Institute for Progress: Grantee Spotlight (2026)

Grantee Spotlight: Institute for Progress

The Giving Green Fund plans to award a grant to the Institute for Progress (IFP) for its work on permitting reform and transmission buildout through research, education, and coalition-building. IFP is a U.S.-based think tank focused on innovation policy.

IFP’s work falls within our philanthropic strategy of unleashing clean energy in the U.S. Please see Giving Green’s strategy report for more information, including recommended sub-strategies, theory of change, and key uncertainties.

Last updated: November 2025

What Is the Institute for Progress?

IFP, founded in 2022, is a U.S.-based think tank focused on innovation policy. It shapes policymaking by producing research, supplying technical assistance to federal agencies, giving educational briefings on Capitol Hill, and providing thought leadership.

What Are We Funding, and How Could It Help Address Climate Change?

We are funding IFP’s work on permitting reform and transmission buildout, which we think can help accelerate clean energy deployment in the U.S. Specifically, IFP is seeking support for its policy innovation and government relations efforts aimed at enacting a technology-neutral, climate-ambitious permitting reform and transmission package.

IFP will use funding from Giving Green to execute on the following:

• Developing tractable, bipartisan policy solutions for reforming permitting and transmission.

• Educating and building coalitions among lawmakers, NGOs, and industry stakeholders.

• Convening key players regularly, including those involved in past permitting reform efforts.

• Carrying out policy research and education that advocates for practical policy changes to improve transmission rules, fine-tune legislative language, and limit executive branch obstruction of clean energy buildout.

• Using strategic communications (e.g., op-eds, press statements, social media) to support reform efforts and build public and political momentum.

In our strategy report on unleashing clean energy in the U.S., we identified addressing federal permitting challenges that would otherwise delay or cancel clean energy projects as a promising approach to decarbonizing the U.S. grid. Specifically, effective permitting reform can accelerate deployment and de-risk critical clean energy projects by reducing costs and making project timelines more predictable. We believe IFP’s proposed work is well-aligned with our strategy. In general, we think that by reforming permitting laws, IFP can help address climate change by activating clean energy projects that are currently stalled or abandoned due to red tape. 

Why Do We Think the Institute for Progress Will Use This Funding Well?

We think IFP is well-positioned to use this funding effectively because it is one of the few organizations engaging deeply across the full range of federal permitting challenges, including often-overlooked areas like judicial review reform. Its work is especially timely given the real possibility of federal permitting policy movement within the next two years, which creates an urgent need for informed policy development now.

We believe IFP has demonstrated an ability to deliver impact through both strategic advocacy and cross-ideological coalition-building. For example, during negotiations on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, IFP played a unique role in protecting tax credits using a sophisticated mix of legislative drafting, media placement, and technical analysis. More recently, it led a broad coalition effort pushing for permitting reform. A letter signed by its coalition members received media coverage and serves as the basis for the coalition’s terms for the permitting reform debate.

Giving Green believes that additional climate donations are likely to be most impactful when directed to our top nonprofits. For several reasons, we may choose to recommend grants to other organizations for work that we believe is at least as impactful as grants to our top recommendations. We are highlighting this grant to offer transparency to donors to the Giving Green Fund, as well as to provide a resource for donors who are particularly interested in this impact strategy. This is a nonpartisan analysis (study or research) and is provided for educational purposes.