Independent Task Forces
The Council on Foreign Relations launched the Independent Task Force Program in 1995 with a Task Force on nuclear nonproliferation, chaired by Stephen J. Hadley, who most recently served as the national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration. More than fifty reports later, Task Forces have become a trademark of the Council.
The Council sponsors an Independent Task Force when an issue of current and critical importance to U.S. foreign policy arises, and it seems that a group diverse in backgrounds and perspectives may nonetheless be able to reach a meaningful consensus on a policy through private and nonpartisan deliberations. Once formed, Task Forces are independent. Task Force chairs, directors, and members are solely responsible for the content of their reports.
As Task Forces are intended to help shape the public debate on critical foreign policy issues, the Council mobilizes its resources to maximize the impact of Task Force reports, both at the time of the initial release and as developments warrant. In addition to media outreach, the Council supports the efforts of Task Force chairs and members to reach influential practitioners in the executive branch, in Congress, and beyond.
For a complete list of Council-sponsored Independent Task Force reports online, click here.
For more information on Independent Task Forces, please contact Anya Schmemann, director of the Task Force Program, at 202-509-8419 or aschmemann@cfr.org, or Kristin Lewis, assistant director, at 202-509-8455 or klewis@cfr.org.
Current Independent Task Force Projects
The Council on Foreign Relations has launched an Independent Task Force on U.S. Education Reform and National Security, co-chaired by Joel I. Klein, former chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, and Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state and national security adviser.
This Task Force was launched as a component of CFR’s “Renewing America” initiative and is evaluating the U.S. public education system within the context of national security. It argues that the need to improve America’s public schools can no longer be considered a purely domestic concern.
The Task Force aims to produce a consensus report that will offer guidance to policymakers and others on education reforms that refocus the country on transforming schools and school systems to ensure America’s economic and political growth and security.
Julia C. Levy, former director of communications for the New York City Department of Education, serves as the project’s director. The Task Force was launched in April 2011, and the group aims to produce a report in spring 2012.
The Council on Foreign Relations has convened an Independent Task Force on Turkey, co-chaired by Madeleine K. Albright, former secretary of state, and Stephen J. Hadley, former national security adviser.
In its analysis, the Task Force is considering a broad range of issues related to Turkish domestic politics, the country’s economic development, ongoing geopolitical changes in Turkey’s neighborhood, Turkey’s foreign policy, and Washington’s present approach to Ankara. It will aim to produce a consensus report that offers guidance to policymakers and others on the U.S.-Turkish bilateral relationship, Turkey’s role within NATO, its relations in the Middle East, Europe, and elsewhere, and Turkey’s place in the global economy, among other important issues.
Steven A. Cook, CFR’s Hasib J. Sabbagh senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, serves as the project’s director. The Task Force was launched in May 2011, and the group aims to produce a report in spring 2012.
