About GPPi
The Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) is an independent non-profit think tank based in Berlin. We conduct research, offer ideas and advice and facilitate dialogue, seeking to contribute to a world that is more peaceful, just and equipped to address global challenges.
What We Do: Reflect. Advise. Engage.
Reflect: Through our research, we aim to offer policy relevant answers to both normative and practical questions. We strive for academic excellence, analytical rigor and bold thinking, and to tap into a diverse range of perspectives. We work with leading universities and research institutions around the world and engage with policymakers as well as the people affected by their decisions.
Advise: GPPi collaborates with partners and clients from the public and non-profit sectors — including international organizations, national governments and foundations — to promote better policy through organizational change and learning. We benefit from our partners’ deep expertise in their respective fields. By employing a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods, we analyze how policies are made, assess their effectiveness and explore ways to strengthen decision-making. Our expertise includes monitoring and evaluation and future-oriented analyses such as strategic foresight and scenario planning.
Engage: We aim to spark and advance both public and expert debates by offering contributions that are clear, credible and accessible. We engage with practitioners, experts and the wider public through discussions and publications in specialized and general-interest media. We support changemakers who are creative, willing to see issues through the eyes of others and unafraid to work across divides. Our dialogue programs create space for them to exchange ideas, develop shared initiatives and build connections across countries, disciplines and professional communities. We specialize in professional dialogue facilitation methods to foster meaningful conversations and nurture better global leadership.
Who We Are: Staff, Non-Resident Fellows, Circle of Friends, Advisory Board
When GPPi opened its Berlin office in October 2003, it was little more than an idea. More than 20 years on, we have established ourselves as a think tank while remaining true to the founding ideas about the kind of organization we wanted to create. We have therefore deliberately opted for careful and organic growth. This allows us to be flexible, to sustain an informal culture and to nurture familiarity and trust among the team. For us, this is the ideal environment to produce creative and cutting-edge thinking.
The GPPi staff has expertise across a range of global issues and experience working in academia, government, non-profit and private sectors. Guided by curiosity and an interest in engaging with the world around us, we believe in open debate — questioning assumptions, challenging each other’s ideas and refining our thinking in a spirit of collaboration. We try to approach our work with humility, knowing that we will not always get things right and that learning from mistakes is part of the process.
To reach scale and impact, the GPPi team works with a growing global network of individuals and organizations. We are supported by GPPi’s advisory board members, non-resident fellows, and a vast circle of friends. Members of the advisory board support key aspects of our work based on their experience in many fields. Non-resident fellows are academics and professionals from different disciplines who are based at universities, international organizations, foundations and self-started initiatives. These fellows collaborate with us on individual projects and provide input, feedback and contacts. In addition, GPPi draws on the support and dedication of the GPPi Circle of Friends. Many members are former GPPi colleagues who maintain close ties with the institute while pursuing their academic and professional careers.
How We Work: Management Approach
GPPi’s managers aim to build and grow a unique and sustainable institution while also developing their own fields of interest and expertise. The members of GPPi’s management team share responsibility for overseeing tasks such as hiring, staff development, fundraising and project development, financial planning, communications and organizational development. At the same time, they pursue their own areas of interest, with most leading work on one or more of the institute’s issue areas: Peace & Security, Humanitarian Action, Monitoring & Evaluation, Global Order, Human Rights and Democracy, Migration, Strategic Foresight, and Data & Technology Politics.
Our management team includes:
- Thorsten Benner, Director
- Philipp Rotmann, Director
- Julia Steets, Director
- Wade Hoxtell, Head of Operations
The management team is supported by the association’s executive committee. The executive committee works on a pro-bono basis. It is currently chaired by Wolfgang Reinicke, GPPi’s president and co-founder. In addition to Wolfgang, there are six members of the executive committee: Thorsten Benner, Philipp Rotmann and Julia Steets, who are also part of the management team, as well as Claudia Meier, Jan Martin Witte and Andrea Binder. Jan Martin is one of the institute’s founders and, like Andrea and Claudia, a former member of the GPPi management team. The committee represents the association and is responsible for all decisions with broader financial and strategic implications.
GPPi is fully committed to promoting gender equality at all levels of the organization and across all aspects of our work. We believe that it is our responsibility to help strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion in our field – and to practice what we preach within our own organization.