The New Millennium Research Council (NMRC) was created in 1999. Its mission is to develop workable, real-world solutions to the issues and challenges confronting policy makers, primarily in the fields of telecommunications and technology. The Council conducts its work through its "Policy Research Network," a diverse group of policy experts drawn from academia, think tanks, and other policy institutes nationwide.

Scholars drawn from our Policy Research Network conduct research projects. The expert selected to do the research for any given NMRC project is dependent upon topic and client need. Recent areas of expert work include: telecommunications regulation - telephony, broadcast, cable satellite and Internet; technological innovation and entrepreneurship; industrial organization; convergence of information industries; and, Internet economies.

Influencing the Debate

The NMRC influences the policy debate by creating a variety of research products. These include "quick response" pieces in reaction to current news as well as longer-term research. The NMRC sponsors and organizes single-or multiple author reports (e.g., the seminal report, "The Future of Internet Phone Calling: Regulatory Imperatives to Protect the Promise of VoIP for Industry and Consumers"), stand-alone op-eds, collections of opinion pieces or short research pieces. It also organizes roundtable presentations (e.g., "Making Communities Safer: Immediate and Near Term Solutions to Resolve Interoperable Communications Problems for First Responders") or debate events (e.g., "Retoothing the Tiger: Restoring Confidence in the Securities and Exchange Commission", a joint NMRC and Heritage Foundation event with Rep. Michael Oxley (R-OH), James K. Glassman and George Washington Law Professor Lawrence E. Mitchell).

Reports are routinely provided to policymakers in the Congress and the Administration. The NMRC continues to expand its Network and enlarge its varied product portfolio. In this manner, the NMRC remains current with the demands of the policymaking process and contributes to efforts to shape the debate on policy issues.

The NMRC is a project of Issue Dynamics, Inc. (IDI), a consumer and public affairs consulting firm that specializes in developing win-win solutions to complex policy issues.

Read Allen Hepner's article about how 'next generation' think tanks can bolster issue management results in the October 2004 Public Affairs Council IMPACT magazine.