About Us
With over 60 years of groundbreaking public scholarship, the Institute for Policy Studies is the nation’s oldest multi-issue progressive research organization.
We’ve partnered with virtually every major social justice movement — including movements for peace, civil rights, LGBTQ and gender equality, economic justice, global human rights, and the climate. We’ve advised policy makers at the highest levels, worked hand in hand with organizers in the grassroots, and mentored generation after generation of progressive scholars and activists.
You can read more about our history.
What We Do
Our work today takes several shapes:
Public Research
We do policy research and share our findings in reports, articles, and media appearances. This work educates the general public as well as policy makers — and bolsters the social movements who pressure them. You can browse this work on our Research page, by Issue Area, or by Project.
Strategy
We convene movements and advocates for peace, justice, and the environment to craft practical strategies for change — and often produce talking points, activist toolkits, and other resources for movement partners.
Training
We train the next generation of progressive scholars and advocates through internships and fellowships. You can find out more about our Leadership Programs here.
Independent Media
We run our own independent media outlets and websites, including:
Inequality.org, a go-to resource for students and advocates working to understand — and end — economic inequality.
OtherWords, which syndicates free op-eds offering progressive analysis and perspectives to small and medium-sized newspapers across the U.S. heartland.
The National Priorities Project, which produces original research on U.S. military spending and how to reprioritize people and the planet in our federal budget.
Foreign Policy In Focus, which offers analysis from experts and activists working to make the U.S. a more responsible global partner.
Our Values
Our policy work covers a broad array of subjects, but ever since our founding it’s been united by three key principles:
Public scholarship
Only in the nexus of policy research, advocacy, and grassroots activism can ideas be turned into action. We do our research and make policy recommendations in partnership with the social movements working to put them into practice.
Independence
Unlike many research organizations and think tanks, IPS accepts no money from governments or corporations. We’re entirely supported by nonprofit foundations and individual donors. You can learn more about how to support IPS here.
Local, National, Global
Partnering with allies and social movements on the ground, IPS operates simultaneously on the local, national, and global levels because we believe that transformation requires engagement at every level.
