Partners

The Progressive Ideas Network

The Progressive Ideas Network (PIN) is an alliance of multi-issue think tanks and activist organizations working together to amplify the power of ideas in advancing today's progressive movement. Its mission is to provide opportunities for collective action, offer service and training to its members, and create a forum for crafting long-term strategies and ideas. Together, PIN members are building a policy infrastructure to power a new era in progressive politics. The Commonweal Institute is PIN's designated home and fiscal sponsor. Read more about it.

	The Campaign for America’s Future is a center for issue advocacy, communications, and coalition-building to forge a new American majority for progressive reform. The Campaign is shaping forward-looking alliances around strategic policy initiatives to produce expanded economic opportunity, social justice, a healthy environment, and a more democratic society. The Institute for America's Future (IAF) is an "action institute" conducting educational and research activities designed to empower citizens to shape the debate about our country's economic future.
	The Center for Community Change (CCC) is a progressive 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1968 by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial and leaders of the civil rights and labor movements to be a living memorial to Senator Kennedy's belief in community-based organizing as the best means to create sustainable positive change in the lives of America's poor. The Center's mission is to build the power and capacity of low-income people, particularly people of color, to change the policies and institutions that affect their lives.
	The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) was established in 1999 to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives. In order for citizens to effectively exercise their voices in a democracy, they should be informed about the problems and choices that they face. CEPR is committed to presenting issues in an accurate and understandable manner, so that the public is better prepared to choose among the various policy options.
	The Commonwealth Institute has programs in progressive approaches to national security, citizen action against climate change, and the study of progressive political strategy. The largest and longest running program is the Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA); PDA's work is premised on the belief that policy innovation can overcome the practical obstacles to progress toward more cooperative security postures -- however, it sees the prerequisite of innovation to be a close and critical engagement in the mainstream security policy debate. The Commonwealth Institute is an independent, nongovernmental public policy research center founded in 1987 and located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
	The Center on Wisconsin Strategy is a national policy center and field laboratory for high-road capitalism - a competitive market economy of shared prosperity, environmental sustainability, and capable democratic government. COWS' work is experimental and evidence-driven. Collaborating with business, government, labor, and communities, we try out new ideas, test their effectiveness, and disseminate those with promise. COWS, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, educational and charitable organization funded by foundation and individual gifts and grants and technical assistance contracts.
	Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action is a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization. Headquartered in New York City, Demos works with advocates and policymakers around the country in pursuit of four overarching goals: a more equitable economy; a vibrant and inclusive democracy; an empowered public sector that works for the common good; and responsible U.S. engagement in an interdependent world.
	The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy is a non-partisan, non-profit think tank generating the ideas that fuel the progressive movement. From releasing nationally recognized studies of our increasingly fragile middle class to showcasing progressive policies that have worked to advance social and economic justice, DMI has been on the leading edge of the public policy debate. Founded during the civil rights movement, DMI equips those on the frontlines with the tools to more effectively advance an agenda of social and economic justice, including research, model policies, policy-driven Web sites, and even young talent.
	The Economic Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a prosperous and fair economy. It was established in 1986 to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers. Today, with global competition expanding, wage inequality rising, and the nature of work changing in fundamental ways, it is critical for these interests to be represented in the economic debate. With a staff of PhD economists, EPI adheres to strict standards of sound, objective research and analysis, and couples its findings with outreach and popular education.
	Grassroots Policy Project, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, brings political and social movement theory into practice by mining the best ideas from social and political sciences, as well as from movement history, applying these ideas to actual organizing -- base-building, coalition-building, campaign and electoral work. We bring our framework about power, worldview and strategy into our workshops and trainings with groups. GPP stays connected to groups over a long period of time, so that the implementation, evaluation and reflection phases are built-in to all of our programs on worldview and strategy development.
