ABSTRACT
The term think tank is one that has been subject to many attempts at definition but there is no settled or agreed meaning. In the broader understanding of the term adopted in this chapter, 'think tanks' engage in research, analysis and communication for policy development within local communities, national governments and international institutions in both public and private domains. This broad view contrasts with the dominant Anglo-American notion of think tanks as organizational manifestations of civil society. Aside from policy analysis, think tanks also perform a range of ancillary activities that help amplify their policy analysis and sometimes propel their policy products into decision-making circles. The chapter discusses the different periods of think tank organizational development and the way these periods relate to different types of policy analysis. It presents the different modes of policy analysis and research methods used by think tanks, and discusses the way think tanks promote policy analysis to external audiences.
