Ask HN: How do think tanks make money? - mbesto
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Rhodee
I worked in that space for seven years. To put it plainly, we were paid to
create ideas by entities and individuals who wanted a certain frame or
perspective to emerge or persist in the wild.

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noodle
i understand generally what you're talking about, but could you elaborate or
provide an example? i've always been kind of curious, myself

~~~
jellicle
CEO selects appropriate thinktank, says, "I run an oil and gas company. I need
you to produce articles that are critical of global warming. Here's one
million dollars."

Thinktank goes and hires a couple of global warming "skeptics" for $50K/year.
They produce writings and speakings, which the thinktank personnel shop around
to appropriate outlets for minimal fees. Op-Eds are distributed to newspapers.
Pre-edited 5-minute segments are distributed to TV news programs. The media
outlets are happy to receive ready-to-publish content for cheap.

You the viewer receive all this information against global warming from a
"neutral, non-partisan" thinktank. You are likely to believe it. The name of
the CEO's oil and gas corporation is never mentioned.

Money laundering is taking money from illegal sources and turning it into
clean, usable money. Thinktanks are engaged in the practice of idea
laundering.

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mbesto
Aren't these just PR firms then?

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GHFigs
Think tanks: are they just PR firms? This person with important title from
important-sounding organization says yes. Critics like this other guy say no.
The more important person says the critics are wrong. The only thing that is
certain is that the debate about whether think tanks are just PR firms
continues.

~~~
iuguy
Tom Logan from the Institute For Studies says that Think Tanks are an
"Invaluable source of impartial opinion that help reflect the thoughts,
movements and science that drives the world." Ribena de-Farquhar-Toss from the
Policy Research (PR) Think Tank disagrees, suggesting that Think Tanks form
"part of the process by which corporations and governments brain wash us into
spending money we haven't earned on shit we don't need."

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tibbon
I was part of getting something similar off the ground the other year (Web
Ecology Project, www.webecologyproject.org).

From what I've seen a Think Tank basically acts like an academic research
group, but does commissioned research when possible. Getting started is a bit
of chicken and egg thing, but once you're rolling you're kicking out research
which seems to entice private companies into wanting to know more or use your
tools.

With Web Ecology Project, we started off doing research on Twitter stuff,
happened to grab every tweet out there on the Iran Election in 2009, self
published a paper, and then boom. Tons of people wanted our data, expertise,
analysis, etc. We weren't ready for this business-like shift, so we somewhat
self-imploded for being able to run with it business-wise, but we're still
doing research.

~~~
Rhodee
Its funny I had the EXACT opposite experience. I realized I wanted to make the
products and left to look for opportunities to do so. But I think the point is
that people use think tanks for self-affirmation. Whether its research,
talking points, connections - my boss once said - it's better to be used than
useless.

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inerte
Most of their work is commissioned, that is, some(one/group/thing) comes to
them and ask for their opinion, or they sell topical reports once in a while.

Most think tanks have a bias, and have their "findings" used as
justifications.

~~~
mbesto
Which makes me inherently think to never trust anything they say.

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dasht
Some do a lot more than just commissioned research. It's a very social
business and one that, well beyond simple commissioned reports, is used by
customers to maintain asymmetric advantages in information awareness and
social access. (Some of the best established tanks are staffed in part by
elites who, interestingly enough, achieve some notoriety outside of work for
throwing some of the most famous elite dinner parties and such.)

Besides commissioned reports:

Expensive periodicals: informing an elite of little known new developments in
a field of interest. For example, one article might be a survey of recent
research in microprocessor fabrication written for an audience of investment
bankers and CEOs.

Expensive membership libraries: Over time, some tanks accumulate extensive
libraries of reports, many of which remain useful long after they're written.
You can buy one-off copies or buy memberships.

Elite Conferences: Some run invitation-only conferences.

Public speaking, article publishing: self explanatory.

Lobbying: self explanatory.

Being a social butterfly: This requires some explanation because generally
money does not change hands. In some cases, the reason the tank is able to do
the kind of research is because it "knows all the right people" (and knows the
diplomacy of how to speak with them without raising too many legal or social
problems). Thus, a report might just come from looking up lots of open source
stuff and synthesizing ... or it might come in part from having a lot of
conversations with a related elite (who, normally, are barred or just would
not speak directly with one another on the matter). As the diplomat, spreading
around selected information while protecting sources, etc., they can help
elites in industry and government to be "situationally aware" in ways that the
general public can not.

Nobody pays them for that but the social butterfly role helps to reinforce the
"brand" of the more serious tanks, and so when people are ready to spend on
something, they have some reason to think of the tank.

I imagine that these days there are innovations I haven't seen yet (but that
must be there) like "hidden" social networks, and such.

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kongqiu
From my experience at a political think tank, money comes from big donors who
want intellectual support of their pre-conceived positions. There is some
"independent research" that goes on along the edges of the "accepted stances,"
but when a big donor wants an article slanted this way or that, they get it.

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wmeredith
From what I can deduce, they get paid to cheerlead or spread FUD by parties
with a stake in their area of expertise.

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notahacker
Generally they don't; their overheads are covered by those with a vested
interest in supporting their continued existence.

Usually they exist to analyse details and implications of policy decisions
proposed or opposed by individuals and organisations that fund them.

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orls
In my (limited) exposure to the think tank "industry", it seems that many make
a fair chunk of their bottom line through memberships; companies buy
memberships to receive publications & analysis, newsletters, networking
opportunities and a voice in any policy processes the think tank can get
involved in.

Some member companies will pay, partially or fully, for their memberships with
services rendered; which means the think tanks have ready access to good and
plentiful legal representation & financial advice/management, which must help
lower costs quite a lot.

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stcredzero
I wonder if it would be possible to create a Think Tank that actually produces
ideas, instead of laundering wishful thinking? This could be constructed as a
consortium into which companies pay money. The output would be in the form of
reports. The idea is to give the money going in a bit of "Platonic Amnesia."

This is a function that Universities used to perform.

~~~
ohashi
They could give you money, or they could give that other think tank money that
produces reports in their favor...

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stcredzero
In this case, those are exactly the customers you don't want and who don't
want you.

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ohashi
That's the existing market. It also makes sense, businesses generally don't
behave altruistically. Perhaps approaching businesses at all is a mistake,
maybe wealthy individuals, social-angels per se.

~~~
stcredzero
It's not that businesses don't behave altruistically. It's that humans are
usually too short sighted to be willing to pay for honest research of that
depth.

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ohashi
So, you've ruled out humanity as potential clients.

~~~
stcredzero
Only most of them.

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known
think tank == lobbying

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captaincrunch
Catch 22?

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zwadia
Think Tanks are paid to consider all possible and plausible eventualities,
forecast outcomes and correlate dependencies for their given client or
scenario.

