Revision of the CIDOB Master Plan (2019-2021)

CIDOB, Centre of Global Thinking

International thinking has never been so necessary, or so questioned. Two parallel phenomena are currently affecting the activities and raisons d'être of think tanks as key parts of the ideas ecosystem. On the one hand, the world is shrinking and this, in turn, increases the influence of international developments on people's everyday lives. The politicisation of European and international politics is reconfiguring the agenda of a growing number of actors, governments and institutions. This results in greater citizen interest in these matters and creates more opportunities to increase the influence and relevance of think tanks. The value of informed analysis today should, therefore, be rising. 

On the other hand, polarisation and the public and political opposition to experts is also growing. The populist wave and authoritarian shift occurring in many parts of the world, allied to misinformation, are causing the value of social analysis to be questioned. More and more voices proclaim that expert knowledge should make way for the politics of emotions: this creates a crisis of the intermediaries that connect politics and knowledge, including think tanks and the media. Opposition to experts and knowledge has thus become a risk to research centres.   

These risks and opportunities place think tanks at the epicentre of public debate and offer a new framework for the sector's reinvention. As both the need for knowledge and opposition to it are increasing, the relevance and social impact of think tanks should be encouraged. Taking their traditional mission of linking politics and analysis as a starting point, think tanks today face the challenge of ensuring a better connection between knowledge and society. With this in mind, CIDOB constitutes a public good that contributes to improving the knowledge, dissemination and influence of global thinking. 

CIDOB’s mission and values 

CIDOB is a research centre that, through excellence and relevance, seeks to analyse the global issues that affect political, social and governance dynamics, from the international to the local. 

As a recognised independent institution with a long history, CIDOB pursues excellence and rigour in its analysis, publications and projects. It aims to be a useful tool for society, to ensure open access to knowledge and to promote the study of the international issues that affect citizens' daily lives. CIDOB seeks relevance and social impact for its research and attends to public institutions’ needs and requests for international information, aiming to influence decision-making processes and provide alternative visions. 

CIDOB also promotes innovation in the analysis of global politics, with the aim of transcending classical international relations structures and considering the growing impact of global phenomena on local realities. Innovation in research also involves opening up new lines of research to keep pace with current social transformations. 

From Barcelona, CIDOB analyses the influence of the international on the local and the definition and construction of the international from the local. Thematic relevance and the analysis of aspects of the international agenda that prompt greatest interest in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and Europe prevail in its publications and activities. 

CIDOB also seeks to mobilise a large number of social actors, to reach new audiences and to network with public institutions and civil society. Its objective is to continue being a leading European and international centre for the study of global politics, as well as a meeting point and window to the world.