Affiliate and Emerging Initiatives

We design and incubate affiliate initiatives brought to us by partners in government, industry, academia, and other sectors.

We offer research, logistical, and strategic support to our collaborators to foster an ecosystem of like-minded projects and organizations.

We are open to proposals for new affiliate initiatives. Find out more on our Partner With Us page, or email jfi@jainfamilyinstitute.org.

Affiliate initiatives

Center for Active Stewardship

Launched in 2022, the Center for Active Stewardship studies the relationship between the asset management industry and private sector action on climate change. Its first major project, a rating system of mutual funds and ETFs, highlights proxy voting as a mechanism for environmental action. A private philanthropist approached JFI with the Center’s theory of change, seeking our help with staffing, structure, research support, and strategic advice.

AI FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD

Emerging from JFI’s Digital Ethics initiative, with additional philanthropic support, this initiative focuses on unlocking the potential of AI for the common good. As a member of the UN-led Global Data Access Initiative (GDAI), we are developing a framework for the ready and ethically sound use of data for social and humanitarian needs. With the World Bank, among others, we advise on the ethical use of such data in AI systems in lower and middle-income countries.

Fund for Guaranteed Income

F4GI builds technology and infrastructure for governments and communities seeking to create guaranteed income programs. Founded in 2020 by Nika Soon-Shiong, F4GI leads the 800-recipient Compton Pledge, among other pilots. JFI incubated the organization and provided research, staffing, and strategic guidance.

The Strategic Decarbonization of the European Union

In partnership with the Atlantic Council, we are hosting a series of convenings and publishing a set of briefings on the challenges and opportunities of the energy transition in the EU. JFI fellows are leading research, framing, and policymaker outreach to build strategies for a future of sustainable and secure energy in Europe.

New Institute of Political Economy

Founded by Chris Hughes in 2021, NIPE is a research organization which focuses on macroeconomic policy, history, and law. JFI supports NIPE on operations and broad strategic support.

Areas of inquiry

JFI actively tracks dozens of research areas for future work. These are the current topics we find most promising.

JFI selects projects through a structured research process. We conduct initial exploration with a rubric, examining an idea from a variety of angles: its theoretical and empirical power; the degree to which it is foundational, innovative, and timely; the available intellectual and financial capital beyond our walls; and, finally, which of our own resources to bear–-our staff, fellows, and research base. 

If you have a suggestion of a topic we should investigate, or a proposal for a collaboration on a topic below, please email jfi@jainfamilyinstitute.org.

macroeconomic research


We are interested in exploring economy-wide effects of fiscal and monetary policies, with a particular interest in their disparate impacts across demographic groups and geography. We are especially focused on the concept of “full employment”: how it is defined and why its achievement, despite being the ostensible goal of many levels of government, has been uneven and incomplete. Our initial efforts have focused on a possible interactive data dashboard and a new Heterogeneous Agent New Keynesian (HANK) model – both of which we see as tools for in-depth collaboration.

Economic, Social, and Governance Scoring

An increasing number of businesses and asset managers are incorporating economic, social, and governance (ESG) factors into their decision-making. ESG factors rely on data, however, much of which is currently decentralized and based upon voluntary disclosures; investors and advisory also process such data in markedly different ways. Despite good faith efforts by ratings agencies and auditors, a new approach is still needed to bring alignment to the field. One possible intervention that interests us is a scoring system that might allow corporations or funds to offset their investment in non-ESG funds.

CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION

While international governments have made significant strides in coordinating emissions reductions, there remains significant risk that the global community will fail to hit the targets needed to limit global warming by next century. Attention has increasingly shifted towards technology-enabled climate mitigation strategies, among them carbon capture and solar radiation modification (SRM), aka “geoengineering”. Recognizing that it is likely inevitable that companies, governments, or entrepreneurial actors may turn to such solutions, we are interested in building an ethical and governance framework that helps enable meaningful global coordination to ensure climate mitigation efforts are undertaken responsibly, justly, and without coming at the expense of emissions cuts and clean energy development.

Tax efficiency and fairness

There is broad agreement that the US is struggling to efficiently and effectively secure the funding for its future – whether for servicing existing debt obligations, or for funding needed social and infrastructure investments. Debates continue over new taxes (on wealth, inheritance, VAT), as well as over IRS enforcement. We are interested in identifying possible efficiencies and opportunities for greater fairness within the existing tax framework that might be amenable to practical reform – and avoid the political polarization that tends to surround the issue.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

Even as federal and state governments make strides in reforms to policing and sentencing, the efficacy of the US correctional system has attracted less meaningful attention. That concerns us, since, by any reasonable measure, our prisons are failing in their taxpayer-funded mission to rehabilitate; recidivism rates remain stubbornly high and conditions stubbornly poor. With experts in the space, we are beginning to explore rehabilitation models and incentive structures with an eye towards systemic reform.

Recent Updates

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JFI at Climate Week

JFI and our affiliate initiative, the Center for Active Stewardship, are hosting a series of events during NYC Climate Week.

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Thea Riofrancos

Speaking to her newly-published book, Resource Radicals: From Petro-Nationalism to Post-Extractivism in Ecuador, Riofrancos discussed the results of almost a...

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Max Kasy

JFI's virtual research session with Max Kasy, Associate Professor at Oxford, discussing fairness in algorithmic decision-making.

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Gernot Wagner

Author of "Climate Shock" and NYU associate professor of environmental studies and public service, Gernot Wagner joined JFI for a...

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Alyssa Battistoni

Harvard Environmental Fellow and political theorist Alyssa Battistoni presented on her new book, "A Planet to Win: Why We Need...