I have been invited by HEPI to write this blog on the occasion of its twentieth anniversary and in the wake of the report commemorating this achievement, and I am delighted to share some thoughts in this context.
I suggest that there are six conditions a think-tank – which is what I take HEPI to be – has to fulfil in order to gain a significant level of legitimacy. A think tank should:
- Found its analyses and proposals on unimpeachable evidence and reasoning
- Reach out to its constituencies, both within its sector and beyond to the relevant policy network
- Secure broad-based support for its work
- Be accessible in multiple ways
- Exhibit disciplined concern for its objects
- Be willing to speak truth-to-power and to withstand the turbulence that will sometimes ensue.
