Education-Related Think Tanks

Acton Institute: Grand Rapids MI (https://acton.org/)

Political Orientation: libertarian

Policy Focus: public policy

Prominent Funders: David H. Koch Foundation

Notable Figures: Betsy DeVos

American Enterprise Institute: Washington DC (http://www.aei.org/)

Political Orientation: conservative

Policy Focus: government, economic policy, social welfare, private enterprise

Prominent Funders: ExxonMobil

Notable Figures: Lynne Cheney, Charles Murray, Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Christina Joff Sommers, Richard Vedder, Robert Bork, Dinesh D'Souza, David Frum

Aspen Institute: Washington DC (https://www.aspeninstitute.org/)

Political Orientation: centrist

Policy Focus: education policy, leadership, criminal justice, environmental policy

Prominent Funders: Carnegie Corporation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, Ford Foundation

Notable Figures: Walter Isaacson, Madeleine Albright, John Doerr, Salman Khan, Queen Noor of Jordan, Condoleezza Rice, Katie Couric

Brookings Institution: Washington DC (https://www.brookings.edu/)

Political Orientation: centrist

Policy Focus: education policy, global development, economic policy,

Prominent Funders: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, the LEGO Foundation, State of Qatar

Notable Figures: E. J. Dionne, Jon Huntsman, Susan Rice, Susan Dynarski

Cato Institute: Washington DC (https://www.cato.org/)

Political Orientation: libertarian

Policy Focus: education policy, government spending, monetary policy, tax policy, information and Internet policy

Prominent Funders: FedEx, Google, Whole Foods Market

Notable Figures: Charles and David Koch, Neal McCluskey, Julian Sanchez

Center for American Progress: Washington DC (https://www.americanprogress.org/)

Political Orientation: liberal

Policy Focus: criminal justice, education policy, economic policy, social policy

Prominent Funders: Ford Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Walmart, Walton Family Foundation, CitiGroup, Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, Joyce Foundation

Notable Figures: Neera Tanden, Ulrich Boser, Lawrence Korb

Center for Immigration Studies: Washington DC (http://www.cis.org/)

Political Orientation: conservative

Policy Focus: immigration

Prominent Funders: William H. Donner Foundation, Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, John M. Olin Foundation

Notable Figures: Mark Krikorian

Claremont Institute: Claremont CA (http://www.claremont.org/)

Political Orientation: conservative

Policy Focus: legal policy, property rights, environmental policy

Prominent Funders: Sarah Scaife Foundation, Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, John M. Olin Foundation, William H. Donner Foundation

Notable Figures: Bruce Sanborn, Pat Sajak

Clayton Christensen Institute: Cambridge MA (https://www.christenseninstitute.org)

Political Orientation: conservative

Policy Focus: education policy, disruptive innoation

Prominent Funders: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Notable Figures: Clayton Christensen, Michael Horn

Discovery Institute: Seattle WA (http://www.discovery.org/)

Political Orientation: conservative

Policy Focus: intelligent design, economic policy, technology policy

Prominent Funders: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Maclellan Foundation

Notable Figures: Bruce Chapman

Economic Policy Institute: Washington DC (http://www.epi.org/)

Political Orientation: liberal

Policy Focus: economic policy, health care, education

Prominent Funders: AFSCME, United Auto Workers, United Steekworkers, United Mine Workers, Service Employees International Union

Notable Figures: Valerie Wilson, Lawrence Mishel

Electronic Privacy Information Center: Washington DC (https://epic.org)

Political Orientation: libertarian

Policy Focus: privacy, Internet technology, free speech

Prominent Funders: Carnegie Corporation, Ford Foundation, W. K. Kellog Foundation, Omidyar Network, Sun Microsystems, Rockefeller Family Fund

Notable Figures: Marc Rotenberg

Foundation for Excellence in Educaiton: Tallahassee FL (http://www.excelined.org/)

Political Orientation: conservative

Policy Focus: education policy

Prominent Funders: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Michael Bloomberg, Amplify

