Centers of Influence
The following Washington-based organizations are highly-respected for their research, education and communications work and their important role as centers of influence on public policy issues.
The missions of these organizations are complementary to the mission of The Buffin Foundation.
The Academy assists public policymakers on all levels by providing leadership, objective expertise, and actuarial advice on risk and financial security issues. The Academy also sets qualification, practice, and professionalism standards for actuaries credentialed by one or more of the five actuarial organizations in the United States.
Many of today’s most pressing public policy issues require the sound application of actuarial principles. The Academy provides actuarial expertise and advice to public policy decision makers on a wide array of issues that require the special set of skills and qualifications that actuaries offer. It also advocates on behalf of the profession and promotes the use of actuaries in non-traditional industries.
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to conduct in-depth research that leads to new ideas for solving problems facing society at the local, national and global level.
The Economic Policy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the United States. EPI’s research helps policymakers, opinion leaders, advocates, journalists, and the public understand the bread-and-butter issues affecting ordinary Americans.
The National Academy of Social Insurance is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization made up of the nation’s leading experts on social insurance. Its mission is to advance solutions to challenges facing the nation by increasing public understanding of how social insurance contributes to economic security.
The Urban Institute is a Washington DC-based think tank that carries out economic and social policy research to “open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions”. The Institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations and private donors. The Urban Institute measures policy effects, compares options, shows which stakeholders get the most and least, tests conventional wisdom, reveals trends, and makes costs, benefits, and risks explicit.