Think Tanks: Foundations and Research Institutes : Domestic

Founded in 1970, the center is the only think tank “whose work focuses exclusively on issues of particular concern to African Americans and other people of color.”

Founded in 1974, MDRC is "dedicated to learning what works to improve the well-being of low-income people.” Its policy/research areas include: promoting family well-being and child development, improving public education, promoting successful transitions to adulthood, supporting low-wage workers and communities, and
overcoming barriers to employment.

Founded in 1985 as part of the University of Southern California, the institute “advances critical, insightful thinking on key issues affecting Latino communities through objective, policy-relevant research, and its implications, for the betterment of the nation.”

Part of the State University of New York at Albany, the institute's mission is "to enhance the capacities of state governments and the federal system to deal effectively with the nation’s domestic challenges.”

With its roots in the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, PPI seeks “a third way beyond the liberal impulse to defend the bureaucratic status quo and the conservative bid to simply dismantle government.”

Formed in the 1960’s to monitor and evaluate Great Society programs, the institute focuses on a variety of issue areas, including poverty, housing, education, employment, crime and justice, and health care.

Founded in 1977, CATO is one of the most well-known libertarian think tanks.

Founded in 1984, Heartland's mission is "to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems.”

The institute's mission is “to boldly advance peaceful, prosperous, and free societies grounded in a commitment to human worth and dignity.”

The institute is focused on a wide range of municipal issues of interest to officials both in New York and in other cities throughout the United States.

Founded in 1983, NCPA's goal is "to develop and promote private alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the competitive, entrepreneurial private sector.”

Founded in 1968, Reason’s public policy research “promotes choice, competition, and a dynamic market economy as the foundation for human dignity and progress.”

Founded in 1976, Rockford is focused on “preserv[ing] the institutions of the Christian West: the family, the Church, and the rule of law; private property, free enterprise, and moral discipline; high standards of learning, art, and literature."