Urban Institute

By Dana M. Lovelady

Graduate Student, Grand Valley State University

Definition

The Urban Institute (UI) is a think tank and public policy research center. It is a product of the social and political reforms of the 1960s. Created to research and assess the scores of governmental programs that sprung up, the UI developed into a significant contributor to the social and economic research community. The institute's nonpartisan and independent position has built a reputation of reliability and objectivity, essential qualities needed to conduct and report research accurately.

The organization's mission statement highlights its core functions as conducting policy research, gathering and analyzing data, evaluating programs and services, and educating Americans on critical issues and trends (Urban Institute 2001, 2). Examples of topics examined by UI in the fulfillment of its mission include: discrimination in employment and housing, teen pregnancy, unemployment, healthcare, tax policies, deteriorating infrastructure, substance abuse, immigration, education, disease, violence, and the aging population. Improved understanding of these and many other issues has resulted in the reduction of certain social problems and the prevention of others.

Historic Roots

After President John F. Kennedy's Civil Rights Act passed in 1964, under the supervision of Lyndon B. Johnson, social issues became a major concern for the American people. Acknowledging America's deteriorating and unstable urban conditions, President Johnson's 1965 State of the Union address introduced the "Great Society." Johnson's Great Society, based on the ideas and work begun by John F. Kennedy, focused on areas such as reducing poverty, unemployment, and welfare reform. The idea ultimately produced the largest level of legislative activity since the New Deal of the 1930s. Literally hundreds of new federal programs were implemented. Unfortunately, by 1966, it became apparent that many programs were under-funded and not creating the anticipated changes in communities. Finally, in 1968, President Johnson established a panel of economists and social scientists with the intention of monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of nearly 400 federally-sponsored programs. This panel of experts became the Urban Institute (From Revolution 1994).

Importance

The Urban Institute's work educating the media, the public, and decision-makers has significantly influenced what America deems to be acceptable and unacceptable in social policies. Every presidential administration from Johnson to Clinton has sought the Urban Institute's advice on a variety of topics (Urban Institute 1998, 7). In one way or another, the decisions made by politicians affect every aspect of citizens' lives - the crime in our cities, the taxes we pay, the air we breathe, the people with which we work, what streets are paved, whether or not we are eligible for food stamps. All citizens feel the ripple effect from social programs and how our society reacts to them; for this reason, the people in government realize the need to have accurate and thoughtful information as their decisions have far-reaching implications.

The institute has contributed to American society in other more subtle ways. Examples of these contributions are innovative techniques of gathering data and advanced computer-simulated models that were once only used in military defense. Other pioneering ideas include the performance-management model, which revolutionized the way federal, state, and local governments operate, allowing them to evaluate and improve their services (Urban Institute 2003). The idea of measuring government efficiencies in operations was practically unheard of before the 1960s and the Urban Institute.

Ties to the Philanthropic Sector

In 2000, the IRS reported $137 billion in charitable deductions, an increase of eleven percent from the previous year (Ibid.). Clearly, the nonprofit sector has filled a large void in our communities that the government will not or has not addressed. The American social safety net depends heavily on this group of organizations, yet minimal effort has been placed on helping them operate more efficiently. The Urban Institute has dedicated an entire policy center to focus on understanding the impacts of nonprofits and philanthropy on society.

The Center for Nonprofits and Philanthropy (CNP), a part of the institute, analyzes and tracks the activities of nonprofits (their finances, management and factors that drive volunteerism). Part of the CNP is the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS). Its mission is to build compatible national, state and regional databases and to develop uniform reporting standards on the activities of charitable organizations (NCCS 2003). The NCCS also supplies information to GuideStar, an Internet-based research tool that provides valuable philanthropic and nonprofit information to individuals, the media, and academia.

Key Related Ideas

Objectivity in research and no-strings-attached funding: From its inception, the Urban Institute has maintained independence from the government, business, and any other organization or special interest group. This very independence has allowed for the objectivity needed to report research accurately and without bias. The institute receives eighty-five percent of its funding from several hundred private organizations and foundations (Urban Institute 2003). With such a large number of donors, it is difficult to have an allegiance to any one particular group.

The institute is considered a neutral body by both government and social interest organizations, evident by the fact that it is often commissioned to oversee research and reporting by groups like the United States Census Bureau and the Human Rights Campaign. Objectivity is also reinforced because UI's research is subject to peer reviews, which examine it for thoroughness and accuracy.

Sharing information and educating everyone: The Urban Institute regularly provides the American government with information on the affects of policies and demographic trends. However, the UI also shares information with the public, nonprofit organizations, concerned citizens, and the media. Its staff publish books, write articles for trade journals, supply data to GuideStar, publish reports over the Internet, and hold seminars. In addition to distributing information, the organization helps reporters and advocacy groups sort through complicated policies and statistics. It is essential for the public to know how certain policies have affected the communities in which they live, to be aware of potential problems, and to be conscious of what may occur in the absence of certain policies. The citizens, after all, have to live with the repercussions of the government's decisions.

Important People Related to the Topic

Many individuals have been important to the advancement of the Urban Institute and the cause of the Great Society. Yet, two men warrant special recognition.

William Gorham: Gorham is the long-standing Urban Institute president and one of the original economists recruited by Lyndon Johnson to analyze the policies resulting from the Great Society. One of only two presidents in the institute's thirty-five-year history, Gorham held the position from 1968 until his retirement in February 2000. Under his presidency, the UI has forever changed the way democracies address social and economic problems.

