Think Tank Mission statements (compiled in 2012)

1) Our mission is to measure, study, and communicate the impact of competitive markets and government interventions on the welfare of individuals. (Fraser Institute)

2) The Mission of the Acton Institute is to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles. . . the Acton Institute seeks to articulate a vision of society that is both free and virtuous, the end of which is human flourishing. To clarify this relationship, the Institute holds seminars and publishes various books, monographs, periodicals, and articles.

3) Our mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations that advance three broad goals: Strengthen American democracy; Foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans; and Secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system.” Brookings

4) The American Enterprise Institute is a community of scholars and supporters committed to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity and strengthening free enterprise. AEI pursues these unchanging ideals through independent thinking, open debate, reasoned argument, facts and the highest standards of research and exposition. Without regard for politics or prevailing fashion, we dedicate our work to a more prosperous, safer and more democratic nation and world.

5) The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is a nonpartisan research and educational institute dedicated to improving the quality of life for all Michigan residents by promoting sound solutions to state and local policy questions.

6) The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization, established in 1983. Our goal is to develop and promote private, free-market alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the competitive, entrepreneurial private sector. Our motto, "Ideas Changing the World," reflects the belief that ideas have enormous power to change the course of human events. The NCPA seeks to unleash the power of ideas for positive change by identifying, encouraging and aggressively marketing the best scholarly research.

7) The mission of the Manhattan Institute is to develop and disseminate new ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual responsibility.

8) The mission of the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) is to champion freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility for all individuals by advancing free-market policy solutions.

9) Pioneer Institute is an independent, non-partisan, privately funded research organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts through civic discourse and intellectually rigorous, data-driven public policy solutions based on free market principles, individual liberty and responsibility, and the ideal of effective, limited and accountable government.

10) FEE's mission is to offer the most consistent case for the "first principles" of freedom: the sanctity of private property, individual liberty, the rule of law, the free market, and the moral superiority of individual choice and responsibility over coercion.

11) The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization — a think tank — dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues.

12) Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institution—a think tank—whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.

Mission statements of successful foreign think tanks

13) Libertad y Desarrollo, Chile "Como centro de investigación, Libertad y Desarrollo busca promover la libertad en los campos político, económico y social, proponiendo fórmulas concretas para el perfeccionamiento de un orden social libre a través del análisis, investigación y difusión de políticas públicas."

"As a research center, Libertad y Desarrollo seeks to promote freedom in the political, economic and social arena, proposing specific ways of perfecting a free social order through the analysis, research and dissemination of public policies."

14) Istituto Bruno Leoni: The Istituto Bruno Leoni promotes a public discussion of awareness and information on the themes of the environment, competition, energy, market liberalisation, taxation, privatization and reform of the social state. Created in 2003 on the model of Anglo-Saxon think tanks, IBL strives to be a stimulation and resource for the political class by raising the level of awareness of private citizens, and drawing their attention to all matters involving public policy and the role of the state in the economy.

L’Istituto Bruno Leoni promuove una discussione pubblica più consapevole ed informata sui temi dell’ambiente, della concorrenza, dell’energia, delle liberalizzazioni, della fiscalità, delle privatizzazioni e della riforma dello Stato sociale. Nato nel 2003 sul modello dei think tank anglosassoni, l’IBL vuole rappresentare un pungolo ed una risorsa per la classe politica, stimolando nel contempo una maggiore attenzione e consapevolezza dei privati cittadini verso tutte le questioni che attengono le politiche pubbliche e il ruolo dello Stato nell’economia.

15) Montreal Economic Institute:

The Montreal Economic Institute is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit research and educational organization. Through its publications, media appearances and conferences, the MEI stimulates debate on public policies in Quebec and across Canada by proposing wealth-creating reforms based on market mechanisms. It does not accept any government funding.

L’Institut économique de Montréal est un organisme de recherche et d’éducation indépendant, non partisan et sans but lucratif. Par ses publications, ses interventions et ses conférences, l’IEDM alimente les débats sur les politiques publiques au Québec et partout au Canada en proposant des réformes créatrices de richesse et fondées sur des mécanismes de marché. Il n’accepte aucun financement gouvernemental.

