Stand Together Competitors

Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institution—a think tank—whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. We believe the principles and ideas of the American Founding are worth conserving and renewing. As policy entrepreneurs, we believe the most effective solutions are consistent with those ideas and principles. Our vision is to build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish. Heritage's policy centers include: Asian Studies Center, B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics, Center for Data Analysis, Center for Health Policy Studies, Center for International Trade and Economics, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, Center for Media and Public Policy, Center for Policy Innovation, DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society, Domestic Policy Studies, Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, The Kathryn and Shelby Collum Davis Institute for International Studies, The Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, and Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies.

Promoting an American public policy based on individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peaceful international relations.

We build and maintain a vibrant community of in-house and external scholars dedicated to market-oriented thinking and classical liberal principles. We mentor and train up-and-coming scholars and thinkers who will generate ideas and influence society’s key institutions. A university-based research center, Mercatus advances knowledge about how markets work to improve people’s lives by training graduate students, conducting research, and applying economics to offer solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Our mission is to generate knowledge and understanding of the institutions that affect the freedom to prosper and to find sustainable solutions that overcome the barriers preventing individuals from living free, prosperous, and peaceful lives.