The IPS Annual Report 2009
By Tamar Abrams, John Cavanagh, Elizabeth Schulman
The Institute for Policy Studies entered 2009 determined to help transform the hope that surrounded Obama's historic victory into meaningful change.
The Institute’s 35 public scholars united behind a new strategy of building “outside” pressure among activists for key changes, supplemented by an “inside” strategy of delivering analysis and fresh ideas directly to policymakers in Congress and the new administration. By the end of the year, the Institute’s “inside/outside” strategy would lead staff into high-level meetings at the White House, the Capitol, and the Pentagon, as well as into the streets of Washington, Europe, Africa, South America, the Middle East, and Asia, and onto the editorial pages of newspapers across our country.
The work of IPS public scholars resonated with their key audiences, altering policy, budgeting, and even democracy in ways that were sometimes behind-the-scenes and sometimes highly visible. Following are just a few highlights of the impact of the Institute’s work in 2009.