What is Public Agenda?

Public Agenda is a unique research and civic engagement organization working to strengthen our democracy's capacity to tackle tough public policy issues. We want to ensure the public's views are represented in decision-making and that citizens have the tools and information they need to grapple with the critical challenges of the day. Nonpartisan and nonprofit, Public Agenda was founded by social scientist and author Daniel Yankelovich and former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in 1975.

Too often, there's a significant gap between how leaders and experts define an issue and how the public views the problem. The political debates that result often leave the public feeling left out because their views aren't heard, while policymakers are frustrated because they're unable to cope with public resistance.

Public Agenda's in-depth, unbiased opinion research bridges the gap between American leaders and what the public really thinks about issues ranging from education to foreign policy to immigration to religion and civility in American life. Instead of supporting one particular side or another in a partisan debate, our research powerfully clarifies public attitudes about complex policy issues in ways that move the nation’s public policy dialogue forward toward fair and effective solutions.

Researching public opinion is in itself rarely enough to resolve contentious public problems. Public Agenda is a scrupulously fair-minded producer of citizen education materials and a facilitator of thoughtful public participation that helps citizens and communities engage tough issues in productive ways. This critical strand of our work enables people to come to terms with issues by helping to transform raw opinion into thoughtful “public judgment.” Public Agenda often works directly with communities, government agencies and other organizations to improve their ability to create authentic public engagement and problem-solving on a host of tough issues like school reform, urban planning, climate change and police-community relations . (Find out more about how we can help your community).

Our Web site, PublicAgenda.org, has been nominated twice for the prestigious Webby Award as one of the Internet's best sources for balanced, accurate information on public policy issues. Journalists, policymakers, students, teachers and citizens rely on Public Agenda's Issue Guides for facts and figures, different perspectives and analysis of public attitudes.

"Public Agenda ... does good work, as free of institutional bias as any I regularly see." – columnist William Raspberry, The Washington Post

"Public Agenda, a New York-based nonprofit that does opinion surveys on a range of issues, compiled an analysis of a decade of polling on public education – and the news reports about the study were eye-catching…the report deserved a closer look." – columnist Daniel Henninger, The Wall Street Journal

"Public Agenda's help was invaluable in our efforts to engage Nebraska's citizens and develop an approach to academic standards that was right for our state." – Doug Christensen, Nebraska Commissioner of Education (retired).