Belfer Center is No.1 University Think Tank

Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs has regained its ranking as the best university-affiliated research center in the world.

The annual rankings by the University of Pennsylvania’s Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program were issued this week at an event in Washington. For 2013, the Belfer Center improved from No. 2 to the top spot in the “best university-affiliated think tanks” category. The Belfer Center also was rated No. 1 in 2011.

The UPenn project has ranked research centers for the past seven years. In issuing its 2013 report, program Director James McGann said 6,826 think tanks around the world were catalogued, including 1,828 in the United States. The program draws on more than 1,950 scholars, journalists, policy makers and government officials who participate in the nomination and judging process during the year. In addition, expert panels contribute to the rankings in specialist categories.

In the global university-affiliated research center rankings, the No. 2 ranking went to the IDEAS/Public Policy Group at the London School of Economics. Ranked third was the Center for International Studies and Research at Sciences Po in France. In fourth place (and down from No. 1 a year ago) was the Hoover Institution at Stanford.

Also on the best university think tanks list from Harvard were the Kennedy School’s Center for International Development (no. 14) and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (no. 15).

The Belfer Center also was ranked 21st among all think tanks in the United States, improving by one place from the previous year. The Brookings Institution in Washington was again rated the No.1 think tank in the world, and Chatham House in Britain was ranked No.1 among non-US research centers. The Kennedy School's Center for International Development (CID) was ranked the 2nd best international development think tank in the world. CID moved from the 4th best international development think tank in 2012 to #2 behind Brookings Institution.

Belfer Center Director Graham Allison said, “We are proud that the work of the remarkable community of policy-relevant scholars at the Center has been recognized by the Penn survey because it focuses on the impact of think tanks in informing and influencing policy, which is the lifeblood of the Belfer Center. We appreciate the work of the Penn team in pursuing this assessment so diligently year after year.”