Chatham House, also known as The Royal Institute of International Affairs, was founded in 1920 and received its Royal Charter in 1926. Its mission is to be a world-leading source of independent analysis, informed debate and influential ideas on how to build a prosperous and secure world for all. In January 2014 Chatham House was ranked the No.1 non-US think-tank, for the sixth consecutive year, and No.2 in the world, in the annual Go To Think Tank Awards.
Research is core to all Chatham House activities. The institute undertakes independent and rigorous analysis with the aim of setting the agenda and shaping policy by encouraging new ideas and forward thinking in international affairs. Chatham House research is structured around four departments: Area Studies and International Law; Energy, Environment and Resource Governance; International Economics; and International Security; as well as its Centre for Global Health Security.
The institute holds over 300 events per year, including major one- to two-day conferences workshops, seminars and briefings. Many of these events take place under the Chatham House Rule, to allow expert discussion among policy stakeholders. Chatham House experts also offer special briefings in the UK Parliament, and give evidence to government officials and legislators in cities around the world including Beijing, Brussels, Delhi, Istanbul, London, and Washington DC.
Many Chatham House projects culminate in publications, including Chatham House Reports and other research papers and journal and newspaper articles. Chatham House’s journal International Affairs offers scholarly analysis on important policy issues in addition to the institute’s bi-monthly magazine, The World Today, which provides a range of international commentaries on current developments. The Chatham House website, which offers access to all the institute’s reports, papers and event transcripts, receives over 1.2 million individual visitors each year, while the institute’s media profile is the highest of all UK-based policy institutes, with over 1,600 mentions, interviews and features in major national and international news outlets in 2012/13.
Chatham House’s focus on setting the agenda and shaping policy by encouraging new ideas and forward thinking in international affairs resonates strongly with the aims of the EAT Forum to help set goals and guidelines for the future. The global and interdisciplinary nature of Chatham House’s research and activities also fits well with the approach of the EAT Forum. In particular, combined expertise from the institute’s Energy, Environment and Resources Department and Centre on Global Health Security can feed innovative ideas into the Forum on how to develop internationally applicable guidelines and effectively communicate them to policymakers.