Public visibility and policy relevance: Assessing the impact and influence of Canadian policy institutes

Canadian Public Administration

Volumn 42, Issue 2, 1999, Pages 240-270

  Abelson, Donald E ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0348228175     PISSN: 00084840     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1754-7121.1999.tb01069.x     Document Type: Article

References (26)

1. The literature on Canadian think-tanks remains sparse. However, a handful of studies do provide some useful information on the evolution and strategies of think-tanks. See Evert A. Lindquist, "Think tanks or clubs? Assessing the influence and roles of Canadian policy institutes," CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 36, no. 4 (Winter 1993), pp. 547-79 and "A quarter-century of Canadian think tanks: evolving institutions, conditions and strategies," in Diane Stone, Andrew Denham and Mark Garnett, eds., Think Tanks across Nations: A Comparative Approach (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998), pp. 127-44; Donald E. Abelson, "Surveying the think tank landscape in Canada," in Martin W. Westmacott and Hugh Mellon, eds., Public Policy and Administration in Canada: Governing in Challenging Times (Toronto: Prentice-Hall, 1999), pp. 91-105; and L. Dobuzinskis, "Trends and fashions in the marketplace of ideas," in L. Dubuzinskis, M. Howlett and D. Laycock, eds., Policy Studies in Canada: The State of the Art (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996), pp. 91-124.
2. The literature on Canadian think-tanks remains sparse. However, a handful of studies do provide some useful information on the evolution and strategies of think-tanks. See Evert A. Lindquist, "Think tanks or clubs? Assessing the influence and roles of Canadian policy institutes," CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 36, no. 4 (Winter 1993), pp. 547-79 and "A quarter-century of Canadian think tanks: evolving institutions, conditions and strategies," in Diane Stone, Andrew Denham and Mark Garnett, eds., Think Tanks across Nations: A Comparative Approach (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998), pp. 127-44; Donald E. Abelson, "Surveying the think tank landscape in Canada," in Martin W. Westmacott and Hugh Mellon, eds., Public Policy and Administration in Canada: Governing in Challenging Times (Toronto: Prentice-Hall, 1999), pp. 91-105; and L. Dobuzinskis, "Trends and fashions in the marketplace of ideas," in L. Dubuzinskis, M. Howlett and D. Laycock, eds., Policy Studies in Canada: The State of the Art (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996), pp. 91-124.
3. The literature on Canadian think-tanks remains sparse. However, a handful of studies do provide some useful information on the evolution and strategies of think-tanks. See Evert A. Lindquist, "Think tanks or clubs? Assessing the influence and roles of Canadian policy institutes," CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 36, no. 4 (Winter 1993), pp. 547-79 and "A quarter-century of Canadian think tanks: evolving institutions, conditions and strategies," in Diane Stone, Andrew Denham and Mark Garnett, eds., Think Tanks across Nations: A Comparative Approach (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998), pp. 127-44; Donald E. Abelson, "Surveying the think tank landscape in Canada," in Martin W. Westmacott and Hugh Mellon, eds., Public Policy and Administration in Canada: Governing in Challenging Times (Toronto: Prentice-Hall, 1999), pp. 91-105; and L. Dobuzinskis, "Trends and fashions in the marketplace of ideas," in L. Dubuzinskis, M. Howlett and D. Laycock, eds., Policy Studies in Canada: The State of the Art (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996), pp. 91-124.
4. The literature on Canadian think-tanks remains sparse. However, a handful of studies do provide some useful information on the evolution and strategies of think-tanks. See Evert A. Lindquist, "Think tanks or clubs? Assessing the influence and roles of Canadian policy institutes," CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 36, no. 4 (Winter 1993), pp. 547-79 and "A quarter-century of Canadian think tanks: evolving institutions, conditions and strategies," in Diane Stone, Andrew Denham and Mark Garnett, eds., Think Tanks across Nations: A Comparative Approach (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998), pp. 127-44; Donald E. Abelson, "Surveying the think tank landscape in Canada," in Martin W. Westmacott and Hugh Mellon, eds., Public Policy and Administration in Canada: Governing in Challenging Times (Toronto: Prentice-Hall, 1999), pp. 91-105; and L. Dobuzinskis, "Trends and fashions in the marketplace of ideas," in L. Dubuzinskis, M. Howlett and D. Laycock, eds., Policy Studies in Canada: The State of the Art (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996), pp. 91-124.
5. This comment is from a response made on a survey questionnaire prepared by the author in October 1997.
