A message from the Alabama Policy Institute
This year marks 35 years of the Alabama Policy Institute (API) and we are celebrating three and a half decades of upholding conservative principles in the State of Alabama. Our leadership believes that only ideas based upon truth hold value and that upholding the truth is paramount to the success of our state. Alabama is one of the most freedom loving states in the nation; API’s work advocating for life, limited government, and strong families reflect that fact. As we analyze the issues that matter most to Alabamians, API values are Alabama values.
The Alabama Policy Institute began as an organization led by individuals who believed they could build a better Alabama through better public policy. The original charter started decades ago by a small group of couples who wanted to bring positive solutions to Alabama’s challenges. Thirty-five years later, some of those original members are still our strongest supporters; API’s charge is to serve as a policy resource for elected leadership and the people of Alabama. Our leadership has shifted through the years, but our mission remains steadfast: API stands for free markets, limited government, and strong families. We believe that adherence to those three tenants is the key to building a strong state and successful society. API began as a Family Policy Alliance group and looks at issues with a biblical and conservative lens. As an organization, we are moored by faith and informed by data. We rely upon those foundational principles to better the state through public policy initiatives and partnerships.
API is the only conservative think tank in one of the most conservative states in the nation. We not only set the standard for what it means to govern well in the state of Alabama, we serve as a leader in the conservative movement nationwide. Other state policy councils, think tanks, and national organizations look to API for guidance and partnership. However, our biggest opportunity is to be a voice for Alabama values in Montgomery and across our state. In that role, we address a wide range of emerging policy issues in the areas of economics, education, religious freedom, government, family and society. Thousands of Alabamians look to the Alabama Policy Institute to define and defend our shared principles. As 2024 begins, we’re looking forward to meeting the challenges and opportunities we are facing as a state with truth and grace. API ardently believes that we can change people’s lives through sound public policy, and we have thirty-five years of proof that our model is an effective tool to disseminate the truth. In a society that seems to be spiraling out of control, remaining faithful to conservative values makes Alabama an even better place to live and raise a family.
API generates and communicates conservative principles and policy positions. We are issues based and focused on educating and impacting policymakers regarding the state’s public policy debate with the employment of sound values, academically robust research, and public outreach. We are a resource and source of research materials, analysis, and information for elected officials as they make decisions, engage in the legislative process, and govern. We provide accurate information, generate policy solutions for difficult problems and present our findings and recommendations to lawmakers, the news media, and concerned citizens. We don’t hide or limit our ideas according to party or profit. Public policy ideas based upon the truth are non-partisan; cooperative partnerships will help build our state’s economy and help produce a safer and stronger Alabama.
API seeks to build broad coalitions among like-minded organizations and individuals in the state of Alabama and across the nation and educate the public about state public policy debates so that the public has a better understanding of current issues. The Alabama Policy Institute is about policy, not politics. Since 1989, we have been on the front lines of critical public policy debates helping Alabama citizens, lawmakers and business leaders better understand and apply principles that maximize individual freedom, limit government interference and encourage personal responsibility. We are consistently articulating the foundational precepts of Conservatism and helping our elected officials see that there is honor in staying true to those values.
As the Alabama Policy Institute has deepened our research abilities and broadened our communication capabilities, we’ve gained supporters from all corners of the state and nation. API isn’t reactive; we are at the table as issues are discussed, and agendas are set. Throughout the process, we are keeping the principles of limited government, economic freedom, and the promotion of the family at the center of all that we do. API researched and wrote the 2024 BluePrint for Alabama, and we are proactively providing data, studies and reports to lawmakers and the public on the most pressing issues for the state. We have recently developed a comprehensive Guide to the Issues to provide facts and offer solutions for public policy problems in clear and concise language, and API will remain actively engaged as those solutions are debated.
The Alabama Policy Institute has been a consistent conservative voice for our state since 1989. Our mission has always been to build a better and stronger state. We will honor that legacy by continuing to offer positive sound policy initiatives that enhance free markets, foster limited government, and build strong families. We believe ideas have power and that upholding the truth has compelling consequences. At API, we understand that there is nothing more important to advocate for than the truth.