Impact Report 2020
Ideas Powering Change
Provocative Discussions, Unexpected Ideas, Diverse Viewpoints
Ideas matter. They have the power to change the world. Eurasia Group Foundation [Now known as the Eurasia Group Institute for Global Affairs] strives to provide jargon-free, high-quality content to bring complex issues of geopolitics and globalization to real life, making these topics accessible to people who are left out of discussions and infusing fresh diverse perspectives into policy discussions. In this Impact Report, we highlight key accomplishments of this unprecedented year.
Year in Review
Provocative, thought-provoking, and accessible. Eurasia Group Foundation (EGF) strives to provide jargon-free high-quality content to bring complex issues of geopolitics and globalization to real life, making these topics accessible to people who are left out of discussions and infusing fresh perspectives into policy discussions. We are creating our own playbook to engage new audiences and ultimately inspire and empower them to be civically involved.
2020 was a challenging year, from the global pandemic, the fraught US presidential election, and social unrest across the globe. EGF continued to build on past successes and stayed true to our crucial mission: making complicated geopolitical issues understandable and relevant. Below, find our most significant accomplishments.
Our Work
Our activities are centered on three main areas: Research, Outreach, and Education.
Research
Through rigorous and fiercely independent research, EGF explores the preferences of American voters and explores how US foreign policy could better be tailored to new global realities and public sentiment.
Outreach
EGF is democratizing complex geopolitical topics. Through extensive media engagement, engaging videos, publications, and the highly-rated None Of The Above podcast EGF is amplifying fresh ideas and unexpected perspectives.
Education
EGF produces high-quality multimedia educational resources to create learning opportunities for high-school students about pressing geopolitical issues. Our curricula have been adopted for distance learning.
Key Stories
What are the most significant topics we explored in 2020? EGF continued to build on our past success, and we continue to stay true to our mission, making complicated geopolitical issues understandable and relevant.
Curriculum To Engage The Next Generation
Total Adoptions
1,067
Countries
68
US States (+ DC)
46
EGF developed and launched a one-week high-school curriculum, “Globalization, Robots and You.” An interactive curriculum designed to broaden understanding of geopolitics and tools to help students make decisions as they navigate the economy of the future. The curriculum is offered free of charge to schools, teachers, and parents and has been widely adopted (1,067 adoptions and counting), reaching over 10,000 students in 68 countries around the world and nearly every state in the U.S.
“I liked the way the lessons ended up with the students examining their own college majors and career paths.”
– Richard P., Sacramento, CA
High-school students confront big choices about education, careers, and living location. “Globalization, Robots, and You” is designed to broaden understanding of geopolitics, history, economics, media, and to provide information and tools to help students make decisions as they navigate the economy of the future. Along with our education partner, Marginal Revolution University, we worked to ensure the curriculum is accessible, engaging, and interactive. In response to the global pandemic, we released a fully online version available to both professional educators and parents who find themselves homeschooling their children.
Globalization, Robots and You: Adoption Distribution
Independent America: Informing Policy
Media
Mentions
217
Op-Eds
Published
10
Aggregate
Readership
641M
Video
Views
2.2M
Independent America is a research and advocacy project which explores the implications of US foreign policy that is less reliant on military might and urges policy that is more attentive to new global realities and the preferences of American voters. Independent America public opinion surveys have incredible reach and impact. The findings are read and cited by foreign policy leaders in the Biden administration, including Antony Blinken, Samantha Power, Jon Finer, Kelly Magsamen, and Sasha Baker. The survey has been mentioned in the media more than 200 times, from columns in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Foreign Policy as well as top-rated shows on FOX News, MSNBC, PBS, CNBC, and many others (aggregate readership: 641,071,925). In addition, 10 op-eds articles have been published in 2020.’
The project leverages a variety of media and engaging formats to share research and analysis. In 2020, a series of four videos about US policy in Asia garnered more than two million views on social media. Last year’s New York Times opinion video advocating for an end to the war in Afghanistan brought restraint arguments to an influential audience. We’ve begun to complement these professionally produced videos with punchier, shorter-form online videos accessible to the general public in a series “What In the World.” EGF has presented its analysis and survey findings in several high-impact expert venues and public forums including the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, a keynote panel at the annual conference.
None Of The Above: New Perspectives on Topics of the Day
New Episodes
21
Downloads
24,627
In its sophomore year, EGF’s podcast, None Of The Above (NOTA) really came into its own, challenging listeners through provocative and engaging discussions on the most timely topics. In 2020 EGF released 21 new episodes and podcast episodes have been downloaded nearly 25,000 times (nearly a 425% increase compared to the previous year). Behind each episode is a massive effort to develop timely and fresh content, secure meaningful guests to discuss the topic, produce and edit each episode.
“Congrats on finding a series of engaging, thoughtful discussions about ideas that are bigger than any one person. If you have a curiosity for the various factors that affect policy, both foreign and domestic, you will appreciate these highly-accessible conversations.”
– kitkatahan, Oct 2020
From reckoning with legacies of slavery and racism in the wake of protests surrounding the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor to the analysis of foreign policy insights following the first presidential debate of the 2020 general election and the role of the military in Covid-19 vaccine distribution, NOTA did not shy away from complex and challenging topics and sought out diverse points of view.
Open and Transparent
EGF is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to connect people to the geopolitical issues shaping their world. We are committed to transparency and hold ourselves to a high standard.
EGF’s work informs policy discussions and empowers people. Our donors and supporters entrust us to provide unbiased and accessible information, facts, and a context to understand complex political and economic issues. We see it as our duty to spend these resources wisely in ways that maximize our impact towards our mission.
A Brighter Future for All: Donate & Make a Difference
It’s about fairness. Political and economic issues are complex and out of reach for most everyday people. And yet, these global issues have a profound and very real impact on the lives and livelihoods of those very individuals who are left behind, feeling powerless. Let’s level the playing field.
We urge you to invest in the efforts to make issues of the day accessible. Your generosity will give more people an opportunity to make informed decisions about their lives, nurture and empower the next generation of leaders, and create a brighter future for all.
