The Heritage Foundation

When the liberty-based ideas of the American founding are heard and understood by the American people – with no distortion from the political left – they
“are truly inspiring.

The Heritage Foundation is always finding new ways to help more Americans to understand why our modern day policy solutions must align with America’s political tradition and the U.S. Constitution. Heritage’s communications strategy includes market research and message testing, targeted print publications, outreach to the mainstream media, news reporting and commentary, and social media.

We know that perceptions of conservatism have changed dramatically over the years, and that there is a focused effort to dilute and mischaracterize our messages. Since 2013, Heritage has addressed this by supplementing its communications strategy with a permanent system of market research. Market research now informs many of our communications with the public – and is shared with our contacts on Capitol Hill (who are eager to see where Americans stand on a particular issue).

The Heritage Foundation has a remarkable presence in the mainstream and alternative media. Our experts publish thousands of commentaries in local, state, and national print media each year. Heritage analysts are also frequently sought-after guests on TV and radio. And according to Forbes magazine, we have a greater presence on social media than any other think tank – conservative or liberal – with 2 million followers on Facebook and more than 500,000 followers on Twitter.

The Daily Signal: The Heritage Foundation operates its own multimedia news organization, The Daily Signal – which can be accessed on DailySignal.com, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. The Daily Signal provides timely, relevant policy news of importance to the American people in a compelling way. Through Emmy-nominated articles, videos, and info-graphics, The Daily Signal narrates real life examples of why conservative policies work – and liberal policies fail. The Daily Signal is focused on covering stories that would otherwise go unreported or underreported by the mainstream media. The Daily Signal’s hard-hitting stories on Obamacare’s collapse, the IRS’s targeting of conservative non-profits, and the manufactured debate over transgender bathrooms, are just a few examples of the stories of federal overreach that The Daily Signal has helped bring to light. To date, The Daily Signal has been visited more than 44 million times.

Restoring Civil Society
Ordered liberty in America depends upon the very institutions that have been most degraded and devalued by so-called “progressive” policies: stable man-woman marriages, strong families, vibrant religious practice, competitive health care, and locally-controlled schools.

The Heritage Foundation, through its Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity, publishes research and analysis that upholds the value of a strong civil society in the face of modern day attacks. We promote the right of all Americans to live, work, and love according to their deeply held beliefs. We promote the right of parents to choose how their children will be educated. We keep before the public the abject failure of Obamacare and give them a vision for a patient-centered, consumer-oriented, health care system. And we show local, private institutions how they can help alleviate poverty rather than relying on government.

One major annual reference work from the Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity is Heritage’s Index of Culture and Opportunity. This annual publication tracks whether America is on the right track or the wrong track when it comes to a number of social indicators. The Index of Culture and Opportunity is helping lawmakers understand how their decisions on social policies such as educational choice, welfare, and marriage dramatically impact economic health and opportunity in America.

A safe, strong, secure America isn’t just good for the American people; it brings stability to the entire world. This is why administrations that have embraced military weakness, capitulation, and a “lead from behind” strategy have historically left the world a more volatile, dangerous place.

The Heritage’s Foundation’s Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy is focusing lawmakers’ attention on the need to “provide for the common defense” by rebuilding America’s military, securing the border, and ensuring that America can defend herself and her interests on the world scene.

The national security experts and former government and military officials in the Davis Institute produce research and analysis on issues of foreign policy, international relations, defense spending, terrorism, and other aspects of national security. The Davis Institute publishes upwards of 300 major policy papers a year, and regularly convenes working groups of experts and Capitol Hill staff on vital issues.

The Davis Institute is also the author of the game-changing annual Index of U.S. Military Strength, the only reference work of its kinds that measures global threats to the United States and its interests, and of the ability of the U.S. military to meet those threats.

The Trump administration has repeatedly cited and consulted the Index of U.S. Military Strength as it works to rebuild America’s military. Both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees also depend on the Index of U.S. Military Strength, as do numerous members of the defense and intelligence communities. Those who use the Index have called it the most complete, understandable, and detailed analysis available of the threats to America’s safety, and our ability to deal with them.

Heritage’s Institute for Economic Freedom promotes bold public policies to restore the free market, rein in government spending, and inspire America’s traditional ethic of hard work, investment, and saving. The Institute for Economic Freedom is at the center of a major effort to reshape and dramatically downsize the federal government using annual publications such as its Blueprint for Balance, Blueprint for Reorganization, and Blueprint for Reform policy guidebooks.

Heritage economists are adept at articulating the moral and ethical case of fiscal responsibility and free markets. We are especially concerned with enacting pro-growth tax reform, reducing burdensome and unnecessary federal regulations, and reforming entitlement programs – which now threaten to propel America toward almost certain economic collapse.

One of the most power tools we use to make the case for free markets and limited government is our annual Index of Economic Freedom. The Index, which Heritage has published since 1995, ranks 186 nations on measures of economic freedom, from property rights to ease of entrepreneurship. Over the years, the Index has inspired numerous foreign governments to make policy changes to improve their “freedom score.” Heritage is now working harder than ever to use the Index to encourage the Unites States (which ranks 17th in world when it comes to economic freedom) to make the changes needed to become No. 1.