New America

New America is a nonprofit public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C., founded in 1999. It conducts research and advocacy across technology, foreign policy, education, economic opportunity, and national security, convening scholars, policymakers, and industry leaders. New America is known for producing reports, hosting events, and running fellowship programs that intersect with debates involving the Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Council on Foreign Relations, American Enterprise Institute, and Center for American Progress.

History

New America was created at the end of the Clinton administration era amid a proliferation of policy institutes such as Heritage Foundation, Urban Institute, Aspen Institute, and Hoover Institution. Early leadership included figures associated with the Bipartisan Policy Center and alumni of Georgetown University, Harvard Kennedy School, and Princeton University. Throughout the 2000s it expanded programs in technology policy alongside organizations like Electronic Frontier Foundation, Center for Democracy & Technology, and Access Now, while engaging with policymakers from the United States Congress, White House, and agencies such as the Department of Defense and National Science Foundation. In the 2010s New America launched initiatives touching on opioid response connected to Johns Hopkins University research and workforce development paralleling work at Brookings Institution and RAND Corporation. The organization’s growth brought collaborations with foundations including Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Gates Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Mission and Programs

New America’s stated mission emphasizes renewing the institutions of American democracy and shaping public policy innovation, intersecting with projects run by Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, MIT, and Columbia University. Its fellowship programs have hosted fellows associated with Princeton University, Brown University, University of Chicago, London School of Economics, and University of California, Berkeley. Signature programs include technology and society work that dialogues with Microsoft Research, Google, Amazon Web Services, Facebook (Meta), and Apple Inc.; education initiatives that echo policy debates involving Teach For America, KIPP, and National Education Association; and international programs engaging with think tanks such as Chatham House, German Marshall Fund, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Research and Policy Areas

New America conducts multidisciplinary research across several domains, partnering with experts linked to Pew Research Center, Pew Charitable Trusts, National Bureau of Economic Research, RAND Corporation, and American Institutes for Research. Technology policy work addresses issues related to artificial intelligence debates influenced by OpenAI, DeepMind, IEEE, ACM, and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; internet governance discussions alongside Internet Society and Internet Engineering Task Force; and privacy concerns engaging lawyers from Electronic Privacy Information Center and scholars from Stanford Law School and NYU School of Law. Its foreign policy research overlaps with scholarship on NATO, European Union, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and security analyses involving Pentagon briefings and studies incorporating data from United Nations reports. Economic mobility and labor work engage debates involving Federal Reserve, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Economic Policy Institute, and Urban Institute. Education research ties into initiatives from Department of Education, National Science Foundation, Carnegie Mellon University, and SRI International.

Organizational Structure and Funding

New America is governed by a board that has included leaders from institutions like Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School, Wharton School, and Yale School of Management. Executive staff have often been drawn from networks including State Department, National Security Council, House of Representatives, Senate, and academic centers at Georgetown University. Funding comes from a combination of foundation grants, corporate partnerships, individual donors, and program revenue, with acknowledged funders sometimes including the Ford Foundation, Gates Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and corporate philanthropy from Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. Financial transparency has been compared to reporting practices at Council on Foreign Relations and Brookings Institution, while compliance interacts with regulatory frameworks like filings to the Internal Revenue Service and nonprofit standards advocated by Independent Sector.

Criticism and Controversies

New America has faced scrutiny and debate similar to controversies that have affected other policy organizations such as Leakgate-style media scandals, debates over corporate funding seen at Brookings Institution and Center for American Progress, and personnel disputes reminiscent of episodes at Radical transparency controversies in think tanks. Critics have raised concerns about the influence of corporate donors from Google, Facebook (Meta), Amazon, and other tech firms on research agendas, echoing critiques leveled at Research Center controversies involving Philanthropy and private-sector partnerships. Faculty and fellows departing or criticizing programs have prompted coverage in outlets that also report on controversies at The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, and The Atlantic. Debates have centered on editorial independence, disclosure practices comparable to debates at Gates Foundation-funded projects, and the balance between advocacy and scholarship as discussed in forums with participants from American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Press Club, and academic conferences at American Political Science Association meetings.

Category:Think tanks based in the United States