Urban Institute

The National Academy of Sciences was signed into being by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, at the height of the Civil War. The Academy is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research that is dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. The National Academy of Sciences is governed by a council comprised of 12 members and five officers elected from among its membership. The council is responsible to the membership for the activities undertaken by the organization and for the corporate management of the National Academy of Sciences. The Academy membership is comprised of approximately 2,000 members and nearly 350 foreign associates, of whom more than 190 have won Nobel Prizes.

The Institute for International Economics is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research institution devoted to the study of international economic policy. Since 1981 the Institute has provided timely, objective analysis and concrete solutions to key international economic problems. Its audience includes government officials and legislators, business and labor leaders, management and staff at international organizations, university-based scholars and their students, other research institutions and nongovernmental organizations, the media and the public at large. Its agenda emphasizes global macroeconomic topics, international money and finance, trade and related social issues, investment and the international implications of new technologies. The Institute moved into its own award-winning building, which includes full conference and videoconferencing facilities in Washington, D.C., in 2001.