It’s Time to Change the Game!

About the Commonweal Institute. The Commonweal Institute is a multi-issue research and educational institute - a think tank - committed to advancing moderate and progressive principles through strategic marketing and aggressive communication of ideas. Our goals: to restore balance to the marketplace of ideas; to revitalize and reenergize the democratic process; to advance the values of fairness, justice, and opportunity; and to help create an equitable society with sustainable economic development.

The Commonweal Institute will change the game. The best response to the pervasiveness of right-wing messaging is to use effective techniques similar to those of the major conservative think tanks. We will provide message leadership, formulate and frame policy and pursue an assertive, creative communications strategy through multiple channels in order to change underlying public attitudes.

The Commonweal Institute will work to change attitudes. Changing underlying attitudes takes work - a certain kind of work. People respond best to stories that trigger an emotional response, using words that evoke images in the mind and metaphors that hook facts to their deeper feelings, giving them a sense of "Oh yeah, that's right."

Message Leadership. The Commonweal Institute will use contemporary marketing and public relations techniques such as frame analysis, polling, interviewing and focus groups to identify the deeper concerns of target demographic groups. We will "translate" the "idea product" of think tanks and organizations into specialized language designed to move the public. In order to amplify moderate and progressive messages, we will produce and distribute clear, compelling materials that people can readily understand and use, and distribute them strategically through the media and other channels. We will also share our knowledge and perspectives with other advocacy groups and opinion leaders.

Creating our own conventional wisdom. Just as the right has repeated "public schools are failing" and "Social Security is going broke," in order to lead people to their agenda, Commonweal Institute will create conventional wisdom that reflects moderate and progressive principles.

Long-term strategy. The Commonweal Institute will pursue a long-term strategy of advancing moderate and progressive ideas in media, public and academic arenas, and the corridors of governmental power. Our day-to-day activities – research, communications & education – will carry out that long-term strategy.

Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for more details on how the Commonweal Institute will change the game.

Serving the Public Interest

Moderates and progressives have an advantage. Our task is to communicate to people where their interests really are. Even though the right wing ideologues have spent such vast sums and control such a vast communication apparatus, polls still show wide support for moderate and progressive approaches. What's missing is the public's ability to get relevant information and to understand what is happening. This is where Commonweal Insititute will help.

Commonweal Institute's approach will help build broad public support for moderate and progressive principles, creating a supportive environment for moderate and progressive organizations and leaders.

Changing the Political Environment Will Benefit Moderates & Progressives

Over the past three decades, both major parties have had to move to the right to appeal to a public that has been greatly influenced by right-wing ideological messaging. Meanwhile, progressive and moderate positions are expressed primarily by members of issue-oriented advocacy groups that rarely enjoy broad media coverage, and many important issues are never brought to wide public attention. This has placed a heavy burden on progressives and centrists, who face an uphill battle to advance their ideas and their issues.

Regardless of who is in office, the right-wing communication machine will continue to operate. The public will still be bombarded from all sides with messages that denigrate government, promote militarism, and favor business interests over the welfare of the average citizen.

We must move the public back to the center. The Commonweal Institute’s communications strategy will broaden public recognition of the key issues and problems facing our society, and highlight moderate and progressive options for addressing them. With this more balanced public agenda, public officials will find it easier to express moderate and progressive positions confidently and to gain support for themselves and for their issues. Moderates and progressives will be able to devote their energies to solving widely-recognized problems, rather than having to struggle just to place these problems on the national agenda.

Changing the Public Environment will Benefit Moderate & Progressive Causes

Commonweal Institute will work to gain wider audiences – and new audiences – for moderate and progressive ideas. We will cooperate with other moderate and progressive organizations to heighten public awareness of their issues and increase support for their programs. Organizations working in areas such as social justice, labor, health, environment, civil liberties, reproductive choice, civic participation and peace will benefit.

The Commonweal Institute will work to change philanthropy. The Commonweal Institute is working to increase awareness in the philanthropic community of the need to concentrate funding toward building the infrastructure needed to achieve these ambitious goals. By virtue of the growing understanding of our country’s current ideological imbalance and of specific areas of need, a range of moderate and progressive organizations will benefit from targeted philanthropic support.

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