6. There are few detailed case studies on the efforts of think-tanks to shape major policy debates in Canada. Those that should be consulted include Evert A. Lindquist, "Behind the Myth of Think Tanks: The Organization and Relevance of Canadian Policy Institutes," (Ph.D. diss., University of California Berkeley, 1989); and Allan Tupper, "Think tanks, public debt and the politics of expertise in Canada," CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 36, 4 (Winter 1993), pp. 530-46.
7. There are few detailed case studies on the efforts of think-tanks to shape major policy debates in Canada. Those that should be consulted include Evert A. Lindquist, "Behind the Myth of Think Tanks: The Organization and Relevance of Canadian Policy Institutes," (Ph.D. diss., University of California Berkeley, 1989); and Allan Tupper, "Think tanks, public debt and the politics of expertise in Canada," CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 36, 4 (Winter 1993), pp. 530-46.
8. There is no consensus, or, for that matter, many reliable estimates on how many think-tanks exist in Canada. Evert Lindquist has estimated that there are likely one hundred think-tanks in Canada, although this number can vary depending on one's definition of a policy institute (Lindquist, "A quarter-century of Canadian think-tanks," in Stone et al., Think Tanks Across Nations, p. 130). This study focuses on twenty-two policy institutes, a sizeable cross-section of the think-tank population. These institutes have not been randomly selected. Rather, they represent those institutes most frequently referred to in the scholarly literature. A selection of both private and public policy institutes are included. Think-tanks considered part of a university department or professional school have not been included in this study. The data on the print media were obtained through two database services, Info Globe and Infomart. Info Globe was used to track citations of think-tanks in The Globe and Mail from January 1978 (when the service began) to June 1997. References to the same think-tanks in eight additional newspapers (The Ottawa Citizen, The Toronto Star, The Gazette (Montreal), The Vancouver Sun, The Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald, The Daily News (Halifax), and The Toronto Sun) between January 1985 (when the service began) and June 1997 were obtained through Infomart. A think-tank receives one citation per article in which it is referred to, even if several references are made to it in the piece. The same holds true for references to think-tanks in the broadcast media. These English-language newspapers were selected for their broad national and regional coverage of domestic and foreign policy issues. Data on think-tank visibility in the broadcast media were collected through two sources. The National Media Archive at the Fraser Institute provided citations for on-screen appearances and references to think-tanks using the CBC and CTV national television news database (including CBC's "Magazine," formerly "The Journal") for the period 1988-1996. References to think-tanks on CBC-Radio between 1988 and 1996 were obtained through the CBC Radio Archives. The data on parliamentary testimony were assembled by compiling a list of witnesses who appeared before House, Senate, joint and select committees from 1967 to 1997. Since an index listing individuals and organizations that have appeared before various parliamentary committees and subcommittees has yet to be produced, the names of witnesses were taken from each committee report. A complete list of the committees covered in the study is included in Table 8. To measure policy relevance, from the parliamentary session from 1980 to 1997 (a period closely corresponding to when media data become available) were used, along with the federal government's report on policy consultants.
9. There is no consensus, or, for that matter, many reliable estimates on how many think-tanks exist in Canada. Evert Lindquist has estimated that there are likely one hundred think-tanks in Canada, although this number can vary depending on one's definition of a policy institute (Lindquist, "A quarter-century of Canadian think-tanks," in Stone et al., Think Tanks Across Nations, p. 130). This study focuses on twenty-two policy institutes, a sizeable cross- section of the think-tank population. These institutes have not been randomly selected. Rather, they represent those institutes most frequently referred to in the scholarly literature. A selection of both private and public policy institutes are included. Think-tanks considered part of a university department or professional school have not been included in this study. The data on the print media were obtained through two database services, Info Globe and Infomart. Info Globe was used to track citations of think-tanks in The Globe and Mail from January 1978 (when the service began) to June 1997. References to the same think-tanks in eight additional newspapers (The Ottawa Citizen, The Toronto Star, The Gazette (Montreal), The Vancouver Sun, The Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald, The Daily News (Halifax), and The Toronto Sun) between January 1985 (when the service began) and June 1997 