Americans today enjoy unprecedented levels of personal freedom and material abundance, the fruits of a society based on universal human dignity, individual liberty, and limited government.
Yet in addressing the very real challenges facing American society, we also find ourselves caught between extremism on the right and left. Each seeks to impose some vision of top-down social control, from state-managed markets to ideological purity tests that undermine free speech and religious liberty.
Worse still, classical liberals face overwhelming logistical and institutional barriers in responding. Foundational research gets siloed; scholars can’t access the data they need; innovators in industry never meet their counterparts in the academy. These are deep-rooted issues beyond the ability of any one researcher or institution to solve. Their systemic nature demands a systematic approach.
Across several pilot projects, IHS has begun addressing these challenges with a new, more proactive approach to the production and uptake of research. With the Foundation’s support, IHS will build and scale these new systems-level capacities, introducing new grantmaking, convening, and talent development initiatives designed to accelerate classical liberal research and amplify its impact.
Key deliverables include:
1) New mentorship and training programs for rising young intellectual talent
2) Research incubators that create new intellectual communities among scholars, nonprofits, and practitioners
3) In-person symposia to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and ensure that research reaches the right stakeholders
4) AI-driven tools that democratize access to essential data and research
We’re confident that this far-sighted approach will deliver research-driven changes in debate and policy over the short term, and in the long term reestablish the principles of a free society as the guiding force for our future.
