During Boao Forum Roundtable Discussion 4 on March 29th – The Role of Think Tanks in Decision-making, Olin Wethington (Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council/Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security) commented that funding for think tank is an issue that directly affects the intellectual freedom of think tank. Donors may influence the think tanks’ work through the funding. The fundamental issue is to separate the funding from the product. He pointed out four ways to deal with this issue:

1. Diversification of donations to decrease dependence on specific foundations

2. Minimize the amount of governmental support and move forward to private sources of funding

3. Think tank leaders are and must be people with integrity and are problem-solvers

4. Incorporate a diversified range of opinions in the planning and structure of a project