All in the Families

by John Hood

In the aftermath of the Blueprint NC imbroglio, there has a new wave of political and media attention devoted to North Carolina think tanks, policy centers, and activist groups.

The attention is deserved. The “policy nonprofit” sector has long played a major role in national affairs, beginning with the founding of the Brookings Institution in Washington during World War I and the arrival of the American Enterprise Institute in the nation’s capital during World War II. These two venerable think tanks are still in operation and highly influential, positioning themselves ideologically on the Center-Left and Center-Right respectively. Over the years, more than a hundred similar organizations have cropped up, both in Washington and in all 50 states. Actually, the sector is now international in scope, with think tanks and policy shops of varying ideological stripes in operation in dozens of different countries.

Here in North Carolina, policy nonprofits got their start with the founding of the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research in 1977, the N.C. Child Advocacy Institute (now called Action for Children-NC) in 1983, the Public School Forum of North Carolina in 1986, and the John Locke Foundation in 1989. Many other organizations came along during the 1990s (e.g., the North Carolina Justice Center and its various brands and programs) and 2000s (e.g., the Civitas Institute and Americans for Prosperity).

Over the past few years, North Carolina policy nonprofits of a conservative or libertarian bent have tended to attract more attention and scrutiny, largely because of a concerted political strategy of attacking Art Pope and his family’s charitable foundation, which is a major donor to such groups. In reality, however, left-of-center policy nonprofits have always outnumbered and outspent right-of-center ones in North Carolina, thanks to major support from donors such as Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem and the A.J. Fletcher Foundation in Raleigh.

On Friday, WRAL-TV reporter Mark Binker posted a lengthy story that examines the entire sector – Left, Right, and Center. It is well worth a read, and includes brief profiles of key policy nonprofits. Among other things, Binker identifies each group as either affiliated with the Z. Smith Reynolds “family” on the Center-Left, the Pope Foundation “family” on the Center-Right, or unaffiliated (but usually ideologically identifiable based on issues or output). As I understand it, WRAL’s coverage of the sector will continue to expand, giving its readers and viewers useful background information on the individuals and institutions they frequently see quoted on North Carolina politics and policy. It’s a good idea, a long-overdue one.

Every quarter, I track the performance of more than a dozen policy nonprofits (as the leader of one, I should be fired if I wasn’t). At last count, the sector raised and spent more than $30 million a year. While the groups vary widely in size and organization, they typically provide one or more of the following services to policymakers, politically engaged citizens, and the general public:

• Policy research. Think tanks produce reports and studies on major issues affecting North Carolina. After publication, these studies often spawn op-eds, talking points, testimony before governmental bodies, press interviews, and public presentations.

• Media outreach. Most policy nonprofits attempt to influence the public policy debate by communicating through the mainstream media. They do news interviews, produce op-eds or regular newspaper columns, and provide guests for radio and TV programs. Some organizations actually produce their own journalism for direct public consumption, such as the NC Center for Public Policy Research’s magazine North Carolina Insight, the NC Justice Center’s Policy Watch website and radio program, and JLF’s Carolina Journal (produced in print, online, radio, and video formats).

• Online outreach. Some of North Carolina’s most popular blogs and websites about state politics and public policy are hosted by policy nonprofits, such as The Progressive Pulse, Civitas Review, The Locker Room, and JLF’s regional blogs devoted to Charlotte, the Triangle, the Triad, the coast, and the mountains.

• Face-to-face outreach. Think tanks send their policy studies and other material directly to state and local policymakers, often hand-delivering them and discussing their findings in face-to-face meetings. Because of North Carolina’s stringent lobbying rules, some of this activity is now considered to be lobbying, so some think tank staffers are registered accordingly. Activist groups such as AFP and Progress NC go beyond this outreach role by developing and mobilizing network of activists who contact state lawmakers and other officials to express their opinions on issues.

• Litigation. Organizations such as the NC Institute for Constitutional Law and North Carolina’s ACLU chapter go to court to advance their respective missions.

I expect North Carolina’s policy nonprofit sector to continue to grow and develop. New organizations may well make an appearance. Older ones may disappear, or undergo major changes in programs and direction. Ideas matter. So do the organizations that craft, market, and debate them.

John Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation and an NC Spin Panelist