Think Tanks

*For a complete list of think tanks in the U.S., visit the Harvard Kennedy School Library website. For a list of non-U.S. think tanks, visit here.

American Enterprise Institute

AEI is a private, nonpartisan, not-for-profit institution dedicated to research and education on issues of government, politics, economics and social welfare. AEI's purpose is to serve leaders and the public through research and education on the most important issues of the day. AEI research is conducted through seven primary research divisions: Economics, Foreign and Defense Policy, Politics and Public Opinion, Education, Health, Energy and the Environment and Society and Culture. It also works through several specialized outlets, such as the National Research Initiative (which sponsors research by university-based scholars), the AEI Press, the Enterprise Blog and The American, AEI's online magazine. http://www.aei.org/

Atlantic Council
The Atlantic Council promotes constructive US leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the central role of the Atlantic community in meeting the international challenges of the 21st century. Its program offices publish informational analyses, convene conferences among current and/or future leaders, and contribute to the public debate in order to integrate the views of knowledgeable individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds, interests and experiences.

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/

Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is an independent, nonpartisan organization devoted to research, analysis, education, and publications focused on public policy issues in the areas of economics, foreign policy, and governance. The goal of Brookings activities is to improve the performance of American institutions and the quality of public policy by using social science to analyze emerging issues and to offer practical approaches to those issues in language aimed at the general public.
www.brookings.org

Center for Defense Information
Part of the World Security Institute, The Center for Defense Information (CDI) provides expert analysis on various components of US national security, international security and defense policy. CDI promotes wide-ranging discussion and debate on security issues such as nuclear weapons, space security, missile defense, and military transformation. CDI accepts no US government or defense industry funding and does not hold policy positions.
http://www.pogo.org/about/cdi-joins-pogo.html

Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT)
CDT works to promote democratic values and constitutional liberties in the digital age. With expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT seeks practical solutions to enhance free expression and privacy in global communications technologies. CDT is dedicated to building consensus among all parties interested in the future of the Internet and other new communications media.
www.cdt.org

Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO)
As the only conservative think tank devoted exclusively to the promotion of colorblind equal opportunity and racial harmony, CEO is uniquely positioned to counter the divisive impact of race conscious public policies. CEO focuses on three areas in particular: racial preferences, immigration and assimilation, and multicultural education.
www.ceousa.org

Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University (CIESIN)
CEISIN is as an independent non-governmental organization which provides information that helps scientists, decision-makers, and the public better understand the changing relationship between human beings and the environment..
www.ciesin.org

Center for Women Policy Studies
The Center for Women Policy Studies is an independent, national multiethnic and multicultural feminist policy research and advocacy institution. The Center addresses cutting edge issues that have significant implications for women and seeks to incorporate the perspectives of women, in all their diversity, in the formulation of public policy that ensures the just and equitable treatment of women.
www.centerwomenpolicy.org

Center for Politics
In order to strengthen American democracy, the Center for Politics promotes the value of politics and seeks to improve civic education and increase civic participation through comprehensive research, pragmatic analysis, and innovative educational programs.
www.centerforpolitics.org

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
CSIS is dedicated to providing world leaders with strategic insights on policy solutions to current and emerging global issues.
www.csis.org

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP)
CBPP is a non-partisan research organization working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals.
www.cbpp.org

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
The Council on Foreign Relations is dedicated to increasing America's understanding of the world and contributing ideas to US foreign policy. The Council accomplishes this mainly by promoting constructive debates and discussions, clarifying world issues, and publishing Foreign Affairs, the leading journal on global issues.
www.cfr.org

Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA)
The Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) is a nonprofit, independent research and information organization established to promote the common interests of the hemisphere, and increase the importance of the inter-American relationship. COHA is one of the most active and broadest-based US private bodies dealing with political, economic and diplomatic issues, as well as responding to the economic and political challenges confronting the nations of this hemisphere.
www.coha.org

Carnegie Endowment
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States. Its work is nonpartisan and dedicated to achieving practical results.
www.carnegieendowment.org

East-West Center
The East-West Center is an internationally recognized education and research organization established by the US Congress to strengthen understanding and relations between the United States and the countries of the Asia Pacific region. The Center helps promote the establishment of a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Asia Pacific community in which the United States is a natural, valued and leading partner.
www.eastwestcenter.org

Economic Policy Institute (EPI)
The mission of the Economic Policy Institute is to provide high-quality research and education in order to promote a prosperous, fair, and sustainable economy. The Institute stresses real world analysis and a concern for the living standards
of working people, and it also makes its findings accessible to the general public, the media, and policy makers. EPI’s work spans a range of economic policy issues, including education, federal budget, health, immigration, labor policy, and trade and globalization.
www.epi.org

