Centers, Programs & Policy Work

Peace Through Strength

Reagan National Defense Forum

RNDF is a bipartisan annual event held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Key stakeholders come together to address the health of our national defense and to promote policies to strengthen the U.S. military.

Peace Through Strength

Program On The National Security Innovation Base

The Ronald Reagan Institute’s program on the National Security Innovation Base is a project by the Center for Peace Through Strength dedicated to assessing the health of the national security-innovation ecosystem. The foundation for the program is the Institute’s 2019 Task Force on 21st-Century National Security Technology and Workforce, which was an ambitious project designed to help the United States achieve long-lasting competitive advantage in technology and innovation.

Peace Through Strength

Reagan National Defense Survey

The Reagan National Defense Survey is a public opinion poll that assists elected officials, policymakers, and key stakeholders with understanding how Americans view a wide array of defense, foreign policy, and national security matters.

Peace Through Strength

National Defense Fellowship

The National Defense Fellowship is an intensive program run in partnership between the Alexander Hamilton Society and the Ronald Reagan Institute. The program aims to educate about 20 advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the vocabulary, theory, practice, and organization of U.S. defense policy. The fellowship has two primary components, participation in the Peace Through Strength Boot Camp and attendance at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum.

Peace Through Strength

Task Force on Technology and Workforce

The inaugural Reagan Institute Task Force builds on the policy conversations that took place at the 2018 Reagan National Defense Forum by convening prominent thought leaders, public officials, and industry executives to produce a report detailing recommendations to ensure the United States is technologically prepared to meet 21st century challenges and possesses the National Security Innovation Base (NSIB) workforce required to promote America’s security and prosperity, as well as a peaceful international order.

Peace Through Strength

Strategic Choices Exercise

The Ronald Reagan Institute and the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) released a report titled, “America’s Strategic Choices: Defense Spending in a Post-COVID-19 World.” The report summarizes the findings of two Strategic Choices Exercises the organizations hosted in October 2020, convening a bipartisan group of senior defense and budget experts, current and former policy makers, and industry leaders.

Peace Through Strength

Task Force on Manufacturing Competitiveness

The Task Force on National Security and U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness will explore the impact of recent economic developments on the strength of the industrial sectors relevant to American national security. The bi-partisan Task Force will be co-chaired by Marillyn Hewson, former Chairman, President, and CEO of the Lockheed Martin Corporation, and David McCormick, CEO of Bridgewater Associates and former Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, and consist of 14 additional members.

Civics, Education & Opportunity

Reagan National Economic Forum

In May 2025, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute will bring together policymakers, business leaders, scholars, and innovators from across industries – from the iconic American brands known worldwide to the startups and disruptors building the future of the American economy– to explore ways the United States can strengthen opportunity, innovation, and prosperity in the face of fierce global competition.

Civics, Education & Opportunity

Reagan Institute Summit On Education (RISE)

The Reagan Institute Summit on Education (RISE) Collaboratives are colloquiums to explore education policy topics in-depth and convene intimate and diverse groups of experts to reach shared understandings, findings, and recommendations on their particular area of work. By surfacing best practices and solutions, RISE Collaboratives move quality policy solutions to the forefront of the conversation.

Civics, Education & Opportunity

Civic Leaders Fellowship

The Reagan Institute Civic Leaders Fellowship (CLF) is a six-month leadership and professional development program designed to elevate student success in civic and professional life. The Fellowship utilizes a combination of hybrid and place-based learning at both the Reagan Library in California and the Reagan Institute in Washington, DC.

Civics, Education & Opportunity

American Opportunity Bootcamp

Through the American Opportunity Bootcamp, the Ronald Reagan Institute (RRI) brings around 20 undergraduate and recent graduates to Washington, DC to learn about the greater landscape of economic and workforce policies.

Civics, Education & Opportunity

RISE Collaboratives

The Reagan Institute Summit on Education (RISE) Collaboratives are colloquiums to explore education policy topics in-depth and convene intimate groups of experts to reach shared understandings, findings, and recommendations on their particular area of work.

Freedom & Democracy

Reagan Institute Strategy Group

The Reagan Institute Strategy Group (RISG) is dedicated to studying, developing, and promoting U.S. foreign policy and national security principles and priorities for the 21st century.

Freedom & Democracy

Reagan Institute Summer Survey

The 2023 Reagan Institute Summer Survey is a public opinion poll that assists elected officials, policymakers, and key stakeholders with understanding how Americans view an array of foreign policy and national security matters.

Freedom & Democracy

Spotlight: Dissidents

This project focuses and builds upon the previous work of the Center to bring attention to the plight of dissidents around the world. We aim to highlight their courageous efforts to promote freedom in their home countries.

Freedom & Democracy

Westminster 2.0 Working Group

As freedom and democracy face challenges around the world, the cause of renewing our commitment to President Reagan’s ideals has never been more urgent. The Westminster 2.0 Working Group examined how to modernize efforts to promote freedom in the context of 21st-century challenges and opportunities, from rising authoritarianism to emerging technologies.

Scholarly Initiatives

Age of Reagan Conference

The Age of Reagan Conference is the signature scholarly convening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.

Scholarly Initiatives

Academy For Civic Education And Democracy

ACED is RRI’s in-person 8-week summer program in Washington, DC. Classes will be held at the Ronald Reagan Institute building and accredited by George Washington University. 

Scholarly Initiatives

Reagan Postdoctoral Visiting Fellows Program

The purpose of the Visiting Fellows Program is to advance the political, economic, and national security ideas and values of President Ronald Reagan by providing recently graduated postdoctoral students the opportunity to convert their Reagan-related dissertations into a book manuscript. *NOTE to RRFPPI we need higher resolution photos of the fellows with gray boxes. The existing ones on the site are too grainy.

Scholarly Initiatives

Essay Series On Presidential Principles And Beliefs

Essays authored by elected officials, distinguished civil servants, and public intellectuals analyzing the principles and beliefs captured by some of President Reagan’s most important speeches.