In the last post I was reflecting on the nature of think tanks and suddenly, I have found another comment, more authoritative than my writings, about the factor of independence to the survival of a real think tank. It comes from John Blundell, current General Manager of the Institute of Economic Affairs, who has spent his whole professional life advocating the need of having strong and independent think tanks in the public policy arena. He knows well what he says as he has been fighting to maintain the intellectual legacy of one of most outstanding institutes of the world. I think he has been successful.

I Have read an article of Blundell in The Sunday Times that was recommended in the Atlas Foundation newsletter. Mr Blundell is going to leave the IEA at the end of the year and may be he wants to insist in the core ideas that guided his management style. According to him, independence, economic and intellectual independence, is a key element if you want your institute playing a serious role in politics. This is not a public relations office neither a social club. It is a political actor which does not belong to any party or corporate interest.  I put a paragraph here but I think it is better to read the full piece:

The secret of success in the think tank world is independence. Being your own man is crucial, especially with think tanks playing an increasingly central role in policy making. On that front they have taken over from the universities. Here are the rules I’ve tried to stick to

  • No corporate money tied to projects either explicitly or implicitly
  • No taxpayer funds
  • No FTSE 100 company to give more than 2% of budget
  • No corporate sector (eg oil, banking, pharmaceuticals) to give more than 5%

Good luck, John.