think tanks

• think tanks research various aspects of public policy
• think tanks can be financed by the government/private sources/both
• have replaced traditional party role of policy deliberation
• their policy deliberation can be neutral or partisan
• there is doubt as to whether they represent public interest or their donors
• dark money - money whose source is not made public, leading to a lack of transparency and accountability
• Troops to Teachers began as a think tank
• IEA backed Kwarteng and Truss
• Adam Smith Institute has become instrumental in developing policy for past governments
• Bow Group is a Conservative think tank which developed 2015 and 2017 manifesto