Cons

The institute is VERY siloed. Although senior management encourages cross-program collaboration, this does not happen in practice, and sometimes it feels like programs are competing with each other. There is no external review system for research products, and coming from an academic background, the economic and policy research often feels like it lacks rigor. Like any organization, the experience depends very strongly on your supervisor and co-workers. Some teams feel very hierarchical with limited opportunities for junior staff to take on responsibility, regardless of previous experience. Because all work is project-based and depends on external funding, it can be hard to explore new ideas, and sometimes the work feels like consulting. Pay is lower than other think tanks.