Fonden Kraka

Fonden Kraka (commonly known as Kraka) is a Danish private socio-economic think tank organised as a non-profit foundation (erhvervsdrivende fond). It was established in 2011 with the declared purpose of future-proofing the Danish welfare society. In 2018 Kraka stated its official mission as providing and communicating knowledge that can help balance considerations and political decisions across three areas: the individual, businesses, and the public sector. The think tank is led by Peter Mogensen, a former official at the Danish Ministry of Finance, political commentator, and former partner at Accenture. It employs around 20 people, nearly half of them full-time. For its first three years, Jakob Hald, formerly a department head at the Ministry of Finance, served as co-director until he left in 2014 to become a department head at the Ministry of Taxation. Kraka's work consists of producing cross-political socio-economic analyses and making recommendations on central societal issues. In 2020 the think tank established a subsidiary, Kraka Advisory, a socio-economic consultancy that carries out assignments and produces reports for companies. Among other work, Kraka Advisory produced a series of reports on the financial sector in 2021–2023 financed by Danske Bank, and it has an overarching collaboration with the consultancy Deloitte. Kraka is 100% financed by private sponsors. After a somewhat difficult start, it now receives financial support from a range of private companies and organisations, including Realdania, Landbrug & Fødevarer, Mærsk, Falck, Deloitte, Dansk Byggeri, Dansk Industri, and Grundejernes Investeringsfond. Coloplast and Danish Crown have also made financial contributions. Profits from the subsidiary Kraka Advisory additionally help co-finance the think tank's activities. According to communications adviser Peter Mose, support from companies such as Mærsk reflects that large Danish companies see an advantage in using an institution like Kraka to produce societal analyses that can nudge hesitant politicians in the desired direction, as an alternative to the companies' own business organisations, which do not appear with the same credibility in public. From the business community's perspective, private think tanks like Kraka thus increasingly function as an important instrument in the struggle to influence the economic and political agenda. According to Kraka's director Peter Mogensen, Kraka is not opinion-less, but is not in anyone's pocket when it produces and communicates its analyses. Kraka has faced criticism. A number of key people at Kraka have a past in the Economic Councils (De Økonomiske Råd) or the Ministry of Finance. According to researcher at CBS Christoph Ellersgaard, this has given Kraka a position as a "system-preserving think tank": "Many of the people around Kraka have helped develop the calculation models and set the lines for the dominant economic policy of recent decades. Now they largely produce analyses that legitimise that policy. One can at least say that their work largely confirms the Modernisation Agency's view of the world."

Fonden Kraka was established in 2011 as a private socio-economic think tank organised as a non-profit foundation, with the declared purpose of future-proofing the Danish welfare society. In its early years the think tank had a somewhat difficult start financially. For the first three years, Jakob Hald, formerly a department head at the Danish Ministry of Finance, served as co-director alongside Peter Mogensen, until Hald left in 2014 to become a department head at the Ministry of Taxation. By 2018 Kraka had articulated an official mission: to provide and communicate knowledge that can help balance considerations and political decisions across three areas — the individual, businesses, and the public sector. The think tank's core work consists of producing cross-political socio-economic analyses and making recommendations on central societal issues. In 2020 Kraka established a subsidiary, Kraka Advisory, a socio-economic consultancy that carries out assignments and produces reports for companies. Among other work, Kraka Advisory produced a series of reports on the financial sector in 2021–2023 financed by Danske Bank, and it has an overarching collaboration with the consultancy Deloitte. Kraka is 100% financed by private sponsors. After its difficult start, it came to receive financial support from a range of private companies and organisations, including Realdania, Landbrug & Fødevarer, Mærsk, Falck, Deloitte, Dansk Byggeri, Dansk Industri, and Grundejernes Investeringsfond; Coloplast and Danish Crown have also contributed. Profits from Kraka Advisory additionally help co-finance the think tank's activities. The think tank has drawn criticism for the backgrounds of key staff in the Economic Councils or the Ministry of Finance, with CBS researcher Christoph Ellersgaard describing it as a "system-preserving think tank" whose work largely legitimises the dominant economic policy of recent decades.

• 2021

  Kraka Advisory begins producing a series of reports on the financial sector financed by Danske Bank (through 2023).

• 2020

  Kraka establishes subsidiary Kraka Advisory, a socio-economic consultancy.

• 2018

  Kraka states its official mission: to provide and communicate knowledge balancing the individual, businesses, and the public sector.

• 2014

  Co-director Jakob Hald leaves to become a department head at the Ministry of Taxation.

• 2011

  Fonden Kraka established as a private socio-economic think tank organised as a non-profit foundation.

Private, non-profit socio-economic think tank producing cross-political analyses to future-proof the Danish welfare state; funded entirely by private sponsors.

• Socio-economic analyses

• Policy recommendations

• Small Great Nation project

• Kraka Advisory consultancy reports

1. 1Forside | Krakakraka.org
2. 2Kraka (tænketank)da.wikipedia.org
3. 3Wikidata: Q12311855wikidata.org