At 7:00 p.m. on March 5, Xin Baoying, a provincial think tank expert of Shandong, was invited to deliver a special lecture entitled “Breaking the ‘Strong Research but Weak Policy Advice’ Dilemma: Enhancing University Faculty Capacity for Policy Consultation.” The lecture was chaired by Song Xiukui, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, and was attended online by all faculty members of the School.

In her lecture, Professor Xin first provided a systematic analysis of the key differences between policy advisory reports and conventional academic research papers. Drawing on practical issues reflected in recent Chinese government work reports during the annual “Two Sessions” (China’s major national policy-setting meetings), she identified major challenges in current think tank research and policy report writing from five perspectives: differences in modes of thinking, discourse systems, problem awareness, gaps between theory and practice, and conflicts between time and academic workload. She then offered in-depth insights and practical strategies for producing high-quality policy advisory reports, emphasizing the transformation from academic truth-seeking to policy effectiveness, from academic language to policy-oriented language, from discipline-driven to problem-driven research, from desk-based reflection to field investigation, and from individual efforts to team-based collaboration. In the final part of the lecture, Professor Xin presented and analyzed several representative policy research outcomes from her own work over the past two years, enabling faculty participants to gain a more intuitive and in-depth understanding of topic selection, structure, argumentation, and writing norms for high-quality think tank reports.

In her concluding remarks, Dean Song Xiukui noted that Professor Xin’s lecture was systematic, insightful, and highly practical. She emphasized that the lecture not only clarified the direction of think tank research for faculty members, but also provided concrete and actionable writing methodologies. Dean Song stressed the importance of strengthening think tank research and producing high-quality policy advisory outcomes, calling for increased institutional support, improved incentive mechanisms, and sustained efforts to advance the School’s think tank development to a higher level.

Speaker Profile:

Xin Baoying is a Professor, Director of the Institute of Trade Union Theory Research at Shandong Management University, Editor-in-Chief of Shandong Trade Union Forum, and Director of the Shandong Institute for New-Type Urbanization Studies. She also serves as a member of the Central Economic Committee of the China Democratic National Construction Association (CDNCA), a member of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the Shandong Provincial Committee of the CDNCA, and a standing committee member of the CDNCA branch at Shandong Management University. In addition, she holds positions as a Council Member of the China Regional Science Association, Deputy Director of its Population and Regional Development Committee, and Secretary-General of the Shandong Workers’ Movement Research Association.

Professor Xin is a recipient of the Shandong Provincial Government Special Allowance and serves as a provincial expert in policy consultation, rural revitalization think tanks, and national social science peer review. She has long been engaged in research on urban–rural integration, rural development, urbanization, and population aging. She has led more than ten national- and provincial-level research projects, published over fifty academic papers, and authored five monographs. Numerous research achievements have received provincial and ministerial-level awards for outstanding social science achievements. More than twenty of her policy advisory reports have received formal endorsements from senior Party and government leaders or have been adopted into government policy documents. Her book Talent Revitalization: Building a Talent System to Support Rural Revitalization was funded by the National Publication Fund of China.