China Social Science Review

No.3, 2022

Qualitative Research on the Construction of Evaluation Models for Think Tank Researchers

(Abstract)

Wang Chuanyi and Duan Jiebei

New types of think tank with Chseinese characteristics cannot be separated from supporting evaluation. Our research is founded on the interaction between the supply side and the demand side in think tank research. Using interviews with six government officials and twenty-six think tank researchers, we created an evaluation model containing two types of evaluation: competence-oriented and result-oriented. In actual practice, think tanks tend to adopt result-oriented indicators when evaluating researchers, but the result requirements for think tanks in government, universities and society show diverse characteristics. Both government and university think tanks attach great importance to the approval and adoption of having their results by high-level leaders, but in terms of the form taken by results, government think tanks attach more importance to commissioned research; university think tanks attach more importance to autonomous policy research and publication; and corporate think tanks value media coverage that brings “traffic.” Different types of think tanks can choose appropriate indicators to evaluate their research staff according to their needs.