I agree that having a binder of policy proposals ready is effective. There is a dark side to this too. If you are a policy maker, expect plenty of pre-prepared binders awaiting the situation you find yourself in. Different groups vary widely in their predictive abilities and intellectual honesty.
The history of think tanks is fascinating and complicated. On one hand, they provide a bridge from academia to policy that can retain some of the intellectual rigor of the former. On the other hand, they can be thinly veiled ideologically motivated places awaiting a favorable political environment.
I agree that having a binder of policy proposals ready is effective. There is a dark side to this too. If you are a policy maker, expect plenty of pre-prepared binders awaiting the situation you find yourself in. Different groups vary widely in their predictive abilities and intellectual honesty.
The history of think tanks is fascinating and complicated. On one hand, they provide a bridge from academia to policy that can retain some of the intellectual rigor of the former. On the other hand, they can be thinly veiled ideologically motivated places awaiting a favorable political environment.