RALEIGH – At the John Locke Foundation, we’re idea nerds – and proud of it.

That’s not to say that we don’t pay close attention to matters of a more immediate and practical sort. When the North Carolina General Assembly is in session, the JLF team stays extremely busy. Our vice president for outreach, Becki Gray, spends countless hours attending committee meetings, talking with legislators and other policymakers, and coordinating our response to their requests for information, analysis, and policy prescription. The JLF Research Division produces dozens of briefing papers, bill summaries, op-eds, and other work designed to expand public understanding of the issues before the legislature and promote sound policymaking informed by our core principles of freedom, responsibility, competition, and innovation. Carolina Journal reporters and producers provide coverage of Jones Street via print, online, and radio, often regarding issues that other news organizations don’t cover.

And while as a nonprofit think tank we don’t endorse political candidates or engage in electoral politics, JLF does receive information requests just about every day from candidates – incumbents and challengers, of all political parties. We respond with facts, statistics, and analysis on key issues. It’s up to them to decide what to say or do about these issues.

But if the John Locke Foundation spent all of its time responding to the news cycle and engaging in debate about today’s legislative issues, we wouldn’t be fulfilling our mission. Today’s policy debates aren’t really new. Their roots stretch back into North Carolina’s past. They’re informed by the decisions of previous generations of North Carolinians, for good or ill. Moreover, when politicians disagree about a state budget or an energy bill, the dispute only appears to be about just that discrete, topical issue. Most of the time, these disputes are reflections of larger disagreements about fundamental principles, and are influenced by often-unexamined assumptions from political science, philosophy, economics, psychology, the physical sciences, and other disciplines.

At JLF, we believe that the current public-policy debate should be waged in a broader context. Many of our programs and services are designed to help define and expand that context. For example:

• Our weekly discussion club, the Shaftesbury Society, brings an average of 50 people together each Monday at JLF’s Raleigh office to share lunch and hear from prominent speakers on a wide variety of subjects. Dr. Karen Palasek, our director of academic and educational programs, works hard to ensure that variety. Recent topics of Shaftesbury lectures include Supreme Court jurisprudence, sustainable development, the history of Tar Heel politics, the psychology of consumer preferences, international economics, and the social and moral implications of competitive sports.

• The North Carolina History Project, directed by Dr. Troy Kickler, hosts special history-themed events and publishes NorthCarolinaHistory.org, one of our most-popular websites. Kickler is also hard at work on a book project – the first-ever edited collection of the papers of Nathaniel Macon, one of most influential national politicians ever to come from North Carolina.

• The Locke Faculty Affiliate Network (LockeFAN.org) brings together dozens of scholars, from colleges and universities across North Carolina, to share their work online and sponsor seminars and panel discussions on campus to spotlight emerging issues in economics, political science, and other fields.

• The E.A. Morris Fellowship for Emerging Leaders provides an annual training program for 12-15 young North Carolinians who are headed for key leadership roles in business, professional life, academia, religious institutions, and nonprofits. JLF is also a partner with the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership, which next month will restart its twice-yearly fellowship program for state residents who plan to run for elective office. During 10 weekend training sessions, up to 20 IOPL fellows of all parties study the mechanics of electoral politics and learn how to advocate their political philosophy effectively and respectfully.

It’s necessary for public-policy organizations such as JLF to speak out on current controversies in state and local government. But it’s not sufficient.

Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation.