Adding Sweden to Search

We have just added Sweden to our pages. Search focuses on a range of think tanks in Sweden, both those oriented locally and those focusing on international issues. The search should be useful to civil servants, reseachers, students, journalists, or any other engaged citizens. 

View fullsize

Want to find out what think tanks say on a particular policy? How they see Saudi-Arabia? What they say on a particular ministry? Or what they think about Gothenburg?

This, and much much more is all here: http://www.findpolicy.org/sweden

Searching Russian Research Organizations

We now have added Russia to our search pages. The search engine focuses on 13 leading research organizations. The page should be of particular interest in the current political context of the political events surrounding Ukraine and Crimea.

Screenshot of search for Crimea Ukraine Tatars. As usual, make your search as specific as possible. 

To select institutions, we received excellent input from a number of Russian and international policy researchers. The site is still in trial, as we (and hopefully you) test it. 

One limitation is that some institutions put little information online. The Levada Center, for example, widely cited in international media, has a sparse website, which is why we included its subsidiary, the Russia Votes project. Conversely, the Valdai Club, which serves as a kind of forum for experts, has a very active website and blog, and thus is particularly visible in the search results. To exclude the Valdai Center, use this trick. 

Our search is great at bringing out what is on the websites, and thus faster and more focused -- but of course, it's only as compelling as the content behind it. In case you want international perspectives on Crimea, try our Foreign Policy search page, here. 

The Russian search page is here. 

Search of Australian Think Tanks Now Available

Our search page for Australian think tanks now is available. The search focuses on 11 policy research organizations, covering a range of topics from international affairs and foreign policy to the Australian economy and domestic policy. We selected prominent institutions that are reputable, active, and offer a diversity of viewpoints. Here is a search on what Australian think tanks have to say on the integration of the Australian Aid Agency (AusAID) into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)

The results immediately take us to a relevant link, giving a good overview on the issue. The analysis primarily comes from one institution which is focused on development policy.

To test this further, we did another search. 

A good diversity of institutions, sharing their perspective on what goes on in Australia's neighborhood, from a more involved perspective than most think tanks in Europe or North America can bring. 

As the search engine returns good results it's time to make it available. We already received excellent advice from some people familiar with policy research in Australia, but are certainly happy to hear more suggestions. Let us know how it's working. The Australian search page is here.