Who are the UK’s major think tanks?

The UK’s most influential think tanks include independent institutes such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Resolution Foundation and the Institute for Government. Others have a stated outlook. IPPR calls its aims progressive and the Fabian Society calls itself left-leaning, while the Centre for Policy Studies and Onward describe themselves as centre-right.

The Institute of Economic Affairs and the Adam Smith Institute argue for free markets. On health, the main names are the King’s Fund, the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation. On foreign affairs and defence, they are Chatham House and RUSI.

Knowing where each sits helps you read its work, and decide whether and how to work with it. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have think tanks of their own.

At a glance

Leaders below are as each organisation named them on its own website on 14 October 2026.

Economics and living standards

• Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS): founded in 1969, it calls itself the UK’s leading independent economics research institute. It works on tax, benefits, education, health and inequality, and publishes the IFS Green Budget. Director: Helen Miller.
• Resolution Foundation: an independent think tank, founded in 2005, working to lift living standards on low and middle incomes. Its Intergenerational Centre looks at fairness between generations. Chief Executive: Ruth Curtice.
• National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR): in its own words, Britain’s longest established independent research institute, working since 1938. It publishes a quarterly Economic Outlook forecasting the UK economy. Director: David Aikman.

Government, public services and places

• Institute for Government (IfG): an independent, non-partisan charity, founded in 2008, working to make government more effective. Its IfG Academy supports ministers, shadow ministers and senior civil servants. CEO: Hannah White.
• Re:State: the public services think tank known as Reform until 2025. It argues for outcomes-driven, value-for-money public services and calls itself strictly independent and non-party. Chief Executive: Charlotte Pickles.
• Centre for Cities: a think tank on the economies of the UK’s largest cities and towns, independent of IPPR since 2007. With the LSE, it runs the What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth. Chief Executive: Andrew Carter.

Cross-party think tanks

• Demos: founded in 1993, it describes itself as Britain’s leading cross-party think tank. Its work centres on renewing democracy, from public service reform to trust in information and technology. Chief Executive: Polly Curtis.
• Social Market Foundation (SMF): a cross-party think tank on how markets and government can work together for society. Its subjects range from pensions and education to energy and AI. Director: Theo Bertram.

Progressive and Labour-linked think tanks

• IPPR (the Institute for Public Policy Research): an independent charity working "towards a fairer, greener, and more prosperous society". It has teams in IPPR North and IPPR Scotland, and says it never accepts money from political parties. Executive Director: Harry Quilter-Pinner.
• Fabian Society: a left-leaning think tank and membership society, founded in 1884 and affiliated to the Labour Party as a socialist society. It says it is independent of the party editorially, organisationally and financially. General Secretary: Joe Dromey.
• ThinkLabour: formerly Labour Together, renamed in 2026. It develops ideas, polling and political insight to help Labour govern and win the next general election. Interim Chief Executive: Ed Owen.

Centre-right and free-market think tanks

• Policy Exchange: an educational charity founded in 2002, working on public services, society and the economy, and on security and foreign policy. It is commonly described as conservative. Director: Dean Godson.
• Centre for Policy Studies (CPS): founded in 1974 by Sir Keith Joseph and Margaret Thatcher, it calls itself Britain’s leading centre-right think tank. It works on tax, growth, business, housing and welfare. Director: Liam Halligan, since September 2026.
• Onward: a centre-right think tank, founded in 2018, working on economic opportunity, national resilience and communities, particularly places that feel overlooked by Westminster. Director: Sir Simon Clarke.
• Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA): founded in 1955, it calls itself the UK’s original free market think tank. It holds no corporate position: its authors’ views are their own. Director General: Lord Hannan of Kingsclere.
• Adam Smith Institute (ASI): founded in 1977, it describes itself as independent, non-profit and non-partisan, promoting free market ideas. Its priorities include planning reform, lower and flatter taxes and a smaller state. Director: Dr Eamonn Butler, a co-founder.

Health and care

• The King’s Fund: an independent charity working to improve health and care in England, established in 1897. It combines research and analysis with leadership development for health and care leaders. Chief Executive: Sarah Woolnough.
• Nuffield Trust: an independent health think tank working to improve health care in the UK through research and policy analysis. It says it is independent of the NHS and of politics. Chief Executive: Thea Stein.
• The Health Foundation: an independent charitable organisation working to build a healthier UK, through research, analysis and funding programmes. Chief Executive: Dr Jennifer Dixon.