Notable Figures: Jeb Bush, Condoleezza Rice

Future of Privacy Forum: Washington DC (http://www.futureofprivacy.org/)

Political Orientation: conservative

Policy Focus: privacy, Internet technology, free speech

Prominent Funders: Google, AT&T, Comcast, Facebook, Bill & Melinda gates Foundation

Notable Figures: Jules Polonetsky

Heartland Institute: Chicago IL (https://www.heartland.org/)

Political Orientation: libertarian

Policy Focus: education policy, environmental policy (global warming), health care policy, tobacco

Prominent Funders: Sarah Scaife Foundation, John M. Olin Foundation, Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, ExxonMobil

Notable Figures: Robert Buford, Joseph L. Bast

Heritage Foundation: Washington DC (http://www.heritage.org/)

Political Orientation: libertarian

Policy Focus: government spending, education policy, foreign policy

Prominent Funders: Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation

Notable Figures: Rebekah Mercer, Edwin Meese III, Steve Forbes, Jim DeMint

Hoover Institution: Palo Alto CA (http://www.hoover.org/)

Political Orientation: libertarian

Policy Focus: economic policy, health care, education, foreign relations, environmental policy

Prominent Funders: Walton Family Foundation, John M. Olin Foundation, Randolph Foundation, Searle Freedom Trust, Joyce and Donald Rumsfeld Foundation, ExxonMobil, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation

Notable Figures: George P. Shultz, Edwin Meese, William Damon, Terry Moe, Condoleezza Rice

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation: Washington DC (http://www.itif.org/)

Political Orientation: centrist

Policy Focus: technology policy

Prominent Funders: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Cisco, eBay, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Google, IBM

Notable Figures: Orrin Hatch, Darrell Issa

National Bureau of Economic Research: Cambridge MA (http://www.nber.org/)

Political Orientation: centrist

Policy Focus: economic policy, health care, education

Prominent Funders: John M. Olin Foundation, Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation

Notable Figures: Joseph Stiglitz, Martin Feldstein, Ben Bernanke

New America Foundation: Washington DC (https://www.newamerica.org/)

Political Orientation: centrist

Policy Focus: education policy, technology policy, energy policy, economic policy

Prominent Funders: David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Arizona State University, The Emerson Collective, Google, Lumina Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Notable Figures: Eric Schmidt, James Fallows, Francis Fukuyama, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Fareed Zakaria, Kevin Carey

RAND Corporation: Santa Monica CA (http://www.rand.org/)

Political Orientation: centrist

Policy Focus: education policy, health care policy, global climate change, science and technology, national security

Prominent Funders: US Air Force, US Army, US Department of Health and Human Services

Notable Figures: Linda Darling-Hammond, Hubert Dreyfus, Daniel Ellsberg, Henry Kissinger, Margaret Mead, John von Neumann, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Herbert Simon

Reason Foundation: Los Angeles CA (http://reason.org/)

Political Orientation: libertarian

Policy Focus: education policy, economic policy, health care policy

Prominent Funders: Charles G. Koch Foundation, David H. Koch Foundation, Brady Education Foundation, ExxonMobil, Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Sarah Scaife Foundation, William H. Donner Foundation

Notable Figures: Drew Carey, David H. Koch, Robert W. Poole Jr.,

Thomas B. Fordham Institute: Washington DC (http://www.edexcellence.net/)

Political Orientation: conservative

Policy Focus: education policy

Prominent Funders: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Carnegie Corporation of New York, College Board, Hoover Institution

Notable Figures: Chester E. Finn Jr., Rod Paige, Diane Ravitch

Urban Institute: Washington DC (http://www.urban.org/)

Political Orientation: liberal

Policy Focus: education policy, housing policy, health care, criminal justice

Prominent Funders: Annie E. Casey Foundation, Ford Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation

Notable Figures: Sarah Rosen Wartell, Henry Cisneros, Erskine Bowles

This project was last updated on 1 September 2017