The Rideau Institute was founded in January 2007.[1] It is a left leaning, registered non-profit organization based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Institute's primary activities are independent research, advocacy and consulting. It aids decision makers, opinion leaders and the public through research, analysis and commentary on public policy. The Rideau Institute is run by its president.
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The Rideau Institute helps non-profit organizations meet their policy goals by providing services involving consultation, facilitation and research.
The Institute provides a wide range of strategic services. Clients benefit from the Institute's Government Relations Program, Communication Program and their Online Engagement and Fundraising Program.
An example of the consultative work that the Institute undertakes would be the service provided to a disarmament organization whose members wanted to increase its profile for the organization's 50th anniversary. The first steps taken by the Rideau Institute were to update the organization's logo and their policy brief. To promote the group's experts the Institute put together a campaign involving a press conference on Parliament Hill, a high level networking luncheon in Ottawa, personal calls to newsrooms on current issues and posting press conference videos on Youtube.com.
The result was a successful campaign that significantly boosted the profile of the organization. A unanimously supported motion in the House of Commons commended the group's work and marked their anniversary. This important recognition was followed up by a 7-minute interview on national television and the group's work was cited by major newspapers such as The Globe and Mail and the Ottawa Citizen, including an editorial in The Toronto Star. In all, the press coverage reached about 6 million people and had an ad value of $158,000.
The Rideau Institute also helps organizations with special events, policy briefings and press conference. It puts client organizations in touch with key decision makers and policy leaders. The Institute works with the client to identify their needs and tailors an event to promote their agenda. This is accomplished through expert roundtables, book launches, VIP events, Parliamentary briefings and meetings, and press conferences and media appearances.
In addition to consultation and facilitation, the Rideau Institute provides research services to advance their client's policy agenda, strengthen their message and earn media coverage. The institute is a well known and respected source of information that is sought after due to its new ideas and cutting-edge work on public policy. Information is presented in the form of special reports; campaign, fundraising and communications research and public opinion research.
Public Opinion Research
The Rideau Institute organizes public opinion research and develop communication strategies through working with well respected polling firms. SmartVote2008 is an campaign that the Rideau Institute undertook in collaboration with 10 additional organizations. It was Canada's first extra-Parliamentary “war room” to share analysis and drive media coverage.
Campaigns, Fundraising and Communications Research
The Rideau Institute engages in mapping out lobbying strategies for their clients. They also conduct Parliamentary monitoring and conduct research that is used internally by campaign staff and spokespersons. Their work has been used by a diverse range of organizations such as the Canadian Auto Workers, USC Canada, The Council of Canadians, CUPE, CEP, and public interest, citizen and labour organizations.