Oakland Institute
The Oakland Institute is a progressive think tank founded in 2004 by Anuradha Mittal. It is headquartered in Oakland, California.
Mission and areas of focus
Since 2011, the Institute has investigated land investment deals in developing countries, particularly where there are questions about transparency, fairness, and accountability.The Oakland Institute's mission is to "increase public participation and promote fair debate on critical social, economic, and environmental issues in both national and international forums". The institute works in coalitions and networks to strengthen social movements, especially in partnership with grassroots constituencies such as faith-based organizations, farm workers, immigrant rights groups, black farmers, and international proponents of food sovereignty and trade justice. One of the Institute's strongest commitments is to "elevate people's voices," holding that each of its projects is underlied by the voiced concerns of impacted communities.
The Oakland Institute categorizes its work into the following program areas:
- Climate change
- Foreign investment
- High food price crisis
- International aid
- Land rights
- Poverty
- Sustainable food systems
- Trade agreements
Activities
In 2011, the institute detailed a $26 million investment made by Vanderbilt University in Emergent Asset Management, later known as EMVest Asset Management, a hedge fund accused of abusive practices in sub-Saharan countries including Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The episode was covered internationally and led to student protests on campus in 2012.Achievements
Articles and opinion pieces by The Oakland Institute's staff and fellows and/or perspectives on its work are regularly published in U.S. media outlets including Alternet, Slate, The Huffington Post, Inter Press Service, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy.Work from the Institute has been used in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and by the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four—the only formal developing county group addressed by the IMF and the World Bank.
In 2015, the Institute founded its Legal Defense Fund, which supports land rights activists around the world. In 2022, the Institute supported partners in Tanzania, Mali, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Nicaragua.