Who funds think tanks?

I was very interested to see the launch of the Who Funds You? website today. This is an intriguing new initiative to examine the transparency of think tanks. The tendency over recent years to outsource political policy to these micro-institutions makes it ever more important for the public to know the sources of their funding.  

In keeping with the spirit of the exercise, the website’s founders are entirely transparent about the sources of its funding (it has none). And in the same spirit, I should disclose that one of the people involved is a friend of mine, Paul Evans, the founder of Political Innovation and editor of Local Democracy blog.

I like the ramshackle nature of British think tanks, which often provide research of at least the quality of their slicker, more generously funded American counterparts. They often work on limited budgets with hard working staff stretched to their limits.