We have some exciting news to share: The Public Policy Forum and Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance are joining forces! We will combine nearly 190 years of collective tradition, expertise, and credibility to create one of the country’s premier independent government research organizations.

The merger will permit us to develop a more effective, more visible platform to better educate, inform, and engage policymakers, citizens, taxpayers, and the media. We will retain our focus on issues important to state government, local government, schools, Metro Milwaukee, and all of Wisconsin. We will also continue to provide impartial data and analysis to enable government leaders and the public to make informed decisions.

This merger, which has been unanimously endorsed by both organizations’ leadership teams and governing boards, is both timely and strategic. It will enable us to collaborate and share knowledge among a larger team of researchers, as well as to diversify our funding base, increase organizational efficiencies, and expand our audience reach.

What won’t change, however, is our shared mission to provide informed, objective, and nonpartisan analyses of critical issues that affect our economy and quality of life in Wisconsin. That mission has guided both organizations throughout their venerable histories and will remain evident in all we do.

As a true merger, our new executive committee will be comprised of equal representation from each previous organization. For our leadership team, current PPF President Rob Henken will serve as the organization’s president, while current WISTAX Research Director Dale Knapp will oversee the combined research operation. WISTAX President Todd Berry is retiring but will advise the team as we finalize the merger, which will be completed in 2018.

We will move forward thoughtfully and deliberately, ensuring we maximize the potential of the new organization while creating a seamless transition for our stakeholders. We will still deliver the in-depth reports, newsletters, speeches to business and civic groups, informational presentations to policymakers, robust civic education projects, and media interviews you have come to expect from our organizations. At the same time, we will explore new ways to engage current and new audiences so we can be even more effective in promoting good government in Wisconsin.

On behalf of our respective organizations, thank you very much for your support over the years. We pledge to continue to earn that support. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have. In the meantime, the press release announcing our merger and a brief FAQ document are available on our respective websites, publicpolicyforum.org and wistax.org.