This is the online home of the Northwest Progressive Institute, a regionally focused nonprofit working from Washington, Oregon, & Idaho to constructively transform our world through insightful research and imaginative advocacy. Learn more about us and the work we do.
Frequently requested resources
- Browse our latest publicly released research poll findings, which include electoral findings for U.S. Senate and Secretary of State in Washington as well as policy findings across a range of issues.
- Read our response to the Supreme Court’s horrific Dobbs decision.
- Listen on demand to episodes of NPI’s podcast, PNWcurrents, from our episode archive page. Complete transcripts are also available for each episode.
- Open staff positions at NPI are posted here. Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian American, Pacific Islander, disabled, and LGBTQ+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
- See the archive of Last Week In Congress, our recurring feature that shows you how Cascadia’s United States lawmakers voted.
Recently published by NPI
- Seattle Mariners end playoff drought, clinch postseason spot with walkoff winby Andrew Villeneuve on October 1st, 2022
The victory brought the longest ongoing drought in professional sports to an end in spectacular fashion, sending the very ready sold-out crowd at T-Mobile Park into a massive, raucous celebration. Mariners players donned October Rise shirts and caps and took a team photo out on the field as the display boards in the parks shimmered with the word “CLINCHED” repeated over and over.
- Bellevue residents enthusiastically back range of ideas for increasing housing attainabilityby Andrew Villeneuve on September 30th, 2022
These findings show that Bellevue residents are broadly in agreement on a number of ideas to tackle the city and region’s housing crisis, from creating additional homeownership assistance programs to allowing the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) such as backyard cottages in every neighborhood to relaxing restrictions like building height limits for projects that preserve existing mature trees on the property rather than cutting them down.
- Translated excerpts of intercepted phone calls by Russian soldiers shed light on failure of Putin’s plansby Andrew Villeneuve on September 30th, 2022
“In phone calls to friends and relatives at home, Russian soldiers gave damning insider accounts of battlefield failures and civilian executions, excoriating their leaders just weeks into the campaign to take Kyiv.,” The New York Times reports.
- The threat to American elections: No time for hysteria, but we should all be worriedby Joel Connelly on September 30th, 2022
With a nation’s news media “hollowed out” by closings and downsizings, Seattle-based InvestigateWest is swimming against a tide as it pursues a task vital to the republic: It has taken on the job of seeking the truth about those seeking power in America, specifically reporting on ongoing threats to American democracy.
- Patty Murray up by twelve points in NPI statewide pollster’s latest Washington surveyby Andrew Villeneuve on September 28th, 2022
52% of seven hundred and seventy respondents interviewed by Public Policy Polling this week said they’d vote for Murray if the election were being held today, while 40% said they’d back Smiley. 8% were undecided.
- University of Idaho warns its staff: Promoting reproductive healthcare could be a felonyby Rich Erwin on September 28th, 2022
On Friday, September 23rd, the University of Idaho sent a warning to employees Friday that promoting abortion or contraception while on the job could be a felony.
Who we are and what we do
A strategy center is an organization that helps people think and act pragmatically so they can realize their goals. That is NPI’s role within the community of people and organizations identifying as progressive.
At our core, we’re a think tank with the soul of a tech startup, generating and refining ideas that would raise up our region and our country, leading to a more inclusive economy and society for everyone.
But we’re also a media, advocacy, and outreach organization, because we know that taking an idea from conception to implementation requires a lot more than research. It’s this commitment to communicating and organizing that sets us apart from conventional think tanks.
Metaphorically, NPI can be thought of as a Swiss Army knife for the progressive movement. We’re a multifaceted organization that has been built to move quickly and effectively. Ingenuity is in our DNA. We’re funded and supported by activists who want to invest in permanent infrastructure, not just win the next election. Our goal is to empower activists to become thought leaders, mastering the reframing skills needed to liberate our public discourse from right wing demagoguery.
We invite you to learn more about who we are and what we do.
Our Values
Progressive values are traditional American values, values that we are proud of.
We believe in a more perfect Union that guarantees freedom, liberty, equality, and opportunity for all of its citizens, with laws and rules rooted in our core values of empathy and mutual responsibility. We believe in an America that prizes dissent and independent thinking as patriotic.
We believe that the people and the planet are more important than profit. In the words of the old Native American proverb: We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. We believe that taxes are investments that allow us to pool our resources to afford the essential public services we need. And we believe the laws we adopt as a society should make us healthier, cleaner, and safer.
Too often, decisions are driven by greed as opposed to what it is in the public interest or supported by science. At NPI, we believe we must liberate our politics from the grip of big money.
Our values shape and guide our views on the major issues that face our country today. We support policy directions and specific policies (whether proposed through our system of representative government or directly to the people by initiative) that embody our values.
See recent positions we’ve taken on ballot measures and legislative bills in our Advocacy section.
Our Projects and Publications
Besides our core website, our online presence includes the following projects and publications:
Become a member
Our work would not be possible without the support of our members, who donate annually or monthly to sustain our research and advocacy. Help revolutionize grassroots politics by becoming a member of the Northwest Progressive Institute today.
As one way of saying thank you for investing in our work, we offer the following benefits of membership.
- Activist: Members who donate $25 per year receive the opportunity to join NPI’s monthly Thought Leadership Briefings, held via Zoom. Each briefing begins with update from NPI’s staff and board on the latest significant research findings from NPI and other trusted sources on national and local issues, and concludes with a Q&A.
- Advocate: Members who donate $50 per year receive an exclusive invitation to participate in quarterly Activism Matters seminars (held jointly with the Northwest Progressive Foundation) plus access to NPI’s monthly Grassroots Leadership Briefings.
- Sustainer: Members who donate $100 per year receive discounted admission to all ticketed NPI events (like our Spring Fundraising Gala), plus exclusive invitations to participate in quarterly Activism Matters seminars and access to NPI’s monthly Grassroots Leadership Briefings.
- Champion: Members who donate $250 per year or more receive a new book twice a year as part of NPI’s Staff Book Club, accompanied by a one-page guide explaining how we use the book to advance our work, plus exclusive invitations to participate in quarterly Activism Matters seminars, discounted admission to all ticketed NPI events, and access to NPI’s monthly Grassroots Leadership Briefings.
Becoming a member of NPI is easy. We offer two ways to pay dues: online via credit card or by check through U.S. Mail. If you choose the latter option, our website will generate a completed membership form for you that you can print out and enclose with your check.