Our mission

The mission of the D.C. Policy Center is to arm decision makers with fact-based, unbiased, and reliable research and analyses to help create a vibrant local economy that can maximize opportunities for residents, workers, and businesses in the District of Columbia.

How we work

Through objective and rigorous research and collaboration, the D.C. Policy Center develops and tests policy ideas, disseminates its findings, actively promotes policy solutions, and engages in constructive dialogue and debate.

Our values

We are objective and neutral. We are non-partisan, independent, and open-minded. We do not allow ideology shape our findings and recommendations.

We are grounded in data. We believe that objective data and targeted, high-quality analyses are necessary for a productive policy debate.

We are singularly focused on D.C. We believe that D.C.’s local public policy should be designed and evaluated in the context of the realities of the District of Columbia. Ideas that have a national appeal often miss the local economic context and local policy interactions.

We have a comprehensive view of policy. We believe that a strong and competitive economy creates the greatest range of options and the requisite resources for serving the needs of our city, especially our most vulnerable residents.

We care deeply about opportunity. Paired with economic growth, thoughtful policies can create the fastest path to shared prosperity.

Our actions

We produce original research and analyses. We strive to be open and unbiased in our research and share our data, methodology and analysis to ensure full transparency.

We develop and test innovative policy proposals. We develop comprehensive policy proposals; we build coalitions to support those proposals; we engage executive and legislative leaders to promote those proposals; and we deploy the most convincing arguments and information in support of our ideas.

We are practical. We seek to affect significant changes over the long run, but also embrace incremental improvements and near-term trade-offs that create a path to gradually improving suboptimal policies.

We proactively engage employers in local policy. Our constant engagement of employers creates more opportunities for D.C.’s many stakeholders to come together to find common ground. It also allows us to build new repositories of data and information, glean insights on expectations about the city’s future.

Who we are,
what we do, and
how we do it

Annual reports & financial information

Work for us

Why do decision-makers listen to the D.C. Policy Center?

We have the “long view.” We are as interested in the city’s future over multiple generations as we are in what happens in the next budget cycle. This ensures that our approach to policy is driven by what is good for the District and not by a short-term policy might be well-received by a particular constituency.

We draw credibility and reliability from our data-driven approach. We have invested heavily in high quality, comprehensive, and deep analyses free of ideology and dogmatic thinking. Consequently, we have built a reputation as the premier research organization with comprehensive coverage of policy issues important to the District, with full transparency as to how we conduct our research and how we are funded. Our credibility allows policy leaders to receive our policy solutions comfortably and confidently.

We vet our reform ideas and policy solutions with stakeholders. As we develop our policy ideas, we constantly check them with other researchers, the employer community, District agencies that would have to implement these reforms, and a broad set of advocacy groups. In these ways we ensure that our ideas have both policy and political buy-in.

We understand local policy operates in a system. An idea that looks good on paper will likely fail in execution if not rigorously checked against the economic and social realities of the District, and its interactions with other policies. We relentlessly examine policy ideas through this comprehensive lens to ensure that its implementation will be free of unintended consequences.

We are respectful and hardworking. Advancing growth-focused policies for the District requires direct and regular engagement with lawmakers, coalition building, creative ideas, sound political strategy, and hard work. We believe any idea can be debated and improved, and that people can disagree without being disagreeable or dogmatic.

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Annual reports and financials

The D.C. Policy Center is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Our EIN is 82-2380479.

2023 Annual Report and financials
2022 Annual Report and financials
2021 Annual Report and financials
2020 Annual Report and financials
2019 Annual Report and financials
2018 Annual Report and financials
2017 Annual Report and financials

Supporters and collaborators

We are deeply grateful to the individuals and organizations whose support has made the work of the D.C. Policy Center possible since our founding.

This list reflects contributions made during our most recent fiscal year, January 1 to December 31, 2024. In the interest of transparency and disclosure, it includes all forms of financial support—philanthropic donations, commissioned research, and contracts.

We compile and update this list annually, drawing from our most recent annual report. The D.C. Policy Center is committed to accurately recognizing the generous contributions of our donors and partners.

To make a charitable contribution to the D.C. Policy Center, please visit our donation page, or contact our offices at contact@dcpolicycenter.org or (202) 223-2233. Thank you.