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#thinklist30 methodology

The rationale and criteria behind the relaunched #thinklist - the #thinklist30 Women's List

People using social media
The #thinklist: a list of social media’s most influential faculty thinkers on issues of responsible business

Our goal is to rethink the role and responsibilities of business in creating a sustainable society. As part of this mission, we publish the #thinklist - a list of influential faculty thinkers on social media who focus on issues of responsible business.

The #thinklist was initially compiled using an online platform that tracks an individual’s social media use to calculate a score corresponding to their online ‘power’. This data-based approach used a person’s follower count, retweets, replies and mentions to gauge their influence online. However, from 2020 onwards, we have adopted a different approach that seeks to be less data-driven and more inclusive.

The new #thinklist methodology

The #thinklist is no longer based on metrics such as follower numbers. It is instead curated by a group of experts in the field. The Centre for Business, Organisations and Society will continue to oversee the list, but will commission the input of other leading scholars.

The Autumn 2020 #thinklist30 ‘Women’s List’ has been selected by the CBOS Leadership Team. Subsequent versions of the #thinklist will be based also on the input of guest curators.

To be included in this version of the #thinklist, a person must:

  • Identify as a woman
  • Be a faculty member in a business school
  • Be an active user of Twitter
  • Tweet on the topic of responsible business, broadly defined

Our selections of the #thinklist30 have been made on a number of criteria, including our evaluation of the quality and quantity of relevant posts and interactions, the level of attention thinklisters have paid to responsible business issues both on social media and beyond, and how much their work and social media activity has inspired our curators.

We will adopt broadly similar criteria in subsequent lists but with some specific rules for inclusion each time. A key principle going forward will be diversity. We hope to represent different subject areas, viewpoints and backgrounds.

Lastly, the #thinklist is a living thing - it develops and changes over time. Each list is just a snapshot of the curators’ views during that quarter. If we have missed something, or if you have thoughts about refining our selection criteria to better fulfil our ambitions of inclusivity, please let us know.

Centre for Business, Organisations and Society

We want to be as inclusive as possible in future iterations, so please let us know who you think should be included by tweeting us, using the hashtag #ThinklistNom