Potomac Institute for Policy Studies
Encyclopedia
The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is an independent, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit public policy
research institute located in Arlington, Virginia. The Institute was founded in 1994, shortly after the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment
(OTA) was disbanded, with the intent to assume some of the functions formerly performed by OTA. The Institute focuses on science, technology and national security issues, and describes its mission as the facilitation of non-partisan discussion and debate with the goal of informing public policy. The Institute has provided support to the US Congress
, the White House
, the Department of the Navy
, the US Air Force
, the National Science Foundation
, DARPA, the Department of Homeland Security
, other government agencies and private industry.
Institute leadership includes co-founder, Chairman and CEO Michael Swetnam, a former Special Consultant to President George H. W. Bush
's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and current member of the Technical Advisory Group to the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
.http://usgif.org/news/42-potomac-institute-for-policy-studies-ceo-mike-swetnam-highlights-implications-of-intelligence-community-reform-at-usgif-speaker-series-event The Institute's Board of Regents is led by General Alfred M. Gray
, USMC (Ret.), 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps
.
Over the years, the Institute has established three main practice areas, described as Strategy, Planning & Programs; Academic Programs; and Policy Research. Within the Strategy, Planning & Programs division, the Institute operates the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities (CETO) at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, Quantico, VA, which serves as an internal Marine Corps think tank.
Areas of focus include policy implications of science and technology; science and technology forecasting and trends; terrorism and asymmetry; national health policies; national security; and ethical, legal and social issues in new technology.
The Institute is also the sponsor of the Navigator Awards, honoring science and technology innovators. 2010 Navigator Awards winners included Dr. Gerald Edelman
, 1972 Nobel laureate and president of The Neurosciences Institute
, and Elon Musk
, co-founder of PayPal
, SpaceX
, and Tesla Motors
.
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
research institute located in Arlington, Virginia. The Institute was founded in 1994, shortly after the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment
Office of Technology Assessment
The Office of Technology Assessment was an office of the United States Congress from 1972 to 1995. OTA's purpose was to provide Congressional members and committees with objective and authoritative analysis of the complex scientific and technical issues of the late 20th century, i.e. technology...
(OTA) was disbanded, with the intent to assume some of the functions formerly performed by OTA. The Institute focuses on science, technology and national security issues, and describes its mission as the facilitation of non-partisan discussion and debate with the goal of informing public policy. The Institute has provided support to the US Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, the Department of the Navy
United States Department of the Navy
The Department of the Navy of the United States of America was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy and, from 1834 onwards, for the United States Marine Corps, and when directed by the President, of the...
, the US Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
, DARPA, the Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
, other government agencies and private industry.
Institute leadership includes co-founder, Chairman and CEO Michael Swetnam, a former Special Consultant to President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and current member of the Technical Advisory Group to the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is dedicated to overseeing the United States Intelligence Community—the agencies and bureaus of the federal government of the United States who provide information and analysis for leaders of the executive and legislative branches. The...
.http://usgif.org/news/42-potomac-institute-for-policy-studies-ceo-mike-swetnam-highlights-implications-of-intelligence-community-reform-at-usgif-speaker-series-event The Institute's Board of Regents is led by General Alfred M. Gray
Alfred M. Gray, Jr.
Alfred M. Gray, Jr. , is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the twenty-ninth Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1987-91. He retired from the Corps in 1991 after 41 years of service.-Personal:Alfred M. Gray, Jr...
, USMC (Ret.), 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps
Marine corps
A marine is a member of a force that specializes in expeditionary operations such as amphibious assault and occupation. The marines traditionally have strong links with the country's navy...
.
Over the years, the Institute has established three main practice areas, described as Strategy, Planning & Programs; Academic Programs; and Policy Research. Within the Strategy, Planning & Programs division, the Institute operates the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities (CETO) at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, Quantico, VA, which serves as an internal Marine Corps think tank.
Areas of focus include policy implications of science and technology; science and technology forecasting and trends; terrorism and asymmetry; national health policies; national security; and ethical, legal and social issues in new technology.
The Institute is also the sponsor of the Navigator Awards, honoring science and technology innovators. 2010 Navigator Awards winners included Dr. Gerald Edelman
Gerald Edelman
Gerald Maurice Edelman is an American biologist who shared the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work with Rodney Robert Porter on the immune system. Edelman's Nobel Prize-winning research concerned discovery of the structure of antibody molecules...
, 1972 Nobel laureate and president of The Neurosciences Institute
The Neurosciences Institute
The Neurosciences Institute is a non-profit, scientific research organization dedicated to learning about the brain. Under the leadership of Nobel Laureate Gerald M...
, and Elon Musk
Elon Musk
Elon Musk is an American engineer and entrepreneur heritage best known for co-founding PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla Motors. He is currently the CEO and CTO of SpaceX, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors and Chairman of SolarCity...
, co-founder of PayPal
PayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
, SpaceX
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...
, and Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors, Inc. is a Silicon Valley-based company that designs, manufactures and sells electric cars and electric vehicle powertrain components. It was the only automaker building and selling a zero-emission sports car, the Tesla Roadster, in serial production...
.