Brookings Institution

Overview

The Brookings Institution is a nonpartisan public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. It conducts research across economics, foreign policy, governance, global development and metropolitan policy, describing its mission as producing independent, in-depth research that leads to practical policy solutions at the local, national and global level.

Key functions and role

Brookings organizes its scholarship into core programs including Economic Studies, Foreign Policy, Governance Studies, Global Economy and Development, and Brookings Metro, convening more than 300 experts from government, academia and the private sector. It produces policy recommendations, briefings and public events aimed at federal and global decision-makers, and publishes research through Brookings Institution Press.

History

Brookings traces its origin to 1916 and the founding of the Institute for Government Research, described as the first private organization devoted to analyzing national public policy issues. On December 8, 1927, philanthropist Robert S. Brookings merged that institute with the Institute of Economics and the Robert Brookings Graduate School to form the Brookings Institution. During the Great Depression, Brookings economists studied the causes of the downturn for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the institution's scholars later opposed his National Recovery Administration. In 2022, then-president John R. Allen resigned amid an FBI investigation into lobbying activity on behalf of Qatar.

Political positions

Brookings describes itself as nonpartisan, stating that its staff hold a range of views. Media coverage has nonetheless characterized the institution variously as centrist, center-left, center-right or liberal; an academic analysis of congressional records from 1993 to 2002 found Brookings was cited by conservative politicians nearly as often as by liberal ones and identified it as the think tank most frequently cited by U.S. media and politicians during that period.

Leadership

Cecilia Rouse, a labor economist and former chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, has served as President since January 2024, becoming Brookings's ninth president and succeeding interim president Amy Liu. Glenn Hutchins and Suzanne Nora Johnson co-chair the Board of Trustees.

Location and contact info

Address
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20036, USA
Phone
(202) 797-6000
Email
communications@brookings.edu
Website
https://www.brookings.edu