	Green For All is a national organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. By advocating for local, state and federal commitments to job creation, job training, and entrepreneurial opportunities in the emerging green economy - especially for people from disadvantaged communities - Green For All fights both poverty and pollution at the same time.
	The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems. IATP was founded in 1986 to analyze the root causes of the farm crisis and advocate for policies that support family farmers, rural communities, consumers and the environment. IATP works to integrate sustainability throughout the entire food and farm system, from supporting family farmers and the environment to ensuring that everyone has access to healthy food.
	The Institute for Policy Studies turns ideas into action for peace, justice and the environment. We strengthen social movements with independent research, visionary thinking, and links to the grassroots, scholars and elected officials.
	The Jamestown Project is a diverse action-oriented think tank of new leaders who reach across boundaries and generations to make democracy real. Founded and operated primarily by people of color and women, The Jamestown Project consists of scholars, activists, and communities who use five broad strategies to achieve our mission: generating new ideas; promoting meaningful public conversations and engagement; cultivating new leaders; formulating political strategy and public policy; and using cutting-edge communications techniques that reach a broad public.
	New Vision: An Institute for Policy and Progress is a national network of both young and established scholars who are committed to charting the next generation of domestic progressive public policy. We focus on setting the agenda rather than reacting to it, and we provide politically relevant products without compromising analytical rigor. By building a bridge between academia and policy, New Vision is creating viable career paths for young scholars interested in work relevant to public policy. We are a critical element of the movement aimed at rejuvenating the role of ideas in progressive politics.
	The Opportunity Agenda was founded in 2004 with the mission of building the national will to expand opportunity in America. Focused on moving hearts, minds and policy over time, the organization works closely with social justice organizations, leaders, and movements to advocate for solutions that expand opportunity for everyone. Through active partnerships, The Opportunity Agenda uses communications and media to understand and influence public opinion; synthesizes and translates research on barriers to opportunity and promising solutions; and identifies and advocates for policies that improve people's lives.
	The Progressive States Network was founded in 2005 to drive public policy debates and change the political landscape in the United States, by focusing on attainable, progressive state actions. The Progressive States Network advances this agenda by providing coordinated research and strategic advocacy tools to forward-thinking state policymakers, legislative staff, and non-profit organizations. We function as a meeting space for progressive legislators, activists, and citizens, and serve as a hotbed of information exchange. We track legislation in all 50 states, helping to spark change across the country.
	Redefining Progress is a nonprofit policy institute that works to balance economic well-being, environmental health, and social justice. Our initiatives address pressing environmental concerns such as global climate change and natural resource depletion while ensuring that both the burdens and the benefits of these policies are shared equally among affected communities. We prepare unbiased research about how economic policies and business practices affect people's lives and create innovative tools such as the Ecological Footprint and the Genuine Progress Indicator that help governments, businesses, and individuals measure their impact on the environment and society.
	The Roosevelt Institution is a students' policy organization whose mission is to build a more progressive society. Roosevelt generates ideas and implements policy through a network of 7,000 students and 75 chapters on college campuses around the country. In the process of researching, writing, and organizing, we: educate ourselves about the political process; engage policymakers, inform public discourse and support activists; and prepare ourselves for a future of leadership and action. We are supported in our work by our parent organization, the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, which is dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of their namesakes for future generations.
	Sightline Institute is a not-for-profit research and communication center--a think tank--based in Seattle. Founded in 1993 by Alan Durning, Sightline's mission is to bring about sustainability, a healthy, lasting prosperity grounded in place. Our focus is Cascadia, or the Pacific Northwest. It's a slow-motion revolution, but it's happening. Since 1993, we've equipped Northwesterners with the research and tools they need to make progress on a range of solutions, from banning toxic chemicals that have shown up in our food and our bodies to defeating ruinous land-use ballot measures across the Northwest in 2006 and 2007. Nonpartisan and wholly independent, Sightline's only ideology is commitment to the shared values of community, fairness, responsibility, and opportunity.