The Institute for Progress, known simply as IFP, is a Washington, D.C.-based non-partisan think tank that researches industrial, technological, and scientific progress.[1][2][3][4] Founded in 2022 by Caleb Watney and Alec Stapp, IFP seeks to bring ideas from progress studies to policymakers.[4][5]
 | |
| Abbreviation | IFP |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2022 |
| Type | Public policy think tank |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
Key people | Caleb Watney (Co-CEO) Alec Stapp (Co-CEO) |
Staff | 17 Full Time Staff, 9 Non-resident Senior Fellows |
| Website | ifp |
Personnel
editIFP is led by its two cofounders, Alec Stapp and Caleb Watney. According to their website they served both as policy directors at the Progressive Policy Institute and as fellows at the Mercatus Center. They have master's degrees in economics from George Mason University.[6][7]
IFP's other staff include Director of Science Policy Heidi Williams, Senior Immigration Fellow Jeremy Neufeld, Senior Innovation Economist Matt Clancy, and Senior Infrastructure Fellow Brian Potter.[8]
IFP also has a number of affiliated scholars and experts as senior fellows, including Pierre Azoulay from MIT, Ina Ganguli from UMass Amherst, Benjamin Jones from Northwestern University, building construction expert Brian Potter, Paul Niehaus from UC San Diego, geneticist and biosecurity expert Nikki Teran, and Kyle Myers from Harvard Business School.[8]
Policy areas
editIFP engages in research and political advocacy in three key policy areas: metascience, high-skilled immigration, biosecurity, and emerging technology.[9][10][11][12][13] In an interview, cofounder Caleb Watney described the think tank's strategy, noting that on many issues, "there is a sweet spot in the middle between flying completely under the radar and trying to mount a loud, activist campaign. We agree with the 'Secret Congress' theory of modern DC policymaking, which says that the issues most likely to gain traction are often the ones that get talked about the least on cable news and stay off the front page of newspapers."[14]
Metascience policy
editIFP has promoted more experimentation and diversification in the way the U.S. federal government funds scientific research. Co-CEO Caleb Watney and Director of Science Policy Heidi Williams have argued for a public biomedical innovation fund housed at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.[15] They have also proposed experimental funding mechanisms at the National Institutes of Health.[15] IFP has published proposals to pilot new grantmaking processes at the National Science Foundation[16] and to establish a new system of National Laboratory Schools.[17]
High-skilled immigration policy
editIFP has emphasized the importance of immigrants to American science and innovation. IFP's senior immigration fellow Jeremy Neufeld has proposed extending the Optional Practical Training period for international students and expanding O-1 visa eligibility.[18] Neufeld has advocated for reforms to increase foreign STEM talent in the US to compliment investments in semiconductor manufacturing by the CHIPS Act.[19] Neufeld has also advocated reforming the H-1B visa system to replace the lottery with merit-based selection.[20]
Biosecurity policy
editIFP research in biosecurity focuses on issues related to preventing and mitigating the harms from future pandemics as well as accelerating progress in the life sciences. Senior biosecurity fellow Nikki Teran has expressed support for comprehensive biosecurity policy reform, including the PREVENT Pandemics Act, and has analyzed how spending in the bill compares to proposed spending in the American Pandemic Preparedness Plan.[21][22] She also criticized the federal government's response to the 2022 Monkeypox outbreak, attributing a lack of effective vaccinations and treatments to administrative failures.[23]
References
edit- ^ "The Institute for Progress". Institute for Progress. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ Klein, Ezra (2022-02-12). "Opinion | Can Democrats See What's Coming?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "IFP: Institute for Progress | Policy Commons". policycommons.net. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ a b Piper, Kelsey (2022-02-11). "To make progress, we need to study it". Vox. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ Smith, Noah (2022-02-16). "Interview: Alec Stapp and Caleb Watney of the Institute for Progress". Noahpinion. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "Caleb Watney, Author Bio". Retrieved 2022-10-21.
- ^ "Alec Stapp, Author Bio". Retrieved 2022-10-21.
- ^ a b "About". Institute for Progress. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
- ^ Jarvis, Will. "78: The Institute for Progress with Alec Stapp – Narratives Podcast". Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ Salam, Reihan (2022-06-17). "Conservatives Can Win By Embracing 'Selectionism'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "Lessons from the pandemic: preparing for next time". Niskanen Center. 2022-06-02. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "Senate works on bill to 'PREVENT' future pandemics". wtsp.com. March 16, 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ Mearian, Lucas (2022-07-05). "Tech talent shortage slows reshoring of chip manufacturing in US". Computerworld. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "Interview:Alec Stapp and Caleb Watney of the Institute for Progress". Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b Watney, Caleb; Williams, Heidi (August 22, 2022). "Drug pricing reforms can hurt innovation. Here are 3 ways to prevent that". Washington Post.
- ^ Sharma, Ishan; Watney, Caleb; Mills, Tony. "Piloting and Evaluating NSF Science Lottery Grants: A Roadmap to Improving Research Funding Efficiencies and Proposal Diversity". Institute for Progress.
- ^ Resnick, Alec; Duffy, Shanalynn. "Creating a Public System of National Laboratory Schools". Institute for Progress.
- ^ "Employers Face Talent Crunch as College Foreign Enrollment Dips". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "Biden wants an industrial renaissance. He can't do it without immigration reform". POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
- ^ Dixon-Luinenburg, Miranda (2022-07-13). "America has an innovation problem. The H-1B visa backlog is making it worse". Vox. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ Magazine, Undark (2022-06-27). "Amid Covid's Turmoil, Biosafety Gets Political". Undark Magazine. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ Matthews, Dylan (2022-03-22). "Congress's epic pandemic funding failure". Vox. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ Demsas, Jerusalem (2022-07-25). "The U.S. Has No Plan to Prevent the Next Pandemic". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-07-26.