American policy think tanks dominate a new global list of the best, with Washington’s conservative Heritage Foundation taking the prize for having the “most significant impact on policy.”
The “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report” put nine U.S. think tanks on its top 20 list, and six are Washington-based, led by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which was ranked No. 1.
The report and list is set to be released Friday. Secrets received a copy in advance. It is produced by the University of Pennsylvania and covers some 8,000 think tanks globally.
For a third year, Heritage won the top spot for impact on policy, a significant showing and indicator of how valuable it has been to President Trump’s administration.
It also was No. 2 in another key category, think tanks “to watch,” and followed Italy’s Institute for International Political Studies.
Heritage President Kay C. James welcomed her organization’s rankings, especially for policy and social media strategy.
“The Heritage Foundation is honored to be ranked for the third year in a row as the number one think tank in the world for our impact on public policy,” she told Secrets, adding, “from our analysts to our communications staff to everyone on the Heritage team who supports their efforts, we strive to lead the way in finding solutions to the issues America faces, and we work every day with our leaders and the American people to turn them into realities.”
Heritage’s impact on the Trump White House has been significant, and the president’s team has adopted several of the think tank’s recommendations.
In addition to listing the global top think tanks, the report also ranked U.S. think tanks:
1. Center for Strategic and International Studies.
2. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
3. Heritage Foundation.
4. Peterson Institute for International Economics.
5. Urban Institute.
6. Wilson Center, FKA Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
7. Center for American Progress.
8. Atlantic Council.
9. RAND Corporation.
10. Hudson Institute.
