Office at the United Nations, New York

As Professor McGann notes in an article written for Foreign Policy, think tanks, also called governments in waiting, are needed by leaders around the world to provide independent analysis, help set policy agendas, and bridge the gap between academia and policy-making. Professor McGann discussed his recent work on a comprehensive ranking of the world's top think tanks, which serves as an insider's guide to the more 6500 think tanks around the globe. Dr. McGann is currently working on a book on Global Think Tanks, Policy Networks and Governance due out later this year (Routledge, Global Institutions Series).

The United Nations University Office in New York (UNU-ONY) Current Affairs Series aims to address ongoing issues of relevance in the areas of international security, development and the environment. The goal is to bring up-to-date analysis on current events and crises by academics and policy makers who have firsthand knowledge and unique insights on the matters at hand. The programme's topics will also echo the items on the policy agenda of the UN and the UNU.

During the event Dr. McGann released the 2009 version of his report on think-tanks rankings, which can be downloaded here: 2009 Global Go To Think Tank Rankings (TT Index) last version.pdf

Please click here to have acess to the PP presentation: World Rankings_Jim McGann PP.ppt

Lecturer Profile:

Dr. James McGann, Senior Fellow and Director of Think Tanks and Foreign Policy Program, Assistant Director of the International Relations Program at the University of Pennsylvania and President of McGann Associates.

Moderator Profile:

Dr. Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, UNU-ONY.

Please contact the office directly at (212) 963-6387 or e-mail Mr. Renato Giacon at giacon@unu.edu for any further information or request.

Background readings :

THE GLOBAL "GO-TO THINK TANKS" Report - 2009

THE GLOBAL "GO-TO THINK TANKS" Report - 2008

Think Tank LA: Interview with James McGann -- International Think Tanks

Report on think tanks networks.htm

Who Will Index the Indexers.docx

1970-01-01_-_US_think-tanks_casualties_in_the_war_of_ideas.pdf

Lecturer Profile:

James G. McGann, Ph.D., is the Assistant Director of the International Relations Program at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia and Director of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program. For the last 20 years he has served as President of McGann Associates, a program and management consulting firm specializing in the challenges facing think tanks, policymakers, international organizations and philanthropic institutions. Over the last 15 years he has taught courses in International Law, International Relations, International Organizations, Comparative Public Policy and Global Knowledge and Policy Networks on a regular basis.

Dr. McGann has served as a consultant and advisor to the World Bank, United Nationas, United States Agency for International Development, Soros, Hewlett and Gates Foundations and foreign governments on the role of nongovernmental, public policy and public engagement organizations in civil society. He has served as the Senior Vice-President for the Executive Council on Foreign Diplomacy, the Public Policy Program Officer for The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Assistant Director of the Institute of Politics, John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and as a Senior Advisor to the Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs and the Society for International Development.

Among Dr.McGann's publications are Competition for Dollars, Scholars and Influence In The Public Policy Research Industry (University Press of America 1995), The International Survey of Think Tanks (FPRI, 1999), Think Tanks and Civil Societies: Catalyst for Ideas and Action, co-edited with Kent B. Weaver (Transaction Publishers 2000), Comparative Think Tanks, Politics, and Public Policy (Edward Elgar 2005), Think Tanks and Policy Advice in the U.S: Academics, Advisors and Advocates (Routledge, 2007), Think Tanks: Catalysts for Democratization and Market Reform (Forthcoming), Global Trends and Transitions: 2007 Survey of Think Tanks (FPRI 2008) and The Global Go To Think Tanks (2008).

Moderator Profile:

Dr. Jean-Marc Coicaud is the Director of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the United Nations in New York. He was Senior Academic Officer at the UNU in Tokyo from 1996 to 2003. Before joining UNU, he served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General as a speechwriter for Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1992-1996). A former fellow at Harvard University (Center for International Affairs, Department of Philosophy and Harvard Law School, from 1986 to 1992), Coicaud has held appointments such as Cultural Attaché with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Legislative Aide with the European Parliament (Financial Committee), Associate Professor at the University of Paris, Visiting Professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure-Ulm in Paris and Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management. He has also taught at the New School for Social Research (New York). He has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.) and a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law. Coicaud holds a Ph.D. in political science-law from the Sorbonne and a Doctorat d'Etat in philosophy from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques of Paris. In addition, he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in literature and linguistics. Jean-Marc Coicaud is a member of the Advisory Board of Carnegie Council's Global Policy Innovations (New York). He also serves as an adviser for the Fondation pour l'Innovation Politique (Paris).

Jean-Marc Coicaud has published 14 books in the fields of comparative politics, political and legal theory, international relations and international law. They are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic, and include the following single-authored books: Politics and Legitimacy: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2002), Beyond the National Interest (United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), Kokuren no Genkai/Kokuren no Mirai (Future of the UN/Limits of the UN - Fujiwara Shoten, 2007), Mai Xiang Guo Ji Fa Zhi (Towards the International Rule of Law - Sanlian Shudian, 2008). His latest book, co-edited with Hilary Charlesworth, is Fault Lines of International Legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2009).