The Academy’s Values

Learn more About the Academy’s mission, history, members, and work here.

ADVANCING THE COMMON GOOD

• We consider the impact of our actions on each other and the larger community.
• We tackle complex issues in pursuit of positive impact even when doing so is challenging.

UPHOLDING DEMOCRATIC IDEALS

• We create meaningful opportunities for participation.
• We recognize that we are all part of the Academy community, and we are at our best when we all contribute.

ELEVATING THE USE OF EVIDENCE AND KNOWLEDGE

• We pursue and encourage the discovery and development of knowledge from many different sources.
• We use evidence to guide our actions.

FOSTERING DELIBERATIVE DISCOURSE

• We practice active listening so that we understand and utilize multiple perspectives in our work.
• We foster an environment of psychological safety so that we can collaborate openly and honestly.

PRESERVING INDEPENDENCE

• We actively guard against ideological bias so that we can pursue our mission with integrity, purpose, and humility.
• We prioritize the credibility of our work, rooted in the Academy’s political nonalignment and independence from other institutional ties or individual agendas.

EMBRACING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY

• We build and nurture a community of individuals with diverse backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives, where everyone has an equal opportunity to be heard and to contribute.
• We actively engage with one another with dignity, compassion, and empathy, valuing diversity in all its forms.

CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE

• We achieve our best results through collaboration, holding each other accountable, learning from our failures and mistakes, and recognizing our successes large and small.
• We honor passion, dedication, grit, creativity, and joy as part of the process of pursuing excellence.