From the Chairman

This year we have entered the second decade of the 21^st century and the Samuel Neaman Institute is celebrating a third of a century of activities and contributions to national policy making. This is, therefore, an opportune time to look back and ask ourselves some critical questions. Was our work meaningful ? Did we bring about changes in national policies ? Have we met our mission and discharged our duty ? Have we made a difference ? These are relevant and not trivial questions for any policy think tank, ours included, for several reasons. First of all policy changes take time, new idea have to be absorbed into the fabric of the decision making community, they reach maturity only after multiple inputs and the process is permeated with political interests and circumstances. Yet, there are also cases where the impact is immediate and direct. We have experienced both.  Here are some selected examples:

• In the late 1970s a major neighborhood renovation project was launched all across Israel to reduce the socio-economic gap and provide housing to those who can't afford it. The project was jointly funded by the Government and the Jewish Agency. After a few years into the project the Jewish Agency requested the Neman Institute to independently evaluate its effectiveness. The evaluation resulted in pinpointing the major flaw in the project: namely that renovation without creation of suitable job opportunities in the area cannot succeed in the long term. 
• Another major project in the 1980s was to develop a methodology for managing Israel's water resources. Unfortunately, at that time the methodology wasn't adopted by the authorities. But, now when we are facing a major water crisis the Neaman methodology resurfaces and serves as the foundation for current policy studies.
  
  
• In the 1990s the Institute formulated the model and template for the R&D cluster program initiative MAGNET for the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The model was immediately adopted by the ministry and forms to the present day the backbone of the governmental industrial R&D support. 
  
  
• A major policy study the Institute did in the early 2000s is a comprehensive analysis of the Israeli chemical industry. The project was funded by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Manufacturer Associations and the Institute. The study demonstrated the huge growth potential of this industry provided both the Government and the industry adopt the recommendation. Though the policy proposed was not directly adopted as a whole, there is a clear spillover of the recommendations into practice. This includes the current interest and focus on 'cleantech' industries that have been recommended as very promising new venue for the industry.
  
  
• Jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the Institute analyzed the enfolding modern trends in public diplomacy and developed a template for the Ministry to target the public policies focused to specific audiences. The Ministry has adopted the recommendations.
   
• Recently the Institute was instrumental in developing the "Israel 2028 -Vision and Strategy for Economy and Society in a Global World" which is the most comprehensive national strategic plan.  In 2008 it was submitted to the Ulmert Government and was about to be adopted as the national strategy.  However political developments brought about a change in governments before it was put in action. Currently several 2028 follow up projects are carried out by the institute, such as integrating innovation into traditional industries and the other in developing a national program to integrate ultra-orthodox men into the workforce. 
  
  
• The Institutes has established over the years three influential discussion forums: in energy policies, water policies and higher education policies, which have gained excellent reputation and earned the respect by the policy makers. 
  
  
• In addition over the years and innumerable projects commissioned by governmental agencies we became the leading Institute in the country in environmental policies and we are recognized as the national center in compiling and developing science & technology and human resource indicators. 

These few selected studies carried out by the Institute suffice to demonstrate the breadth of the studies and answer, I believe, affirmatively the questions posed: yes we did make important contributions to national public policies and we do have an impact. 

top