Powerful institutional incentives in our nation particularly in the Congress limit the focus of the national debate to short-term priorities and crisis management. For policymakers, the budget cycle, the end of the fiscal year, the next election, and day-to-day crises demand attention. Schedules are so filled with meetings on one short-term problem after another that many leaders scarcely have time to consider the challenges the nation may face tomorrow. The Institute was created to provide opportunities for Members of Congress and business and academic leaders to exchange new ideas and new information about emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities. The Congressional Institute for the Future, a Washington-based, nonprofit organization,* advances research and education about emerging issues. On a bipartisan, non-ideological basis, the Institute helps policy leaders in business and government understand, anticipate, and prepare for change. The Institute remains committed to fostering the spirit of bipartisan cooperation instilled by cofounders the late Senator John Heinz and then-Congressman Al Gore. The primary mission is to provide leaders with realistic projections of future policy challenges and to offer innovative solutions. The Institute has ties to the prestigious Institute of Public Policy at George Mason University. The Institute of Public Policy lends its research, analysis, and economic and technology assessment capabilities to support the Institute's foresight programs. The Institute's foresight programs track social trends and economic forecasts, examine technology's impact on society, and offer substantive research on emerging issues and problems. The Congressional Institute publishes reports and briefing papers, hosts major conferences, conducts bipartisan public opinion research, and sponsors a speaker series with visionary leaders from around the world. All programs are aimed at addressing those issues that most affect the nation's future economic and social well-being. The Institutes products and services include:
Leaders from the corporate and academic communities serve on the Institute's Board of Directors, which is chaired by a former Member of Congress. The collective expertise of the Board of Directors is available for guidance in project design and implementation of Institute projects. The Institute takes pride in its history of bipartisanship and collegial efforts to look beyond the contentious issues of the present and to foster long-range thinking. While the Institute offers a unique platform for new ideas, discussion does not imply endorsement of a particular viewpoint or proposal. SELECTED CONFERENCES AND PROJECTSGLOBE
INTERNATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Cape Cod, MA 1998 FIFTY YEARS LATER WHAT HATH
GATT WROUGHT? 1998 GROUND RULES FOR THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
1997 THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP
1996 EXPLORING OUR OCEANS 1995 UNIVERSITY CONTRIBUTIONS TO DEFENSE
TECHNOLOGY 1995 LEGISLATORS SUMMIT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
1994 THE FUTURE OF ENTITLEMENTS 1993 RURAL AMERICA: TECHNOLOGY FOR ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT 1992 CRISIS IN ADOLESCENT HEALTH
1991 CHALLENGING THE INFORMATION AGE
1989 BIOTECHNOLOGY: THE RACE AND THE REWARD
1988 TECHNOLOGY FOR LITERACY 1987 FUTURE OF LITERACY 1986 The 1999 Dialogues are funded by The Teresa and H. John Heinz III
Foundation. |