Who We Are
The Global Interdependence Initiative (GII) set out in early 1999 to help broaden and deepen the American constituency for principled and effective U.S. foreign policy.
In a world increasingly defined by its interconnectedness, that means helping organizations do a better job of speaking to the American public about issues that can't be handled effectively by any one country. It means building tools to help communicators recognize and seize opportunities to reach the public. We commission research and provide training. And we work in person and online to weave a stronger network of colleagues who share our passion for informing and engaging Americans about these critical issues.
The GII is a policy program of The Aspen Institute.
The Foundation of Our Work
During the Initiative's first three years, we commissioned a substantial research effort through Susan Bales and her colleagues at the FrameWorks Institute. The research, together with more recent work employing a range of techniques, has provided significant new insights into why the public believes what it does about the U.S. global role. We tested the findings through a series of real communications campaigns and used the results to build our body of knowledge
To encourage discussion of public opinion and communications strategy, the Initiative established a carefully-moderated listserv that brought together a diverse group of leaders in the fields of development, global health, environment, relief, disarmament and strategic communications. We've introduced the research and presented its implications to audiences ranging from state legislators to high school teachers and from campus fair trade activists to senior World Bank staff. We have learned from "early adopters" of the Initiative's research, such as CARE, InterAction, Citizens for Global Solutions, the Women's EDGE coalition, and Americans for Informed Democracy.
Drawing on this research and experience, a diverse task force of issue experts and communicators coordinated by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund devised a practical communications guide to talking about global issues to American audiences: U.S. in the World: Talking Global Issues With Americans - A Practical Guide. The Fund invited the Initiative to promote and distribute U.S. in the World and to train communicators to apply its advice. This is one major focus of our current work, even as we continue to develop our capacity to serve as a reliable resource through different channels for those seeking to engage the U.S. public.
The Effective Aid, Effective Advocacy meeting series, for example, promotes dialogue between experts on what makes for effective international development assistance, and the advocates who strive to influence its funding and priorities. Our goal with each meeting is to break down issue barriers and ensure that campaigns are informed by the best available research about the issues, and by experiences from a range of advocacy efforts.
Advocates who promote a more appropriate U.S. role in addressing global issues often find it difficult to know whether they have chosen the best strategies and tactics for affecting public attitudes and behavior. Helping to answer this question is the work of the Evaluation Learning Group, a collaborative project with the Communications Consortium Media Center. The ELG seeks to better understand the impact of "public will" campaigns, especially in the fields of global health and development. It promotes better evaluation techniques that can improve such campaigns. The ELG has begun developing research-based guidelines to help campaigns design more effective advocacy and communication tools.
All of this work as well as the insights and queries of your colleagues and collaborators will live online here at the GII Exchange website. We are committed to offering a space to establish, maintain or expand productive dialogue and a place to tap resources that can help you communicate better with the press, policymakers and the public.
The closely-moderated content includes new developments in global issue campaigns, effective outreach and advocacy practices, and ongoing reports and results from other aspects of the GII's work. We will also build and house a library of tools including customized trainings, video clips featuring communications advice and examples of effective messaging, and quick tipsheets for reaching the public more effectively.
In particular, the GII Exchange serves as the online home for trainings and communications tools based on U.S. in the World. As more and more organizations adapt its approach to connecting with the public, we will publish these variations and refine, revise and expand our offerings.
As with all of our work, our community of colleagues is our most valuable asset.
