Concept

Addressing the most pressing national security issues – broadly defined

The Gates Global Policy Center will host a Winter and Spring Gates Forum at William & Mary, each focused on a fundamental and urgent issue requiring a non-partisan solution.  Conferees will be carefully selected and will include influential voices and subject matter experts along with key political, economic, business, interest group, and non-profit leaders key to forging and implementing policy solutions.

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates meets with the Ukrainian Minister of Defense Anatoliy Hrytsenko in Kiev, Ukraine, Oct. 21, 2007. Gates and Hrytsenko met as Gates arrived to attend the Southeastern European Defense Ministerial, which Ukraine is hosting. DoD photo by Cherie A. Thurlby. (Released) (CHERIE A. THURLBY/Public domain).

Armed with issue-specific research that is provided to conferees long in advance of the convening, Forum participants will gather for two days to identify and refine practical, real-world solutions to a well-defined issue. Time will be allocated on every agenda to map out a strategy for the implementation of policy recommendations. The Forum will foster collaboration, cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset, and adopt a multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving which will require participants to delve into the tailored issue and develop actionable proposals that will be supported by a non-partisan majority. To support the Forum with evidence and options, W&M’s Global Research Institute (GRI), AidData, and leading scholars will construct research that supports the issue addressed by each Forum.

What makes the Gates Global Policy Center (GGPC) different from other think tanks and policy centers, is its commitment to building consensus after the Gates Forum so solutions can be realized. The GGPC will never be happy with just publishing a conference report in the hopes that one day someone will use it to effect change. For the GGPC, solving an issue is a four-step process—clearly identify the issue; conduct best of class research to both understand the issue and formulate possible courses of action; convene a distinguished group of conferees to discuss and design a bi-partisan solution to the issue; and, most importantly, support conferee efforts to effect change by building consensus to support Gates Forum recommendations. Secretary Gates is a problem solver and he is building and leading a Center that will be committed to problem-solving.

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates greets Sen. John McCain prior to testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Dec. 2, 2010. Gates was joined by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, Department of Defense General Counsel Jeh C. Johnson and Commander, U.S. Army Europe Gen. Carter Ham regarding the findings of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Comprehensive Working Group report. (Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley, U.S. Navy/Public domain).

W&M has an existing infrastructure upon which the GGPC will rapidly build. At its onset, the GGPC will have access to ten research labs that have collectively generated over $60 million of funding from external grants and contracts from a wide range of federal agencies, global institutions, and private foundations over the past decade. This includes the world-renowned AidData, the global leader in uncovering and analyzing China’s official development finance, its public diplomacy efforts, and various instruments of soft power.

 

The Gates Forums will leverage W&M’s location and strengths. Given the university’s proximity to Washington D.C. and its track record of influential, applied research, W&M is well-positioned to convene the nation’s top minds to tackle the most challenging security issues of the day.