Launched in 2025, the initiative celebrates think tanks recognised by their peers for noteworthy practices, innovative approaches and contributions to research, policy and public debate. Rather than identifying the ‘best’ organisations, OTT Think Tanks to Watch highlights experiences that others in the sector can learn from and potentially adapt to their own contexts.
This year’s edition emphasises the practices and initiatives behind each organisation’s recognition. By sharing concrete examples of their work, featured think tanks contribute to a growing collection of experiences that can help peers explore new approaches, address common challenges and strengthen their organisations.
Recognition Shaped by the Think Tank Community
OTT Think Tanks to Watch is a peer-recognition initiative informed by nominations from professionals familiar with the think tank sector and its work.
The selection process drew on the State of the Sector Survey 2026, which generated nominations for almost 200 organisations. Additional nominations were collected through surveys of participants in the OTT Conference 2026 and members of the OTT Membership Programme.
To be considered, organisations had to meet the definition of a think tank used by the OTT Directory, receive at least one valid nomination and be recognised for specific practices, initiatives or contributions. Self-nominations and nominations without supporting reasons were excluded. Organisations featured in the 2025 edition were required to receive at least two nominations to be considered again.
The initiative then invited nominated think tanks to provide details of up to three recent practices or initiatives, explain why they were worth sharing, and provide supporting links. The final selection considered the relevance and learning potential of the examples submitted, alongside efforts to promote regional diversity.
A New Interactive Library to Explore Initiatives from Around the World
Alongside the 2026 edition, OTT launched a new interactive initiatives library designed to make the experiences of featured think tanks more accessible and useful to the wider community.
The library brings together 324 entries from 145 think tanks across 56 countries, covering the 2025 and 2026 editions. These include 324 detailed initiatives shared by organisations, alongside 35 shorter organisational summaries from the 2025 edition. The 2026 collection contributes 151 initiatives from the 55 featured think tanks.
Congratulations go to colleagues listed in the report.
- Explore the 2026 OTT Think Tanks to Watch.
- Explore the interactive initiatives library.
