National Industrial Conference Board

National Industrial Conference Board
Name	National Industrial Conference Board
Formation	1916
Headquarters	New York City
Type	Nonprofit research organization
Former names	Conference Board (later rebranded)

Contents

National Industrial Conference Board is an American nonprofit research organization founded in 1916 that has influenced public policy, corporate strategy, and labor relations. It has produced analyses used by lawmakers, executives, and scholars across sectors such as U.S. Congress, Federal Reserve System, United States Department of Labor, New York City, and major corporations like General Electric, U.S. Steel, J.P. Morgan, and Ford Motor Company. Over its history the organization engaged with figures including Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Samuel Gompers, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and interacted with institutions such as Harvard University, Columbia University, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Council on Foreign Relations.

History

Founded in 1916 amid debates following the Panama Canal era and the lead-up to World War I, the organization grew from industrial conferences convened by industrialists and labor leaders. Early conveners included representatives from American Federation of Labor, National Association of Manufacturers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and firms like Bethlehem Steel and Standard Oil. During the interwar years it produced reports cited during the Great Depression and during New Deal policymaking by advisors connected to Brain trust participants and agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and Social Security Administration. In World War II its research informed procurement and mobilization alongside War Production Board and Office of Price Administration. Postwar activities intersected with Cold War institutions including Marshall Plan implementers, United Nations, and OECD. In late 20th-century debates it provided testimony and analysis referenced before committees of the U.S. Senate and the House Committee on Ways and Means, and engaged with think tanks like Heritage Foundation and Economic Policy Institute. Recent decades saw collaborations with multinational firms such as Microsoft, Amazon, ExxonMobil, and interactions with regulators like Securities and Exchange Commission and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The organization’s stated mission emphasizes applied research for business leaders, policymakers, and labor representatives, aiming to inform deliberations in venues such as White House, U.S. Congress, Department of Commerce, and corporate boards of directors at firms like Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola Company, and IBM. Activities include convening roundtables with participants from International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Central Bank, and representatives from national ministries such as United Kingdom Treasury and Ministry of Finance (Japan). It hosts conferences where speakers have included officials from Federal Reserve Board, scholars from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Yale University, and Nobel laureates associated with Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

The organization produces reports, white papers, statistical series, and policy briefs addressing labor markets, corporate governance, macroeconomic forecasting, and regulatory analysis. Notable outputs have been cited alongside publications from National Bureau of Economic Research, RAND Corporation, Pew Research Center, and journals like American Economic Review and Harvard Business Review. It has published indices used by practitioners and cited by media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Washington Post, and broadcasters like NPR and BBC News. Research topics have spanned taxation debates involving the Internal Revenue Service, trade policy tied to World Trade Organization, and labor standards linked to International Labour Organization.

Governance historically combined corporate directors, labor representatives, and academic advisors, with boards populated by executives from Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, AT&T, Boeing, and labor leaders from United Mine Workers of America. Presidents and chief executives have included leaders who engaged with presidents such as Calvin Coolidge and Lyndon B. Johnson, and with scholars from Columbia Law School and Harvard Kennedy School. Organizational units mirror those at peer institutions like Brookings Institution and Council on Foreign Relations, comprising research divisions, convening teams, and outreach groups that liaise with congressional staff from offices of senators and representatives including those from New York and California delegations.

Reports and testimony have been used in deliberations on legislation affecting taxation, antitrust enforcement tied to Clayton Antitrust Act, labor legislation related to National Labor Relations Act, and social insurance programs connected to Social Security Act. Analyses informed regulatory rulemaking at Securities and Exchange Commission and discussions at international fora such as Group of Seven and Group of Twenty. The organization’s work shaped corporate practices in areas like board composition and executive compensation, influencing standards promoted by Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Ernst & Young and reflected in shareholder proposals filed with proxy advisory firms such as Institutional Shareholder Services.

Throughout its history the organization partnered with academic institutions including Princeton University, University of Chicago, London School of Economics, and research centers like Kennedy School programs and the Harvard Business School. It collaborated with international organizations such as United Nations Development Programme, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank Group, and with industry groups like U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable. Affiliations extended to philanthropic funders such as Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and to networks including Aspen Institute and Trilateral Commission.

Category:Nonprofit organizations based in the United States