Program areas at Third Way
Third Way Institute supports the development of educational materials and events on the policy challenges faced by america, focusing on a wide variety of policy issues.climate and energythe climate and energy program's mission is to use federal investment and an innovation-first strategy to use every low and zero-carbon resource to make american energy affordable, reliable, secure, and clean. With the passage of the inflation reduction act, 2022 was a transformative year for both the united states' clean energy and climate policy as well as our program. We did this by 1) changing the narrative, 2) creating a movement, and 3) turning ideas into law. Changing the narrative: we shifted the conversation away from a 'renewables only' approach to climate by:advocating for the development and deployment of each and every technology that has potential to combat climate change; bringing technologies that are often ignored to the forefront of the conversation; creating a movement: we constructed an informal coalition of partners by: identifying organizations working on similar priorities in the climate and energy realm; covering a broad ideological spectrum of organizations from center-left to center-right; turning ideas into law: we cemented our approach to climate and energy into law by: developing the foundational blueprint of the inflation reduction act by filling in policy gaps and educating policymakers; building policymaker support for climate and energy policy that generates economic growth and opportunity; social policy, education and politicsin 2022, the social policy, education & politics program focused on 1) understanding the perspectives and priorities of american voters and analyzing the differences in their approaches to the most salient political issues based on education level, geography, and other key demographic distinctions, 2) offering a comprehensive federal college quality agenda that shifts focus from cost to value among policymakers, the press, and other influencers and 3) addressing threats on contentious social issues and assisting policymakers in talking about these issues in a Way that has broad appeal. Understanding american voters on key issues: our politics team dove deeply into a variety of data sources and research projects to help policymakers better understand the voters they purport to represent on the key issues under discussion inside the beltway, including by: utilizing catalist voter file data and other electoral data sources to draft reports analyzing and explaining the american electorate and differences across demographic categories, states, and districts; conducting qualitative and quantitative public opinion research to better understand what critical voter groups prioritize, how they think about current issues under debate, and what they want from candidates and policymakers; shifting the focus in higher education from cost to value: our education team worked to build the advocacy and policy infrastructure to push for actionable policy solutions that help students and taxpayers get a greater return on their higher education investment at the federal level. Our work ensured that federal policymakers know they cannot address the myriad of problems in our higher education system without taking significant steps to improve quality, accountability, and value. This included:conducting public opinion research to understand how americans across the ideological spectrum think about quality in the higher education context and demonstrate the broad support for increased accountability in our higher education system; producing easy-to-understand translators, infographics, videos, and reports analyzing publicly available data about student outcomes in higher education, calling attention to the need to improve those outcomes and increase the return on investment for both students and taxpayers in higher education; addressing threats on social issues: we remained committed to addressing threats to american values and vulnerable populations on key social and cultural issues. We employed various tactics to make progress on immigration, gun safety, lgbt rights, reproductive rights, and community-based policing reform. This included: drafting and releasing memos that explain the major supreme court cases that could impact social policy in advance of their decision by the court, in particular the future of reproductive rights in america following the reversal of roe v. wade; crafting common-sense proposals for executive action on gun safety, crime, reproductive rights, and other issues that are stalled in the current congress; highlighting the policy progress made by states across the country (red, purple, and blue) on policing reform and offering proposals that could help policymakers bridge the divide to pass reforms at the federal level.economicin 2022, our economic program focused on three core areas: 1) advancing a health care agenda that focuses on affordability, 2) advancing the case for a new contract on work for american workers, and 3) launching a new effort on entrepreneurial equity.health care affordability: as policymakers grappled with how to address large costs throughout the health care system, our team provided extensive analysis and policy development. Work included: developing policy on how to improve cancer care and lower costs; developing analysis around why there is inequity throughout the american health care system.new contract on work: as policymakers look toward a post-covid economy, there is significant demand for analysis and policy solutions to ensure that work in this new era leads to a good life and economic opportunity is available to all. Work included: building a series of policy ideas to expand workforce development and skills training through reauthorization of the workforce innovation and opportunity act.analyzing the effect of inflation on american families and developing policy solutions to reduce inflationary pressure.entrepreneurial equity: entrepreneurial success is one of the greatest drivers of wealth creation and must be at the center of any national effort to create racial equity and expand economic opportunity. Yet, right now, there are far too few female and minority entrepreneurs. To fundamentally change that and create a post-pandemic economy that is stronger and more equitable, Third Way and the national urban league launched the alliance for entrepreneurial equity. Work included: conducting extensive research unpacking entrepreneurial equity, from looking at why minority borrowers can't access lending capital to the dearth of opportunity for minority contracting. Amplifying our research and point of view throughout leading media outlets, including the Washington post, cnn, bloomberg, axios, and more.national securityin 2022, the national security program had three main thrusts 1) launching the us-china digital world order initiative which is designed to educate policymakers on china's goals for digital world supremacy, 2) narrowing the cyber enforcement gap with an emphasis on spyware, and 3) educating stakeholders on navigating national security issues.us-china digital world order initiative: we successfully launched the program with a major public event, the release of a paper and the establishment of an advisory board. Throughout the year we released additional products, held events open to policymakers, press and public, attended convenings and grew the board. Our work: educated the public and policymakers on the national security stakes of prevailing against china and its plan to surpass the us with digital global supremacy; highlighted the national security threats of china's capabilities in mass surveillance, relentless censorship, and automated disinformation operations; made the case that a digital pro-democracy model is needed to compete against the ongoing proliferation of china's digital autocracy model; hosted events and meetings to highlight the serious consequences if china prevails in controlling and setting international norms and standards in the digital and cyber space.cyber enforcement: in 2022, our team advanced Third Way's policy ideas to reduce the cyber enforcement gap, including: worked with the administration and congress to identify the authorities and resources to needed to execute specific recommendations to combat cyber crime; researched policy ideas on how to address the role of cryptocurrency in enabling the rise of cyber crime.national security educational efforts: our educational efforts on national security included: educating a variety of stakeholders on how to successfully navigate national security issues in the current political climate; and holding discussions with allies and key influencers to gain their perspectives about shaping effective messaging on top national security issues.