In a recent column, I hailed a return to policy, following an over-saturation of individual personalities in politics. As we approach the months of true consequence nearest Election Day, a trickle of policy proposals have started to appear, from economics to energy. In the coming weeks, an optimist may expect a current of policy proposals strong enough to carry our 50 United States to a place of more prosperity, production, and honored principles.

But where does all the policy come from? When a retail politician with an everyman background releases a 10-point economic plan — complete with suggested regulatory reforms and best practices — he or she usually has employed the help of expert-level thinkers, the names of whom the average voter will never know.

A great many of those unsung thinkers are in Phoenix, Arizona, this week for the 2024 State Policy Network Annual Meeting (SPNAM). Researchers and analysts from national and state-based think tanks all over the country, united in a quest for economic liberty and limited-government policy solutions, are here comparing notes, sharing compelling research findings, and coaching attendees to attain more and more policy victories.

As you might imagine, at a think-tank conference, the sheer concentration of brain power in one place is something to behold. Even the small talk among SPNAM attendees may touch on topics like philanthropic approaches to fixing the broken child-welfare system.

This is where the best parts of those 15-point economic plans for prosperity that your conservative candidate is touting come from.

What works?

When it comes to conservative policy, SPN is a like federalism for solutions that work. Their mission is to catalyze thriving, durable freedom movements in every state, anchored with high-performing independent think tanks. The John Locke Foundation, which publishes Carolina Journal, is an affiliate member. The other 49 states, as well as Washington, DC, all have SPN-affiliated think tanks too.

Throughout the year, SPN, through various channels, facilitates sharing and connections on different approaches to, say, school choice legislation, or local zoning reforms. State-based policy wins are celebrated across the national network, and roadmaps for recreating each success in your state are distributed widely.

Once a year, however, network members from all over the country assemble in one place for a veritable Super Bowl of policy insights and organizational tips for restoring the individual rights and local governance that enabled these United States to become the most prosperous the world has ever known.

Even in our age of high-technology and instant communications, it’s hard to overstate the compounding human effect of being in the same room. The structured panels, the informal conversations, the off-the-cuff remarks, and the “Aha!” moments come from the real personal engagements SPNAM attendees enjoy at this conference.

Subject Matter Experts A-Z

The power of networking reveals itself in the SPNAM 2024 agenda. A wide array of breakout sessions, workshops, presentations, and panels cover every conceivable policy area. It is truly comprehensive, and more than one person could possibly absorb. Attendees may focus on their own policy wheelhouse, branch out to learn more about another altogether-different area of policy, or find that some may share more solutions than previously thought.

Just a sampling of the sessions during the week shows how much red meat is served up for the nation’s policy wonks.

  • How Government Created the Housing Crisis‚ and What We Can Do to Fix It
  • The Next Race for Education Freedom
  • Was 2023 Really the Year of School Choice?
  • Civil Society and Philanthropic Approaches to Reforming the Broken Child Welfare System
  • How to Champion Federalism in Your State
  • Legal Strategies on the Right Side of Climate Law
  • Making Public Schools Actually Public
  • The AI Healthcare Revolution Coming to Every ZIP Code
  • The Role of State Broadband Offices and Utility Commissions
  • Civic Infrastructure for Self-Governance and Everyday Democracy
  • And on, and on…

SPNAM 2024 has something for everyone, as long as you share the common mission of advancing liberty and limited-government as a means to prosperity in your state.

CHEERS

So, as we welcome a return to policy discussions amid the torrent of political popularity contests, it’s important to recognize where all the best policy discussions are coming from — the dedicated men and women in states across the country who’ve committed their impressive brain-power to recapturing and safeguarding ideals that made this experiment so great to begin with.

When your local candidate runs with a fantastic idea to reform zoning and bring down local housing pricing; when your gubernatorial candidate impresses with a shiny new economic plan that helps families thrive by respecting their rights and setting the table for seizing opportunity; or, when that one school board candidate you’ve noticed has a cogent new argument for making the neighborhood public school the best option in an era of school choice — know that they were likely inspired by those who’ve taken on a nerdy obsession in the interest of liberty and offer the rest of us hard-thought policy solutions to get us back on track.

With that, “CHEERS!” to the policy wonks engaged in the very real battle for the future of our communities and this country, from the 2024 State Policy Network Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.