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Editorial: Building better brain trusts

The Taiwan Think Tank (台灣智庫) is set to be established by the end of this month. It is widely seen as President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) personal brain trust. From the list of board members and consultants, it is not difficult to see that a group which brings together industrial, academic and political heavyweights will play a formidable role in Taiwan's political and economic future.

Think tanks in the US play an important role in the development of Washington's domestic and foreign policy, both up front and behind the scenes. The Brookings Institution, the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies have also had decisive roles in Democratic and Republican policymaking. Many US think tanks boast top-notch researchers and their publications attract worldwide attention. These institutions also serve as a training ground for future government officials, as well as a place for former officials to cool their heels.

Governments are successful not because of their ability to maneuver political power, but because of their ability to integrate and mobilize private-sector resources and incorporate them into the overall policymaking process. In this regard, think tanks serve as an important bridge between the government and the private sector. However, think tanks in Taiwan are just beginning to move in this direction. What role they should play in the government's policymaking process, if any, is still the subject of much discussion.

Most of think tanks in Taiwan have links to the KMT or individual politicians. Some undertake government-commissioned research projects, while others publish periodicals and organize seminars. Some of them are highly academic. Very few could be described as truly influential.

Whether or not the Taiwan Think Tank will prove successful depends on several things:

First, it should narrow its focus to financial and economic issues, which are the weakest areas of the Chen government. After all, there are a myriad of topics that could be studied -- politics, economics, finances, defense, social welfare -- not to mention international and cross-straits relations. With its limited resources, the Taiwan Think Tank could not possibly study everything. By specializing, it could become a strong industry-academic-official policymaking platform in those areas. It could improve its chances of success by establishing communication channels with other private think tanks in order to effectively utilize Taiwan's limited resources.

Second, the Taiwan Think Tank should build close relations with government agencies. In particular, it should build an interactive model in the areas of information and intelligence exchange. This will prevent bookish, surreal research papers. It should serve as a catalyst for interaction between the private sector and officialdom and avoid becoming a rubber stamp for the bureaucracy.

Third, the Taiwan Think Tank should shape an alternative track for international relations and cross-strait interaction. Semi-official think tanks have considerable room for maneuver in terms of promoting cross-strait exchanges and dialogue through forums and regular symposiums.

As Taiwan's government continues to move from an authoritarian system to a democratic one, the mainstay forces of society are also gradually being released from government to the private sector. The rise of the private think tank represent the blossoming of civil society; they are a product of a wave of democracy. As the product of a marriage of politics and knowledge, it is to be hoped that think tanks will begin to play a much more productive role in Taiwan's economic and social development.
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