were obtained through Infomart. A think-tank receives one citation per article in which it is referred to, even if several references are made to it in the piece. The same holds true for references to think-tanks in the broadcast media. These English-language newspapers were selected for their broad national and regional coverage of domestic and foreign policy issues. Data on think-tank visibility in the broadcast media were collected through two sources. The National Media Archive at the Fraser Institute provided citations for on-screen appearances and references to think-tanks using the CBC and CTV national television news database (including CBC's "Magazine," formerly "The Journal") for the period 1988-1996. References to think-tanks on CBC-Radio between 1988 and 1996 were obtained through the CBC Radio Archives. The data on parliamentary testimony were assembled by compiling a list of witnesses who appeared before House, Senate, joint and select committees from 1967 to 1997. Since an index listing individuals and organizations that have appeared before various parliamentary committees and subcommittees has yet to be produced, the names of witnesses were taken from each committee report. A complete list of the committees covered in the study is included in Table 8. To measure policy relevance, from the parliamentary session from 1980 to 1997 (a period closely corresponding to when media data become available) were used, along with the federal government's report on policy consultants.
10. Lindquist, "A quarter century of Canadian think tanks," in Stone et al., Think Tanks across Nations.
11. This comment was gleaned from a questionnaire prepared by the author in October 1997.
12. The CBC Radio Archives maintain logs of several local, regional and national radio programs, including "Sunday Morning," "The World At Six," "Morningside," "Radio Noon," and "As It Happens." However, the staff at the archives has not been consistent in recording the various guests who have been interviewed on air. As a result, the data presented most certainly underrepresents the number of times scholars from think-tanks have been interviewed. Nonetheless, the ranking of think-tanks on the radio is reasonably consistent with the ranking on television and in newspapers.
13. Ibid. The Fraser Institute has only accepted public-sector money once. It was during the mid-1980s, when the federal government asked it to undertake a three-year joint project with the Institute for Research on Public Policy to study the service industries. According to executive director Michael Walker, "the funding received ... was a self-contained grant [and] the institute retained full editorial control and publication copyright." 9 Data on the size and budget of the Conference Board were obtained from Canadian Almanac & Directory Publishing Company, Associations Canada (Toronto: Canadian Almanac and directory Publishing Company, 1996).
14. Data on the size of these institutes were obtained from a questionnaire distributed by the author in the fall of 1997.
15. Ibid.
16. See R. Kent Weaver and Andrew Rich, "Think Tanks, the Media, and the Policy Process." Paper presented at the 1997 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, D.C., August 1997.
17. See John W. Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies (New York: HarperCollins, 1985).
18. For background information on the creation of this task force, see George Anderson, "The new focus on the policy capacity of the federal government," CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 39, 4 (Winter 1996), pp. 469-88.
19. Kim Richard Nossal, The Politics of Canadian Foreign Policy, 3rd edition (Scarborough, Ont.: Prentice-Hall, 1997), p. 117.
20. Individuals not invited to testify before a parliamentary committee may request to appear by contacting the clerk of the appropriate committee. For guidelines on how individuals are selected to testify, see R. MacGregor Dawson, The Government of Canada, 5th edition, revised (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1947), pp. 348-51.
21. See Weaver and Rich, "Think Tanks, the Media, and the Policy Process." [Paper].
22. These remarks were made to the author by staff members of the Canadian Tax Foundation, 7 April 1998.
23. A Spearman correlation is a non-parametric correlation coefficient based on the ranks of data rather than on the actual values. Values of the coefficient range from -1 to +1. The absolute correlation coefficient indicates the strength of the relationship between the variables, and the sign of the coefficient indicates the direction of the relationship. This definition was obtained from SPSS for Windoius Release 6.1 (24 June 1994).
24. Tupper, "Think tanks," CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 36; Lindquist, Behind the Myth of Think Tanks.
25. Tupper, "Think tanks," CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 36; Lindquist, Behind the Myth of Think Tanks.
26. For more on this, see Anderson, "The new focus on the policy capacity of the federal government," CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 39.