the US boasts of 11 think tanks.
This Report is prepared by an independent analysis by the University of Pennsylvania in the United States and its ranking is widely recognized as a dependable benchmark of think tanks across 182 countries. India’s lack of cutting-edge policy research is despite the fact that it houses a healthy number of think tanks – 269 of the world’s 6,603, making it fourth country having the highest number of think tanks after the US, China and the UK. In 2010, India had the distinction of holding the third position, with its share of 292 think-tanks among the 5,329 such institutions round the globe, after the US (1,815) and China (425).
The experience of think tanks in defence and security sectors is not very pleasant as far as the role of think tanks in influencing policy is concerned. According to one defence expert, the defence think tanks do the security related thinking for the country. They think 10 to 20 years ahead and suggest developments on the strategic fronts by conveying these to the government.
These think tanks create a platform for brainstorming on issues of security and strategic planning, and help the officials in decision making. These think tanks also create awareness in the Indian elite, civil and military on matters of security, so that they can prepare themselves to be a major part of the thinking world. It creates and spreads knowledge.
Brig. Gurmeet Kanwal (Retd.), and now director of Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), feels that “the larger the number of think tanks we have, the better we will be as a nation.” He further adds: “Bureaucracy realises that there is no harm in listening to the think tanks. We give them the reports regularly. Real distinction I would like to make is that when you are in policy making and execution, you have no time to study. So think tanks become important. Things are looking up in the think tank community in India. Cross pollination of bureaucracy and think tanks is not happening in India. That is why think tanks do not get taken seriously. Politicians are blissfully unaware of their existence most of the times. But we are keeping our fingers crossed for things to move in the right direction.”
Lt. Gen. (Retd) V R Raghavan Director of Delhi Policy Group (DPG) and President, Centre for Security Analysis (CSA) New Delhi says: “…we send every document to the ministries. They get hundreds and hundreds of documents and they go into raddi. There is no system of reading and analysing them. If it goes by name to the secretary and other bureaucrats it gets acknowledged. When highlighted centre pointers go by name to ministers or PMO we get a call… Sure, we feel it is utilised at policy level. Publications are reference material and are used in research. Our objective is to influence the policy makers to think. They continuously ask us for information. There are highly competent and professional people in the ministries.”
Lt. Gen. (Retd) P K Singh Director of New Delhi-based United Services Institution of India (USII) says: “We have tremendous synergy with government. We help in creating a tentative road map keeping national and regional interests in mind. Think tanks are like sounding boards to get people from all over the world to ideate. It is good to have so many think tanks as it gives cross section of ideas and research…And then there is the unfortunate situation that think tanks are not yet supported by India’s corporate sector (and philanthropists) -at least not at the level that Indian commentators expect.”
Sanjaya Baru, former media advisor to the Prime Minister of India, wrote in an article in August 2010 that India’s best renowned think tanks on economic policy, national security and foreign affairs were finding it more convenient to raise funds abroad than at home, be it from a bureaucratic and feudal governmental system or from a miserly and disinterested corporate sector.
He opined that India’s own philanthropists were more inclined to support foreign think tanks and research centres such as Yale or Carnegie. The few funds available from Tata Sons and Ambami Family’s Observer Research Foundation have proven too difficult to access and as a consequence Indian think tanks have turned their attention to foreign funders.
This factor may not be source of worry for Baru; however, some experts like Jagdish Bhagwati do not agree with this and suggest that India should in fact worry about the source of funding for research. Funding does constrain what a think tank will do. There have been instances where foreign funding has come from dubious sources being supported by some intelligence agencies.
The time has come for a more concerted effort to be undertaken by the Indian Government and Indian foundations and philanthropists to support local think tanks and experts. Therefore, the Indian government and corporate sector also should support genuine think tanks which then do not have to be overwhelmed by foreign-headquartered NGOs and foundations which inevitably reflect different perspectives.
Involvement of foreign funders in the development of India’s think tank community particularly because of the intellectual and ideological constraints their involvement is a cause for worry.
Undoubtedly, we make tall democratic claims about India, nevertheless deep down we know this is probably not true: having elections alone does not make us democratic one unless the citizen are not involved in policy-making process. In order to make the policy process more public, we must start to debate it in public with the involvement of all stakeholders and this is feasible only with the active participation of the civil society organizations.
We know of a civil society engaged in water sector which has been working for the past five years to envisage synergy between different stakeholders in water sector but its suggestions have thus far fallen on deaf ears. Only lacunae of this civil society is to place equal emphasis on soft approach along with technical approach which is perhaps contrary to the interests of the technocrats who are disinclined to loosen their grip over the portfolios they happen to command.
It should be made mandatory for each ministry at the Centre as well as in the states to have two/three civil society organizations represented on their various committees so that a direct rapport is established between the respective government agencies and the general public. Involvement of civil society representatives is essential in decision-making process and the respective civil society should be required to post the work done by them on their websites for public view.
E-governance should be accorded priority in order to ensure hassle-free and smooth functioning of public dealing departments.
By Dr. Arvind Kumar, President, India Water Foundation
