Rice’s Baker Institute and its Center for Energy Studies rise in the rankings of global think tanks

Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy is ranked No. 3 among the best university-affiliated think tanks in the world (up from No. 4) and its Center for Energy Studies is ranked No. 1 as the best energy- and resource-based think tank (up from No. 2), according to the 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report published Jan. 30.

Baker Hall, home of Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy

The other university-affiliated think tanks in the world’s top three category are Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (No. 1) and the IDEAS/Public Policy Group at the London School of Economics and Political Science, U.K. (No. 2).

The institute’s Center for Energy Studies (CES) No. 1 ranking is followed by the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (No. 2), and the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, U.K. (No. 3).

The Baker Institute is ranked No. 17 out of 89 of the top think tanks in the U.S. and is listed among the best think tanks in the category “Quality Assurance and Integrity Policies and Procedures.”

“As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Baker Institute this year under the theme ‘A Quarter Century: Making History,’ our rankings confirm the relevance of the institute’s ongoing research programs and public policy recommendations on national and global issues,” said Baker Institute Director Edward Djerejian. “I wish to commend the institute’s fellows, scholars and staff for their dedicated work, as well as all our supporters and friends who have been with us from the beginning as we mark this milestone.”

“We have an excellent team of fellows and scholars working in an interdisciplinary manner across the energy-environment arena,” said Kenneth Medlock, CES senior director and the James A. Baker III and Susan G. Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics. “Teamwork is the hallmark of our success in providing unbiased analysis of factors that shape the future of energy.”

Founded in 1993, the Baker Institute has fellows and scholars who conduct research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. Core fields of study include energy, the Middle East, Mexico, health policy, public finance, private entrepreneurship, international economics, presidential elections, science and technology, China, space policy and drug policy.

CES was founded in October 2012 and provides policymakers, corporate leaders and the public with quality, data-driven analysis of issues that influence energy markets. The long-standing Baker Institute Energy Forum is an integral part of CES and remains an active entity for participation in the center’s ongoing research and public policy programs.

Established in 2006, the University of Pennsylvania Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program’s Global Go To Think Tank Index has become the gold standard of excellence for think tanks around the world and is widely cited by governments, donors, journalists and policymakers as the foremost guide to the performance of thousands of domestic and international public policy centers.

The program’s report is compiled with assistance from more than 2,500 peer institutions and experts from the media, academia, public and private donor institutions and governments in the U.S. and around the globe.