The Institute for Wisconsin's Future works on key state policy issues throughout the year. It conducts research, coordinates community education campaigns, and issues reports and other materials designed to educate the public on critical issues such as school finance, tax policy, and the state budget. Our projects are organized into these main areas (below).

IWF's education work aims to reform the way Wisconsin finances its public K-12 school system. The current system is convoluted, inadequately funded, and fails to satisfy needs of the state's 850,000 students. IWF champions the Adequacy approach to school finance, with research, education, and advocacy, often in partnership with the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools. » Find out more about Education projects.

IWF conducts research and advocacy to improve the policies designed to alleviate hardships for low-wage workers and their families. Those policies include Wisconsin Works, the state work-based welfare replacement program, as well as BadgerCare (health insurance subsidies), Wisconsin Shares (state child-care subsidy program), Unemployment Insurance, and the job training programs housed under the Workforce Investment Act. Additionally, the Working Families project area identifies and proposes pro-active strategies for improving job access and job quality for low-income families and increasing th eminimum wage.» Find out more about Working Families projects.

IWF is working to ensure that the Wisconsin tax structure:

1. Generates adequate funds to maintain quality public services, and
2. Distributes tax responsibility fairly.

Since 1995, IWF has conducted research, produced and distributed reports, coordinated statewide workshops and meetings, as well as provided popular education on topics including corporate taxation, tax fairness, school funding, tax reform strategies, state budget reviews, property taxes, and proposed caps on state and local government revenue. » Find out more about Taxes projects.

Wisconsin has a rich tradition of quality public services that enrich the lives of state citizens and are available to everyone. Over the decades, our communities have built dependable structures for safety, justice, transportation, the parks, culture, and services for children, the elderly, the impoverished, and those with disabilities. These public services are under attack, however, in many areas of the state. In an effort to protect these critical public services, IWF has two pilot projects. »Find out how IWF is Protecting Services