Freedom Forum
The Freedom Forum is a nonpartisan foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. The foundation focuses on three main priorities: the Newseum, First Amendment freedoms, and newsroom diversity.
www.freedomforum.org

International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC)
IIEC has worked to bring the power of sustainable energy solutions to developing countries and economies in transition. These solutions include energy efficiency, renewable energy, and integrated transport planning.

https://www.piie.com/

International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)
IISS is the world’s leading authority on global security, political risk, and military conflict. The IISS, based in London, is both a limited company in UK law and a registered charity. It has offices in the US and in Singapore with charitable status in each jurisdiction.
www.iiss.org

Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies informs and illuminates the nation's major public policy debates through research, analysis, and information dissemination in order to improve the socioeconomic status of black Americans and other minorities; expand their effective participation in the political and public policy arenas; and promote communications and relationships across racial and ethnic lines to strengthen the nation's pluralistic society.
www.jointcenter.org

National Institute on Money in Politics
The National Institute on Money in Politics is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to accurate, comprehensive and unbiased documentation and research on campaign finance at the state level. The Institute develops searchable databases, makes them available to the public online, and analyzes the information to determine the role campaign money plays in public policy debates in the states. The Institute also publishes studies and provides technical assistance and resources to reporters, academic researchers and state groups that work on campaign-finance issues.
www.followthemoney.org

National Security Network (NSN)
The National Security Network (NSN) was founded in June 2006 to revitalize America's national security policy, bringing cohesion and strategic focus to the progressive national security community. With experience in government service, the private sector and the non-profit sector, the members and experts of NSN take on the challenges facing the United States with a fresh and innovative perspective on foreign policy.
www.nsnetwork.org

Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government
The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government conducts studies and special projects to assist government and enhance the capacity of states and localities to meet critical challenges. Through its conferences, research, and publications, the Institute works with the best experts and top officials at all levels of government to forge creative solutions to public problems. The work of the Institute focuses on the role of state governments in the American federal system.
www.rockinst.org

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
NBER is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to promoting a greater understanding of how the economy works. The NBER is committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic community.
www.nber.org

The Heritage Foundation
Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institution—a think tank—whose
mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise,
limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.
www.heritage.org

National Center for Policy Analysis
The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy
research organization, established in 1983. Our goal is to develop and promote private, free-market
alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the
competitive, entrepreneurial
www.ncpa.org

The CATO Institute
The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization dedicated to the principles of individual liberty,
limited government, free markets and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan
research on a wide range of policy issues.
www.cato.org

Resources for the Future
Resources for the Future (RFF) is an independent, nonpartisan organization that conducts rigorous
economic research and analysis to help leaders make better decisions and craft smarter policies about
natural resources and the environment.
www.rff.org

Peterson Institute for International Economics

The Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research institution devoted to the study of international economic policy. Since 1981, the Institute has provided timely and objective analysis of, and concrete solutions to, a wide range of international economic problems. It is one of the very few economics think tanks that are widely regarded as "nonpartisan" by the press and "neutral" by the US Congress, and its research staff is cited by the quality media more than that of any other such institution.

https://www.piie.com/

Progressive Policy Institute (PPI)
PPI's mission is to define and promote a new progressive politics for America in the 21st century. Through its research, policies, and perspectives, the Institute is fashioning a new governing philosophy and an agenda for public innovation geared to the Information Age.
www.progressivepolicy.org

RAND
Rand is an objective, nonprofit institution that helps improve public policy through research and analysis. Rand's broad research agenda helps policymakers strengthen the nation's economy, maintain its security, and improve its quality of life by helping them make choices in education, health care, national defense, and criminal and civil justice, among many other areas.
www.rand.org

Tax Policy Center

The Tax Policy Center is a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. The Center was created to fill the growing need to clarify and analyze the nation's tax policy choices. It provides timely, accessible analysis and facts about tax policy to policymakers, journalists, interested citizens, and researchers.

www.taxpolicycenter.org

Urban Institute

The Urban Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan economic and social research organization established to examine the social, economic, and governance problems facing the nation. It provides information and analysis to public and private decision makers to help them address these challenges and strives to raise citizen understanding of the issues and tradeoffs in policy making.

www.urban.org

World Resources Institute (WRI)

The World Resources Institute's mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth's environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations. Because people are inspired by ideas, empowered by knowledge, and moved to change by greater understanding, WRI provides—and helps other institutions provide—objective information and practical proposals for policy and institutional change that will foster environmentally sound, socially equitable development.

www.wri.org