Research On Operation Mechanism,Efficiency,and Influcing Factors Of New University Think-Tank With Chinese Characteristics

University think-tank is an essential part of the modern think-tank system.The development and prosperity of university think-tank would significantly affect the modernization process of national governance system and governance ability.Promoting the construction of new university think-tank with Chinese characteristic(NUTTC),could not only improve the social service capacity and level of universities,but also enrich and develop the existing think-tank system,thus provide a strong support for the comprehensive upgrading of national soft power.Many internal and external forces affect the construction and operation of NUTTC.Constructing the internal and external operation mechanism,evaluating the operation efficiency and analyzing the influencing factors of university think-tank,has very important theoretical and practical implication to the construction of NUTTC.Based on the existing theoretical basis of university think-tank,combining the system evaluation method,production efficiency theory,and econometric approaches,this paper aims to answer the following questions: “what is the characteristic of the NUTTC”,“How is the operation mechanism and efficiency of NUTTC”,and “how to enhance the operation efficiency and influence of NUTTC”.Through qualitative analysis and quantitative measurement,we construct the operation mechanism for NUTTC,and puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions to improve the operation efficiency and enhance the influence of university think-tank.The main research work and conclusion of this paper include the following aspects:(1)Analyzing and reconstructing the basic connotation,characteristics and function orientation of NUTTC.Through the literature review,this paper defines the basic connotation of NUTTC,which is the integrated integration of the three types of “Chinese characteristics”,“new type” and "think-tank".In addition to the basic functions of general think-tank,such as policy recommendations and policy research,NUTTC also bears special functions such as fostering Chinese talents,constructing Chinese theories and forming Chinese schools.NUTTC also has the characteristics of combining theoretical research with social practice,taking into consideration the spirit of scientific research and social mission,openness and integration,and collaborative innovation.In addition,the construction of NUTTC needs to learn from the mature mode and operation experience of foreign typical university think-tank in function orientation and operation management.(2)Designing and constructing the internal management mechanism and external cooperative mechanism oriented to the target of NUTTC.Based on the connotation and orientation of NUTTC and the advanced experience of the construction of think-tank at home and abroad,the benchmarking analysis method is applied to design the operation mechanism of the university think-tank.First,starting from the internal operation structure of the university think-tank,the internal management system is designed for four specific elements,including personnel,funds,projects and achievements.Second,based on the analysis on external cooperative objects and their characteristics,this paper designs the external coordination mechanism of university think-tank from the perspective of resources integrating,personnel exchanging,results outputting,policies providing,and interests balancing.(3)Proposing a measurement model of the operation efficiency of the University think-tank.On this basis,the operational efficiency of China's typical university think-tanks is empirically examined.Selecting input indicators(person,money,and information),and output indicators(policy influence,academic influence,social influence)from the micro-level operation of the university think-tank,we construct a SBM operation efficiency measurement model by considering variable returns to scale and subjective and objective weighting for university think-tank.An empirical study based on data from China think-tank index(CTTI)shows that the construction of China's university think-tank presents “small organization,big network”,“small core,periphery” features,although it is helpful to improve the influence,but not conducive to the overall efficiency of university think-tank.Evaluation results indicate that only 1/3 of the university think-tanks run effectively,while the think-tanks of the first class discipline universities run better than those of the first-class universities and ordinary universities.At the same time,we analyze the influencing factors of the development of university think-tank,and puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions to improve the operation efficiency of university think-tank in China.(4)Proposing correlation analysis model of the influence factors of the university think-tank based on the grey DEMATEL method.From the aspects of economic,political,social and technical environment,the external constraint factors of university think-tank are identified and analyzed.The internal influence factors of university think-tank are identified and analyzed from the aspects of operation mode,funds and personnel in the operation process of think-tank.Using the grey DEMATEL method and the expert survey data,the effects of various factors are investigated.The empirical results show that the level of economic development,the introduction of tank construction policy document have the largest effects on the development of university think-tank;the former officials is also an important factor that cannot be ignored;issues factors have the weakest effect and are easily influenced by other factors.It is very important to increase the transparency of university think-tank,although it was also easily affected by other interference and restraining factors.(5)Carrying out a case study on the Zijin media think-tank of Nanjing University under the framework constructed in this paper.The results of the case analysis show that the internal and external operating mechanism has an important effect on the influence of the university think-tank.Good external resource integration mechanism and collaborative mechanism between special education,have greatly promoted the development of Zijin media think-tank,resulting in a leading position on the social influence and public opinion influence in in Jiangsu Province.However,the defect of internal talent management and project management mechanism still restricts the exertion of the influence of the Zijin media think tank.