Research access initiatives to support think tanks’ research | on think tanks

"Think tankers probably have quite different information needs to academics or research scientists- perhaps drawing more on policy reports and evaluations than they do journal articles. Nevertheless, there are likely to be instances where valuable information – perhaps an assessment of the effectiveness of particular policies in different countries, or important research in agriculture or climate or social security – is found within a journal, and as a result, behind a paywall. The good news is that think tanks in developing countries have the potential to access much more of this literature – at more affordable rates – than many probably realise. INASP negotiates with over 50 academic publishers for free or discounted access to substantial collections of journals. In total something like 65,000 journals are available, and the licensing terms mean that this access can, in most cases, be extended to any non-profit making research institute or local NGO in the country (once the subscription is paid where this applies). This includes the collections of well-known publishers such as Wiley, Springer and Taylor and Francis, as well as smaller, specialist publishers such as Policy Press. Currently around 1,700 institutions access journals via INASP this way. To find out what is potentially available to institutions in your country, follow the links from INASP’s country pages to ‘research literature’. The next step would be to contact the consortium in your country and see if there are opportunities to join. In addition to INASP’s scheme, the Research4Life initiative provides access to around 45,000 journals in subjects related to health, agriculture and environment. And it is worth exploring these carefully even if these are not your focus areas – there are often other economics or social-policy titles available through these collections ..."