WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- What looks like a think tank and acts like a think tank but is not a think tank, according to its key leader?
It's the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, or SPSSI, a newcomer in Washington, D.C. SPSSI researches the psychological dimension of society's ills and shares that information with policymakers who can make a difference, in order to influence their decisions.
That goal along with the organization's stated mission -- "to help bridge the gap between science and public policy" -- certainly meets the description of a think tank for most observers and SPSSI was characterized as a think tank in a recent mention in the Washington Post. But according to Dr. Lou Penner, the president of SPSSI's board of directors, and a psychology professor at the University of South Florida,SPSSI, with a smaller staff and a lower budget than larger Washington think tank powerhouses like the Brookings Institution and the Cato Institute, is not a think tank.
"We don't consider ourselves a think tank, but we perform the same functions as a think tank," said Penner. "A traditional think tank is funded by some endowment or outside revenue source, has a specific focus, has a permanent research staff and isn't based on membership," Penner said. "Our organization's primary proceeds come from subscriptions to our journals (the quarterly Journal of Social Issues and the electronic SPSSI Newsletter), and our secondary source of revenue comes from dues from members (an international group of 3,500). We have annual conventions and we don't solicit donations.
"Also, we don't have a research staff -- our research is conducted by independent efforts of academics. About 20 percent of our $750,000 annual budget goes to grants and awards to support that research. We're just a clearinghouse for their work.
"We have a very small staff of three full-time employees, whereas other think tanks have a large staff. Another difference is that we don't endorse a particular bill or make a policy announcement, for example, without a democratic majority vote," Penner said.
However, there are plenty of other organizations with exactly the same financial support profile and relationship with primary researchers, smaller staffs, and skimpier budgets, who proudly trumpet themselves as think tanks and make exactly the same type of efforts to influence public policy as SPSSI. These groups are categorized as think tanks, albeit small ones.
SPSSI's private, 501(3c) non-profit status prevents the organization from "doing direct lobbying," said Penner, and it doesn't have a lobbyist on staff or on retainer. It does, however, conduct briefings for Congress "to help them make more informed decisions by providing them with data," he said. In fact SPSSI conducted a briefing for Congress just last week. Just like other think tanks.
Though it's been around for 70 years, the SPSSI came to Washington two years ago from Ann Arbor, Mich., to work with federal legislators. SPSSI tends to fall to the political left on most issues including discrimination, welfare reform and domestic violence but doesn't have a formal political affiliation, said Penner.
"We came to Washington to be more involved in educating policy makers -- members of Congress, the executive branch, Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice and Department of Commerce -- by providing them with objective, rigorous research, and making recommendations," said Dr. Shari Miles, a research psychologist and SPSSI's new executive director.
Miles, who is also supervising the renovation of SPSSI's new Capitol Hill office, was hired by the organization based on her strong reputation for running women's non-profits in Washington. Before joining SPSSI, she ran the Women's Research and Education Institute, the African American Women's Institute at Howard University and the Union Institute Center for Women.
SPSSI's first legislative briefing since it moved to Washington was held Oct 2, and it covered the psychological and social impact of hate crime. That discussion, attended by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.), focused on the proposed Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2001, introduced by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), that would provide federal assistance to states and local jurisdictions to prosecute hate crimes.
SPSSI needs to study the bill further before it decides whether to endorse it or not, but the organization presented research at the briefing on topics including the profile of hate crime perpetrators, and whether hate crimes are prosecuted more severely and more often when the victim is white and the perpetrator is black, Penner said.
Such research information could influence lawmakers when they create legislation, Miles said.
"Most people think hate-crime perpetrators are young adults, but our research revealed that perpetrators are in fact in their 30s and 40s," Miles said. "This information could lead Congress to structure penalties differently."
Topics tackled by SPSSI fall under three broad categories -- peace, poverty and prejudice, Miles said. Under the umbrella of peace, the organization has studied enemy imaging (how we choose our enemies), terrorism, and conflict resolution. Under prejudice, research is conducted on hate crimes, school desegregation, racism, ageism, sexism, and homophobia. And under poverty, the topics of study are welfare reform and poor women.
SPSSI stands out for its work on researching prejudice in the educational system, Penner said.
"There are instances when local governments have changed educational practices because of the work we've done," he said. "For example, SPSSI organized a social science statement that was appended to the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court case. Also, changes were made to the educational system after SPSSI member Michelle Fine studied conditions for minorities within the New York public school system.
"Another example is when changes were made in the military to reduce racial prejudice after former SPSSI President John Dovidio -- who is currently provost at Colgate University -- produced research on racial disparities in medical services in the Army and Air Force," Penner said.
"SPSSI tends to be ahead of the curve," Miles said. "Particularly in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, when no one was researching these issues. Kenneth Clark, our president at that time, worked closely with the NAACP during the Jim Crow years, before schools were desegregated. He conducted the 'doll studies' that, by using different colored dolls, explored how black children in the South saw themselves."
Does SPSSI see itself expanding and growing its staff, which could possibly lead Penner to be more comfortable with defining the organization as a think tank? For the moment, he said, their plans are to maintain the status quo.
"The move to Washington was more complicated than we expected," Penner said. "We're still involved in the day-to-day efforts in making the move work. The logistics have been somewhat bothersome. We have made headway on influencing public policy since we've been here. But it has been slower than we expected and it's hard to judge what influence we've had. Those things are subtle."
A concern often voiced by other, similar organizations in the nation's capital -- most of which are known as think tanks.
