Strategy and activities of public organizations

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The variety of strategies and activities of American civic organizations is amazing.

Organizations provide services

Many public organizations in America provide social services and humanitarian aid to American citizens. The 19th century American industrialist Andrew Carnegie established a foundation to open public libraries across the United States. 100 years later, this tradition was continued by Bill Gates, who founded the Gates Foundation to equip thousands of public libraries with computers and Internet access, making modern Internet technology available to millions of Americans. Other community organizations, such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army, focus their efforts on disaster relief and humanitarian aid. Such organizations are often supported by various church organizations across America. Providing victims of domestic violence with a variety of services and shelter, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is another example of an organization that provides assistance directly to citizens.

Public organizations engaged in expert analysis and research

The role of other public organizations is to provide expert analysis on major public policy issues. There are civil society organizations and think tanks that deal with a variety of issues, including foreign policy and public administration. The analysis conducted by U.S. think tanks covers the entire range of policy issues. Many people in Russia are familiar with the analytical reports of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, because this organization has a branch in Russia – the Carnegie Moscow Center. Before working in the government, I was for many years (it was a great time!) a senior researcher at the Foundation. Right next door to the Carnegie Endowment in Washington is the Brookings Institution, which has been analyzing public policy issues for almost 100 years. The mission of the Institute for American Enterprise is “to expand individual freedom, personal opportunity and strengthen free enterprise. The Institute embodies these enduring ideals through the development of independent thinking, open discussion, reasoned argument, facts, and the highest standards of research and description of findings.” The Cato Institute “upholds the principles of individual liberty, limitation of state power, free trade, and peace.” The Heritage Foundation sees its goal as a conservative public policy based on the principles of free enterprise, limitation of government power, individual liberty, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. The number of think tanks used to be small, but it has grown exponentially over the past three decades.