While the exact answer is a matter for policymakers, analysts, and academics to shape in the coming decades, there are two principles we consider critical:
Building on existing strengths: Think tanks, universities, the public service and innovative public policy tools will play an increasingly important role as Australia navigates the shifting regional order. Australia has a boutique public policy ecosystem with a few leading institutions. Maintaining these institutions and increasing the volume of high-quality, policy-relevant analysis is crucial.
Fostering diversity, plurality and contestability: Public policy contestability and accountability can be limited if the policy ecosystem lacks a mix of political and disciplinary perspectives. Diversity of lived experience, particularly in leadership roles, is business critical for a more robust ecosystem.
We conducted a brief survey of organisations outside Government currently engaged in the national dialogue on Australian international strategy. Australia spends approximately $64b per year on foreign affairs, defence, development and intelligence. The total annual turnover among think tanks is around $64m. The sector employs about 262 staff, and of the 20 organisations we examined, 80% are male-led. Unlike the U.S., Australia’s think tank environment is dominated by organisations whose survival relies on Commonwealth funding, with only a few notable exceptions.
As the world changes, our architecture for thinking, reasoning and decision-making will need to evolve, too. Investing now to incubate the practical and rich policy ecosystem we need for the future will pay off – our analysis suggests that it’s not expensive either.
