22nd January, 2015, Vilnius – The Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) is ranked among top 10 think tanks in Central and Eastern Europe according to a recently published Global Go To Think Tank Index (GGTTI) of the University of Pennsylvania, USA.
“Several years in a row we have been among the best in our region, and this year we have moved up to the 10th place. Worldwide we are among the 2% of the best think tanks. We work for people’s freedom to act, work and earn, and our efforts are recognized in Europe as well as globally,” – says President of LFMI Žilvinas Šilėnas.
Same as last year, LFMI was ranked among the 80 strongest think tanks in the category of local public policy which evaluates the contribution of institutions in the policy making process.
“We constantly monitor the agenda of the Seimas and put forward proposals for improving living and working conditions of citizens. Among free-market think tanks in Central and Eastern Europe, we position the highest. And each year we accomplish more and more internationally, not only in Lithuania,” claims Žilvinas Šilėnas.
LFMI is a member of several international networks. Together with influential Western European think tanks such as the Institute of Economic Affairs (the United Kingdom), Timbro (Sweden) and Instituto Bruno Leoni (Italy), LFMI actively participates in the EPICENTER network advancing free market position ideas in European policy debates. LFMI is an acknowledged leader of the 4Liberty network uniting prominent thinks tanks in Central and Eastern Europea. LFMI is highly recognized by the Atlas Network. In 2014 LFMI won a prestigious Templeton Freedom Award.
The Global Go to Think Tank Index rates both state-funded and private think tanks. To rank 6,618 think tanks in the recent index, the University of Pennsylvania invited 20 000 scholars, journalists, think tank experts, and other decision-makers from all around the world.
“In a world filled with tweets and sound bites that are often superficial and politically charged,” said James McGann, director of the program, “it is critical to know where to turn for sound policy proposals that address our complex policy issues. This independent Index is designed to help identify and recognize the leading centers of excellence in public policy research around the world.”
The Brookings Institution (United States) was ranked as the best think tank in the world. LFMI was ranked 121 globally. In the category of Central and Eastern Europe the Carnegie Moscow Center (Russia) came in first, with the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE) (Poland) and the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) (Poland) ranked second and third respectively.