16) Instituto de Ciencia Política (Colombia) The Institute of Political Science is a nonprofit organization founded in Bogotá, Colombia, by businessmen, politicians, academics, writers, journalists and others belonging to various political factions, gathered by Hernan Echavarria Olózaga's initiative, with the scope of studying , advancing and disseminating the principles of democratic pluralism and free market values​​.

El Instituto de Ciencia Política es una organización sin ánimo de lucro fundada en Bogotá, Colombia, por empresarios, políticos, académicos, escritores, periodistas y otras personas pertenecientes a diversas vertientes políticas, reunidas por iniciativa de Hernán Echavarría Olózaga, con el interés de estudiar, avanzar y hacer circular los principios del pluralismo democrático y los valores del libre mercado.

17) The IEA is the UK's original free-market think-tank, founded in 1955. Our mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.

18) Fundación Libertad (Argentina) is a private nonprofit organization, which aims to disseminate and conduct research on public policy issues, aimed in particular at the socioeconomic and business areas, and promoting the ideas of liberty in the context of social relations.

La Fundación Libertad es una entidad privada sin fines de lucro, cuyo objetivo es la investigación y difusión de temas de políticas públicas, dirigido en particular a lo socioeconómico y a lo empresarial, promoviendo las ideas de la libertad en el contexto de las relaciones sociales.

19) FAES (Spain), Foundation for Social Studies and Analysis is a private non-profit organisation that works in the sphere of ideas and political proposals. Linked to the Partido Popular since its creation in 1989, FAES Foundation is presided by José María Aznar. FAES is a leading think tank committed to nurturing the political ideas and activities of the liberal and reformist centre. At the service of Spain and all its citizens, FAES seeks to reinforce the values of Western freedom, democracy and humanism. Its aim is to create, promote and spread ideas based on political, intellectual and economic freedom. Ideas capable of offering political alternatives to socialism and different ways of thinking. Ideas which can be adopted and turned into programmes of political activity by those in positions of political responsibility.

20) The Adam Smith Institute was founded in the 1970s, as post-war socialism reached its high-watermark. Then, as now, its purpose was to educate the public about free markets and economic policy, and to inject sound ideas into the public debate. It has always been a practical think-tank rather than an academic organization, and despite its strict political independence, it has endeavored to work with policymakers to deliver real change, and to make free market ideas reality. In its early days, the Institute was known for its pioneering work on privatization, deregulation, and tax reform, and for its advocacy of internal markets in healthcare and education.

21) The Millenium Institute is a nonprofit organization, non-partisan, that promotes values ​​central to the prosperity and human development of the Brazilian society. Comprised by intellectuals, businessmen and academics, it seeks to disseminate concepts such as individual liberty, private property, meritocracy, rule of law, market economy, representative democracy, individual responsibility, efficiency and transparency.

O Instituto Millenium é uma entidade sem fins lucrativos e sem vinculação político-partidária que promove valores fundamentais para a prosperidade e o desenvolvimento humano da sociedade brasileira. Formada por intelectuais, empresários e acadêmicos, busca difundir conceitos como liberdade individual, propriedade privada, meritocracia, estado de direito, economia de mercado, democracia representativa, responsabilidade individual, eficiência e transparência.

22) Instituto Juan de Mariana (Spain) aims to become a reference point in the debate of ideas and public policies focused on a free society. To achieve this we propose to study and disseminate the nature of the market order.

El objetivo del Instituto es convertirse en un punto de referencia en el debate de las ideas y de las políticas públicas con la vista puesta en una sociedad libre. Para conseguirlo nos proponemos estudiar y difundir la naturaleza del mercado.

23) CEDICE, Venezuela, To disseminate, develop, research, and defend the principles of free markets and individual freedom, to build a society of free and responsible individuals.

Divulgar, formar, investigar y defender los principios del libre mercado y la libertad individual, para construir una sociedad de personas libres y responsables.

24) The Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) is a private non-profit non-partisan organisation established in 1990 to promote the ideas of individual freedom and responsibility, free market, and limited government. Our goal is to help advance general interests of the people of Lithuania who can best be realized in a free market as every individual pursues his or her objectives - without any privileges, protection or restrictions - by serving the society and not relying on the government apparatus.

25) Instituto Mises Brazil: is an enterprise devoted to the production and dissemination of economic and social science studies that promote the principles of free markets and of a free society.