The Institute for Government was named last night as the Think Tank of the Year in Prospect magazine's annual awards.
The judges singled out work on minority governments, changes of government, supporting coalitions and fiscal consolidation for recognition – but said that in the soundings they took on which think tank had made most impact one name kept cropping up – the Institute for Government.
The Institute for Government follows in the illustrious footsteps of bodies such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the only two times winner.
Indispensable
The judges described the Institute as "indispensable," praising its work on financial consolidation which helped improve the policymaking process leading up to the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Chair of the judging panel, Ben Rogers also said, "Just think of the role that the Institute for Government and the Constitution Unit played in preparing the ground for a hung parliament and enabling the creation of a coalition government."
Accepting the award from Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Director of the Institute Andrew Adonis paid tribute to the work that had won the award.
He stressed that the Institute was far more than just a think tank – through events, seminars, working with government and opposition we aimed to fulfil our founding mission of making government more effective.
Other winners
Other winners last night were:
- Policy Exchange - for publication of the year
- European Council for Foreign Relations - for foreign policy think tank
- ResPublica - as 'one to watch'.
More information
- Prospect Magazine blog: Think tank of the year awards—the winners
- About the Institute for Government
- About the Prospect Think Tank of the Year Awards
Team photo courtesy of Prospect magazine, available on the Institute for Government's Flickr photostream