Recently, Institute of International Studies and Institute of Public Governance at Shandong University have been included in the China Think Tank Index (CTTI), marking the 10th and 11th SDU think tank platform indexed by CTTI.

The Institute of International Studies at Shandong University is headed by Chair Professor Zhang Yunling, who is also a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).The Institute is founded based on an interdisciplinary perspective, with global and regional governance as the main focus, and develops research on a wide range of topics such as regional relations, regional governance, regional cooperation, marine strategy, marine governance, marine cooperation, international economic development, international economic governance and cooperation. The Institute collaberates with a series of research organizations in China, and co-built the Center for British Studies with Weihai City as well as International Public Security Research Center with CASS. The Institute also joined hands with other research institute at Shandong University, such as the Center for Northeast Asian Studies, Center for South Asian Studies, and Asia-Pacific Research Institute, to set up the WeChat official account and collaberate on publishing books and think tank reports.The institute currently undertakes a number of projects funded by National Social Science Fund, the Ministry of education and Shandong Province. Its think tank reports have been adopted by the relevant government departments. At present, research is being carried out on international regional theory, the history of the International Monetary System, the construction of maritime community with a shared future, the B&R link with Europe, China's participation in international economic governance during the 14th five-year plan period, Shandong’s cooperation with Japan, South Korea, and Europe, etc. The Institute strives to be a leader in making theoretical innovation in the field of international governance, as well as in serving national and local development.

The Institute of Public Governance at Shandong University is organized by the School of Political Science and Public Administration. Its research focuses on people’s livelihood in Shandong. Its brand project, “Shandong General Social Survey (SGSS)”, has been proven fruitful. Having established a database to reflect the trend of social development in Shandong, it provides important data support for solving public governance issues with theoretical and practical significance. Based on the survey data, the Institute published “Shandong Comprehensive Development Report (2017-2018)” at the end of 2019, which has become an important basis for understanding the development trend of Shandong. Team members won grants from the National Natural Science Fund, the National Social Science Fund, the Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Science Fund and other scientific research fundings. The Institute also presided over a number of government commissioned research projects, including the Jinan baihuazhou community digital governance case, which became a national classic. The Institute has written a number of advisory report for the government decision-making and contributed wisdom to national and local governance.The institute has been certified by platforms such as “Shandong Province Intelligence Alliance” and “Shandong Think Tank Alliance”.

Chinese Think Tank Index (CTTI), is currently the most authoritative think tank index in China. It is committed to collecting, evaluating, preserving, retrieving and utilizing Chinese think tank data.This is the third time CTTI supplement think tank sources, and a total of 99 supplementary think tanks were selected, including 34 provincial and ministerial key think tanks, 3 key research bases supported by Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Sciences, and 8 national and regional research bases supported by Ministry of Education. Before Institute of International Studies and Institute of Public Governance joined the list, CTTI indexed 9 research centers that are organized by Shandong University.