Foreign affairs, defence and security

• Chatham House: an independent policy institute on international affairs, and the home of the Chatham House Rule. It takes no institutional positions on policy issues. Director and Chief Executive: Bronwen Maddox.
• RUSI (the Royal United Services Institute): founded in 1831 by the Duke of Wellington. It calls itself the world’s oldest and the UK’s leading defence and security think tank. Director-General: Rachel Ellehuus.
• Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI): founded in 2016 by the former Prime Minister. It advises governments around the world on strategy, policy and delivery, and publishes on UK policy. Executive Chairman: Tony Blair; Chief Executive: Catherine Rimmer.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Each devolved nation has think tanks of its own, and some UK-wide ones have teams there, such as IPPR Scotland.

• Scotland: the David Hume Institute, an independent research institute on Scotland’s economy and society. The Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde has analysed the Scottish economy since 1975.
• Wales: the Institute of Welsh Affairs, a think tank and charity independent of government and parties. The Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University researches the law, politics and government of Wales.
• Northern Ireland: Pivotal, which describes itself as Northern Ireland’s independent public policy think tank.

How think tanks shape policy

A think tank’s report can frame a debate long before a minister or a select committee takes it up. Its proposals can then reach a manifesto: the CPS says the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto contained a range of policies it had advocated.

• Regular publications. Some publish on a cycle you can plan around: the IFS Green Budget, NIESR’s quarterly Economic Outlook, Centre for Cities’ annual Cities Outlook.
• Evidence to Parliament and government. Researchers give evidence to select committees and respond to consultations. MPs and peers cite their work in debates.
• Party conferences. Many run fringe events. For 2026, Re:State and Centre for Cities each announced events at the Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Reform UK conferences.
• People. Staff move between think tanks, government and the parties. The CPS’s director from 2017 to 2026 was one of the authors of that 2019 manifesto.

Working with think tanks

• Follow what they publish, and who picks it up. GovConnex Monitoring follows Hansard, select committee inquiries and UK Government consultations. You can see when a think tank’s work comes up in a debate or inquiry you follow.
• Bring evidence, not just a view. Think tanks need data and case studies. Your organisation’s figures can strengthen a report on your issue.
• Ask how support will be disclosed. Many offer corporate partnerships or sponsored research and events, such as the CPS’s Corporate Partnership Programme. Re:State, for example, labels sponsored events and outputs.
• Think about how it will look. Before putting your name to a think tank’s work, consider how its outlook and funding will read to the people you need. Our guide to public affairs strategy covers working out who decides.

How think tanks are funded

Funding affects how a think tank’s work is read, and how much each discloses varies widely.

• Endowments. The Health Foundation draws on an endowment of over £1 billion, and the Nuffield Trust is funded largely by its own. The Resolution Foundation is funded mainly by the Resolution Trust.
• Research funding. The IFS is funded mostly for specific projects, by the Economic and Social Research Council, government departments, foundations, companies and others.
• Donors, members and sponsors. Many draw on donations, membership and sponsored research or events. The IEA says it takes no government funding, and RUSI that it receives no core government funding.
• Disclosure. The IFS, IPPR, the SMF and RUSI publish lists of funders. Onward names donors of more than £5,000 twice a year. The IEA lists supporters who gave £5,000 or more; Re:State names institutional funders but not individual supporters.

Who Funds You?, a campaign for think tank transparency, grades UK think tanks from A to E on how fully they name their funders. It updated its ratings in September 2026 but says that update was partial, so check a think tank’s own funding page too.

Common questions

What is a think tank? An organisation that researches public policy and argues for change, through reports, events, the media and evidence to Parliament and government. Some are independent; others work from a political outlook or are linked to a party.

Which UK think tanks are linked to political parties? The Fabian Society is affiliated to the Labour Party as a socialist society. ThinkLabour, formerly Labour Together, works to help Labour govern and win. The Centre for Policy Studies was founded by Sir Keith Joseph and Margaret Thatcher, but describes itself as independent and non-partisan.

What happened to Reform and Labour Together? Reform, the public services think tank, became Re:State in 2025, saying the name ended confusion with Reform UK. Labour Together became ThinkLabour in 2026.

Is the Institute for Fiscal Studies independent? The IFS calls itself non-profit and non-political, and says it never accepts funding that relies on a particular result. It is funded mainly for specific projects, by research councils, government departments, foundations and companies, and publishes its funders.

Which think tanks publish who funds them? Practice varies. The IFS, IPPR, the SMF and RUSI publish their funders, and Onward names donors of more than £5,000. The Who Funds You? campaign grades think tanks from A to E on what they disclose.