Independence Institute: About us

The Independence Institute is established upon the eternal truths of the Declaration of Independence. Founded in 1985, the Independence Institute is a non-partisan, non-profit public policy research organization dedicated to providing timely information to concerned citizens, government officials, and public opinion leaders.

Our Approach to Public Policy

Because the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of life and liberty are matters of individual choice, the Institute addresses a broad variety of public policy issues from a free-market, pro-freedom perspective.

Through the Institute's Policy Centers, areas of critical importance are addressed with a dedicated focus. The centers allow the public and media access to a concentrated source of expertise on education, the environment, transportation, personal freedom, government reform, local government, and criminal justice.

Unlike other organizations which see government intervention as the only solution, the Independence Institute seeks to explore all alternatives, emphasizing private-sector and community-based solutions. The Independence Institute is recognized by friend and foe alike as one of the most effective organizations at setting a freedom agenda for Colorado and the United States.

Advancement of Institute Ideas
Through a variety of publications and public forums, the Institute provides citizens of Colorado and the nation with specific recommendations to help resolve important issues facing our communities. These issues include improving our educational system, containing health-care costs, widening economic freedom, and controlling violent crime.

The Independence Institute uses a variety of media to share policy ideas with concerned citizens and public servants:

Issue Papers and Issue Backgrounders - The Independence Institute's staff of Senior Fellows conducts and publishes research and analysis on a broad variety of topics related to shrinking government and expanding freedom. Tax limitation, pro-consumer health care reform, transportation, and free-market environmentalism are some of the topics that have received special attention recently.

Opinion/Editorials - each week newspaper and website readers learn more about pro-freedom solutions through our Independence Feature Syndicate. This weekly commentary on current events is distributed to journalists and editors, helping to explain the ideas and benefits of civil liberty and economic freedom. To receive our weekly op-eds, along with a note from our president detailing the events at the Institute, simply join our E-mail Network. It's free. You won't get spammed. And, we won't share your e-mail address.

Independent Thinking - Television interview program from the Independence Institute. Channel 12, KBDI, Denver. Airtime: Air Time - 8:30 p.m. Thursday, and re-broadcast 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. The host is Independence Institute President Jon Caldara. In addition, watch Colorado Inside-Out with a public affairs roundtable discussion. Independence Institute Research Director Dave Kopel is a regular participant. Airtimes: 8:00 p.m. Friday. Watch previous episodes on the II MyspaceTV page.

iVoices.org - iVoices provides Public Policy Podcasts, Speeches and Commentary through your Computer! Enjoy complete coverage of many of the speeches, reviews and symposiums which the Independence Institute holds throughout the year by allowing you to listen to the audio recordings of speeches at whatever time is best for you.

Public Events - Public debates, monthly events with issue speakers, legislative briefings, symposiums and weekend conferences are some of the in-person events held for Institute members.

SchoolChoiceForKids.org (available in English and en Español) is a one-stop shop that assists Colorado parents in locating a suitable school for their child and provides user-friendly explanations to simplify the steps of the open enrollment process. Site users can search among all the public schools of the state according to the distance from a specified address and narrowed by any one of 47 categories—including various programs, schedules, services, and other characteristics. Designed to empower parents to become better-informed education consumers, the site also provides information on homeschooling, online education, and non-public schools.

Independence Institute: Internship Program - The Independence Institute has full and part time unpaid internship positions available for fall, winter, spring, and summer. Quarter and semester schedules can be accommodated.

Policy Centers at the Independence Institute

Education Policy Center: The Education Policy Center is an advocate for school choice, school accountability, and teachers' rights.

Health Care Policy Center: The federal and state bureaucracies have created problems in our health care system; the Rocky Mountain Health Care Center proposes free-market alternatives to solve those problems.

Second Amendment Project: The Second Amendment Project, under the direction of Dave Kopel, studies the legal precedents, news and opinions in Colorado and the United States to provide the Constitutional perspective on topics ranging from legal reform to gun rights.

Campus Accountability Project: The Campus Accountability Project was created in 2003 and was designed with a two-fold purpose: first, to serve as an educational resource on free speech, academic freedom, and racial discrimination in higher education, and second, to operate as a watch dog - actively working to ensure that universities observe and protect the individual rights of faculty, staff, and students.

Center for the American Dream: We at the Center for the American Dream do not advocate that people drive everywhere or take public transit, live in low-density suburbs or high-density urban centers. All of these are legitimate lifestyles. We do oppose coercive planning efforts that attempt to engineer lifestyles through subsidies, regulation, and limits on personal and economic freedom.

Fiscal Policy Center: Under the direction of Penn Pfiffner, the Fiscal Policy Center works to defend TABOR and to find a balance between taxation and liberty.

Property Rights Project: The Independence Institute's Property Rights Project was established in 2005 to serve as a community resource on land use issues—including but not limited to—eminent domain abuse, zoning regulations, and historical designations.

Justice Policy Initiative: Justice Policy Initiative Director Mike Krause researches the consequences of statewide criminal justice policies and practices on the Colorado budget, in particular how policy impacts prison spending, law enforcement priorties and the lives and liberties of Coloradoans.