Lyndon B. Johnson: President of the United States, 1963-1969. LBJ was responsible for identifying a need and bringing together the talent that gave birth to the Urban

Lyndon B. Johnson (continued): Institute. Many of the programs that came out of his unprecedented amount of legislation affect our day-to-day lives. It is difficult to listen to the evening news without hearing at least one reference to an LBJ program: Head Start, the Clean Air and Water acts, special education, truth in packaging, civil rights, Medicare and Medicaid, the food stamp program, fair housing, affirmative action, and urban mass transit systems.

Related Nonprofit Organizations

Listed below are examples of nonprofit organizations that have recently collaborated with Urban Institute on major projects, as well those which are similar to UI.

INDEPENDENT SECTOR is "a coalition of leading nonprofits, foundations, and corporations strengthening not-for-profit initiatives, philanthropy, and citizen action" (INDEPENDENT SECTOR 2003). IS was a partner in a joint project with NCCS, Ford Foundation, and Lilly Endowment. The combined efforts of this partnership, with the assistance of other donors, resulted in the publication of The New Nonprofit Almanac and Desk Reference, which studies the nonprofit sector and volunteering.

Institute for Policy Research at University of Cincinnati is a multidisciplinary research organization similar in nature to Urban Institute. The institute houses policy centers that focus on primary and secondary research as well as demographic and community studies. It also serves as a consultant to other research institutes.

National Institute for Research Advancement supports the World Directory of Think Tanks and also has a center for policy research that publishes a journal on the analysis of worldwide policies. The institute is able to share successful ideas with other developing countries as well as to learn from them.

Related Web Sites

American Institute of Philanthropy Web site, at http://www.charitywatch.org . Just as its web address suggests, this watchdog organization follows the activities of nonprofits and rates their conduct. The intention is to inform potential philanthropists before they make their donation. Also, the site helps a visitor stay up-to-date on the most recent news in the philanthropy world.

The FirstGov Web site contains a section for nonprofit organizations, located at http://firstgov.gov/Business/Business_Gateway.shtml. The site, itself, is the official United States government Web portal, and contains extensive resources for businesses, government offices, and private citizens. It also allows nonprofit organizations to register, reference laws and regulations, learn about fundraising, connect with other nonprofits, locate grants, and read about tax policies and management. It is a place to begin research.

GuideStar Web site , at http://www.guidestar.org/ , is a national database of nonprofit organizations. It is the product of a collaboration between NCCS and Philanthropic Research. The database searches over 850,000 nonprofit organizations, finds necessary IRS forms, and accesses other nonprofit organization resources. This site is useful for conducting research, including information on a specific nonprofit, finding donor information, and identifying employment information. A substantial proportion of the 850,000 organizations make their IRS form 990 tax returns available over GuideStar, an invaluable research tool.

INDEPENDENT SECTOR Web site , at http://www.independentsector.org/ , provides access to information on its publications, members, events, awards, and annual conference, as well as on public policy and issues relevant to the nonprofit sector. IS developed Nonprofit Pathfinder, an online research tool for nonprofits (similar to GuideStar).

National Center for Charitable Statistics of the Urban Institute, located at http://www.nccs.urban.org , "is the national repository of data on the nonprofit sector in the United States. Its mission is to develop and disseminate high quality data on nonprofit organizations and their activities for use in research on the relationships between the nonprofit sector, government, the commercial sector, and the broader civil society" (NCCS 2003). The Center's site provides access to a large collection of tax-related information for and about nonprofits, as well as extensive resources (a bibliography, a glossary of terms, listservs, and more).

Urban Institute Press Web site , at http://www.uipress.org , allows a visitor to view and order books on a wide variety of topics published by the Urban Institute.

U.S. Census Bureau Web site , at http://www.census.gov , provides information on people, geography, businesses, societal trends, and more. A specific section is designed for teachers which includes access to teaching materials that use census data, reference materials

Bibliography

From Revolution to Reconstruction. An Outline of American History (1994) , Chapter Twelve: Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society (2/15). University of Groningen, Netherlands. [updated 20 November 2002; cited 30 January 2003]. Available from http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1994/ch12_p2.htm .

GuideStar. Home Page . [cited 30 January 2003]. Available from http://www.guidestar.org/ .

INDEPENDENT SECTOR. Home Page . [cited 30 January 2003]. Available from

http://www.independentsector.org/ .

Institute for Policy Research. Home Page. University of Cincinnati. [cited 4 February 2003]. Available from http://www.ipr.uc.edu/home/home.cfm .

National Center for Charitable Statistics. Home Page. Urban Institute. [cited 30 January 2003]. Available from http://www.nccs.urban.org/ .

NIRA: National Institute for Research Advancement. Home Page . [cited 4 February 2003]. Available from http://www.nira.go.jp/ .

Urban Institute. 1998 Annual Report/ 30 th Anniversary Report and History . Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

Urban Institute. 1999 Annual Report . Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

Urban Institute. 2000 Annual Report . Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

Urban Institute. 2001 Annual Report . Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

Urban Institute. History of the Urban Institute. [cited 30 January 2003]. Available from http://www.urban.org/content/About/Mission
/HistoryoftheUrbanInstitute/history_of_ui.htm