What Institute for Progress does
The Institute for Progress (IFP) is a non-partisan Washington, D.C.-based think tank focused on innovation policy, working to “accelerate and shape the direction of scientific, technological, and industrial progress” in the United States. IFP describes its mission as policy entrepreneurship: producing research, providing technical assistance, and delivering policy advocacy aimed at shaping incentives and institutional practices across the U.S. science and technology ecosystem.
IFP organizes its work into multiple policy verticals. On its website, it highlights five main areas: Metascience (how to change incentives and institutions within science to produce more breakthrough research), High-Skilled Immigration (how to attract and retain top global talent), Biotechnology (policy aimed at preventing future pandemics and accelerating progress in the life sciences), Infrastructure (how to make it easier to build things in the world of atoms), and Emerging Technology (how to shape the frontier of technological development and deployment).
IFP’s recently published research emphasizes concrete policy proposals and government process improvements, including responses to federal rulemaking and guidance efforts (e.g., immigration fee policy and federal financial assistance grant-process reforms), as well as policy frameworks intended to influence how agencies pick priorities, structure programs, and allocate resources.