Combining Common Sense and Passion: Advice for Young Think Tanks
Drew Johnson, Tennessee Center for Policy Research
Drew Johnson offers advice based on his expereinces from the Tennessee Center for Policy Research's first year in business.
Points covered
- Hire to your weaknesses
- Importance of marketing
- Reputation building
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, Tennessee's state-based, free-market public policy organization, has been in operation for little more than a year. In that year, we have been published and quoted extensively, appeared on radio and television programs, expanded our donor base, and-most importantly-impacted the decisions of Tennessee's policymakers.
While we are certainly far from our ultimate goals in terms of productivity, funding, and effectiveness, I believe we have set a very solid foundation on which to build a lasting, effective organization.
I hope some of the experiences we have encountered in our early days, and the lessons learned from them, can prove instructive for other young think tanks or individuals interested in starting an organization rooted in liberty.
Don't be afraid to ask for help
One of the reasons for the success of the free-market movement in America and worldwide is the close-knit community in which we operate.
Organizations like Atlas, the Heritage Foundation, and the State Policy Network have been invaluable in assisting us in turning a vision for establishing a free-market public policy organization in Tennessee into a reality.
It is vital in the early stages to begin publishing highly credible pieces on issues of importance to your mission.
That can seem daunting for an organization with limited resources and an undermanned staff. Luckily, no matter the policy issue, someone in the movement has written about it before. Look at the websites of other free-market organizations.
Use other groups' publications as a template. Getting permission to quote or reprint a piece is oftentimes as simple as an email or a phone call, which may well lead to an important contact or a lasting alliance.
Recognize your weaknesses
Most free-market organizations begin with a very small staff-often just one person. That small staff must perform a staggering array of duties, including fundraising, writing, editing, researching, media relations, donor relations, office management, bookkeeping,
and much more. In order to minimize frustration, young organizations must recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the people involved. My education and background is as
a policy analyst. Thus, our institute initially became very publications-focused.
I quickly realized, however, that the fundraising and business management
abilities were suffering greatly.
We addressed our weaknesses by hiring someone who excels in the areas
in which I am particularly weak, namely office management and fundraising.
Further, we even outsourced some of the policy research in fields in which I am less knowledgeable, allowing me to focus on the things that I do best.
If this seems common sense, it is. It can be tempting, however, for the executive of a young organization to surround himself with board members, employees, and interns with the same skills he has. While this may lead to fewer personality conflicts, it will also lead to a highly unsuccessful think tank.
Be Frugal
Almost all free-market organizations condemn wasteful government spending and call for efficient use of tax dollars. It is important that young organizations heed their own advice.
It can be helpful to hire an assistant or a researcher, but the work may be done as well by a temp or an intern at a much lower cost. It always helps me to think of our donors' money as if it were my own. If I cannot justify paying for an expense out of my pocket, then I refuse to use the Center's money on the expense.
In order to save money while producing quality products, we rely heavily on our Board of Scholars-a group of academics who each specialize in an area of importance to the Center-to research and author studies. These scholars are generally professors or medical doctors with full-time jobs who share a passion for free markets and individual liberty. If the scholar is attracted to the project, we offer a small, per-project payment.
This keeps us from the steep expense of maintaining a PhD-level policy analyst on staff, while retaining the expertise offered by a researcher of that quality.
Build an Audience
Free-market research organizations spend an incredible amount of time and money researching and writing fifty page policy reports. The only problem is that nobody reads them. Legislators do not read them. The media do not read them. Rich people, poor people, middleclass people, smart people, dumb people, males, females, and individuals on every continent in this big world all have one thing in common: they do not read fifty-page policy reports. (That is, unless they have problems sleeping.)
Fifty-page policy reports are important for fleshing out ideas and providing empirical evidence to support an organization's message.
However, it is vital to come up with ways to convey your messages quickly-the shorter the better-in ways that reach people.
Building relationships with newspapers and radio and television stations has been the most valuable use of my time since we started. Through those relationships, we are able to appear on television and radio shows, publish opinion pieces, and get quotes in newspapers that tell legislators, potential donors, other media outlets, and people across the state about what the fifty-page policy report says.
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research has also focused our efforts on creating marketable, easy-to-understand products to reflect what we do. One such item is the Spend-O-Meter, a constantly updating, real-time display of state government spending for the current fiscal year. The Spend-O-Meter, which can be viewed on our website (http://www.tennesseepolicy.org/), has proven an excellent way to market our organization and build our audience.
Build Credibility
A business is only as successful as its products, and our products are the words we write and the things we say.
Why would a donor want to fund our reports? Why would a journalist want to report on our studies? Because they believe them to be completely accurate.
If the facts are not correct, the product is faulty, and, over time, no one will want it. To that end, I can say without hesitation that a good editor is one of the most important parts of a successful think tank.
Have the Passion
I began the Tennessee Center for Policy Research at age 24 with no money and no knowledge of how to run a nonprofit organization. I left a job in Washington to return to Tennessee, because I passionately believed that Tennessee needed an organization to protect and advance ideas of individual liberty, personal responsibility, and the free market.
Athletes, actors, and others in particularly interesting or glamorous careers frequently make statements about how fortunate they are to make money doing something they would do for free. I think I speak for most people involved in the early stages of building a free-market think tank when I say that I am doing something that I would do for free, and my paycheck almost proves it.
If there is one common thread that unites the Tennessee Center for Policy Research with other successful free-market groups, it is a passionate commitment to the cause of liberty. When the passion begins to fade, the effectiveness of the organization often fades as well.
With the passion intact, there is no obstacle that cannot be overcome.
Drew Johnson is president of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to public policy remedies grounded in the innovation of private enterprise, the ingenuity of individuals, and the abilities of active communities to achieve a freer, more prosperous Tennessee.