James Crabtree
Last night Prospect held our 9th annual think tank of the year awards, Britain’s most pointy-headed award ceremony, at the RSA in London. The awards are decided by a bi-party panel of six judges over a series of meetings in the months prior to the awards, a process greatly helped by the willingness of nearly 40 think tanks to fill in our various nomination forms.
David Willetts MP, shadow secretary for innovation, universities and skills gave the evening’s key note address, making two striking statements. First, having joked that progressive think tanks like the IPPR faced a choice of whether to become part of the “official opposition” he called on traditional tanks of the left to work with an incoming Conservative government, rather than against it. Then, in a neat turn of phrase, he argued that British think tanks (as opposed to their more staid American counterparts) were the policy equivalent of hedge funds: entrepreneurial, lightly regulated, and prone to taking risks in search of headlines.
Then, following Willetts remarks, we unveiled the winners, which were:
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James Crabtree
Which has been this year’s top wonk shop? Every year Prospect awards its gong for the Think Tank of the Year awards as an annual celebration of the British think tank scene. We work to no strict definition of what a think tank is—if a group thinks it is a think tank, it is one. What matters to us (and our all-star wonkish panel of judges) is impact and influence. This year, in a new move, we are opening the normally closed nominations to anyone who wishes to fill in our form.
You can download an entry form by clicking here—if you wish to enter, simply return the form to us at thinktank at prospect-magazine.co.uk. The real purpose of these forms is to let our judges see what the institutions have been up to, so there isn’t much point in trying to game the system and nominate your favourite tank many times. But feel free to make curious or interesting cases for any particular tank you like.
There are three main categories: UK think tank of the year, UK think tank publication of the year, and UK-based think tank of the year dealing with non-UK affairs. The judges may also decide to give a runner-up award, and a “one to watch” award for a think tank showing great promise. Our deadline is 9am on Tuesday 1st September. A cross-party panel of judges convened by Prospect will meet to assess the entries and awards will be made at a convivial evening event in London during October.
Anyone who fills the form in will be given an invitation to the annual award ceremony, hosted in London in mid-October—surely inducement enough to set yours winging its way towards us?
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