The U.S. in the World

In 2003-2004, the RBF incubated the U.S. in the World initiative (USITW) to enhance the communications capacity of foreign policy experts and advocates in advancing a vision of responsible global engagement, in which U.S. policy approaches would be cooperative, balanced, constructive, principled, and pragmatic. USITW aimed to build consensus on vision and message among groups with diverse issue interests, and to help experts and advocates communicate in a more effective and mutually reinforcing way with the mainstream American public. USITW produced practical, highly vetted, research-based messaging recommendations for talking with Americans about global issues, and published them in a multi-issue communicators’ guide, entitled U.S. in the World, Talking Global Issues with Americans, in July 2004. The collaborative processes USITW used in producing the guide also helped to create a network of individuals and organizations committed to ongoing learning about strategic messaging in the foreign policy field. A smaller Task Force of leading thinkers and practitioners that included NGO and university leaders, community organizers, former Ambassadors and government officials guided the network. In June 2006, the initiative became a project of the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, a nonpartisan think tank. 

Read the 2004 publication U.S. in the World, Talking Global Issues With Americans: A Practical Guide [PDF]