Guttmacher Institute, Washington DC, USA
From the Global Women's Network
| Guttmacher Institute, Washington DC, USA | |
|---|---|
| Logo: |  |
| Street address: | 1301 Connecticut Avenue N.W.
Ste. 700 |
| City: | Washington |
| State or Province: | DC |
| Country: | United States |
| Location: |
Loading map...
|
| Location coordinates: | 38° 54' 28" N, 77° 2' 31" WLatitude: 38.907654 Longitude: -77.041971 |
| Executive Director: | Sharon Camp |
| Contact number: | 202-296-4012 |
| Contact email: | mediaworks@guttmacher.org |
| Website: | http://www.guttmacher.org |
| Twitter: | http://twitter.com/#!/Guttmacher |
| Facebook: | http://www.facebook.com/guttmacher?ref=mf |
| Target: | Girls and Women |
| Organization type: | National NGO (operating countrywide or advocating at the national level) |
| Sectors: | Health, HIV/AIDS, Public Policy, Reproductive Health, Reproductive Rights |
| Year founded/registered: | 1968 |
| Annual budget: | USD14,000,000 |
| Number of staff: | 74 |
Summary
The Guttmacher Institute advances sexual and reproductive health through an interrelated program of social science research, policy analysis and public education designed to generate new ideas, encourage enlightened public debate and promote sound policy and program development.
About
Now in its fourth decade, the Guttmacher Institute remains committed to the mission and goals that led to its creation.
The Guttmacher Institute was founded in 1968 as the Center for Family Planning Program Development. At the time, Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon had begun to call the public's attention to the problem of unplanned and unwanted childbearing and its consequences for individual women and men, their children and their communities both at home and abroad. Concurrently, the United States Congress was taking its first steps toward the development of an international population assistance program, as well as a multifaceted, national program aimed at providing equitable access to modern methods of birth control in the United States. By integrating nonpartisan social science research, policy analysis and public education, the Center hoped to provide a factual basis for the development of sound governmental policies and for public consideration of the sensitive issues involved in the promotion of reproductive health and rights. This purpose and commitment continue today.
The Center was originally constituted as a semiautonomous division of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). Its early development was nurtured by Alan F. Guttmacher, an eminent obstetrician-gynecologist, teacher and writer who was PPFA's president for more than a decade until his death in 1974. The Center was renamed in Dr. Guttmacher's memory, and the Guttmacher Institute became an independent, not-for-profit corporation in 1977.
The Guttmacher Institute maintains offices in New York and Washington. Its current staff of 74 comprises demographers, social scientists, public policy analysts, editors, writers, communications specialists, and financial and technical personnel. A few of its employees have been with the organization for almost all of its existence, and an affiliation that goes back 10 or 15 years is not unusual. The Institute's work is guided by a 40-member board made up of eminent professionals from a rich variety of disciplines as well as civic leaders from across the United States and around the world. The Guttmacher Institute's annual budget of approximately $14 million is derived largely from private foundations and individual contributions, supplemented by occasional grants for specific projects from the National Institutes of Health and other government agencies.
Values
The Institute’s program is guided by six overarching institutional values: attention to methodological rigor and accuracy as fundamental to the integrity and credibility of the Institute’s research; commitment to publishing and disseminating results of the Institute’s research, regardless of the political or programmatic ramifications, and to evidence-based public education and advocacy; openness to using outside experts’ perspectives to enrich the Institute’s program and enhance its understanding of the issues; anticipation and study of emerging issues to equip the Institute to inform public debate as such issues gain prominence; balance between new and ongoing priorities to ensure that the Institute is both on the cutting edge of scholarly and political thought and fully committed to core issues of continued importance; and collaboration with others to expand the reach and sustainability of the Institute’s efforts.
Guiding Principles
• A vision for the future. The Institute envisions a world in which all women and men have the ability to exercise their rights and responsibilities regarding sexual behavior, reproduction and family formation, freely and with dignity. Essential to this vision are societal respect for and protection of personal decision-making with regard to unwanted pregnancies and births, as well as public and private-sector policies that support individuals and couples in their efforts to become responsible and supportive parents, maintain stable family structures and balance parenting with other roles. Equally vital to the Institute’s vision are the eradication of gender inequality worldwide and the attainment of equal status, rights and responsibilities for women. • A comprehensive view of sexual and reproductive health. The Institute regards sexual and reproductive health as encompassing a wide range of people’s needs from adolescence onward. The Institute works to protect, expand and equalize access to information, services and rights that will enable women and men to avoid unplanned pregnancies; prevent and treat sexually transmitted infections, including HIV; exercise the right to choose abortion; achieve healthy pregnancies and births; and have healthy, satisfying sexual relationships. Priority attention to those with greatest need. The Institute promotes the sexual and reproductive health of all people, but gives priority attention to the needs, concerns and rights of those whose access to information, services or other societal benefits may be impeded by their age, marital status, geography or income, or because of gender, racial, ethnic, religious or cultural discrimination. • A responsibility to the United States and the world. The Institute is acutely aware of the pressing need to improve the quality of policy and programs concerning sexual and reproductive health in the Unit-ed States, and regards achieving this goal as its primary responsibility. Understanding that the political, cultural and economic power of the United States can have considerable impact on sexual and reproductive health throughout the world, the Institute places a similarly high priority on monitoring and analyzing the effects of U.S. policy on women and men in other countries. The Institute is also mindful that across and within countries, certain commonalities underlie the circumstances in which sexuality is expressed, families or unions are formed, and children are conceived and born. Guided by this awareness, the Institute emphasizes the development and dissemination of the thematic cross-country and country-specific work that will have the greatest relevance globally.
