The Policy Research Center supports the work of NCAI by forecasting policy development opportunities and equipping policymakers with timely, credible information. The Center organizes its work by the five topical areas on which NCAI’s committee structure is based. To view our projects by research area, click on any of the committees below. Or, click here to view a full project list.

• The Economic, finance, and community development committee addresses
• Human resources
• Land and natural resources
• Litigation and governance
• Veterans

Policy Research Center staff and partner organizations work closely with the NCAI committees through discussions at Committee meetings and consultation with committee co-chairs on specific projects that align with their committees. Committee co-chairs and members are one of the primary audiences for the Center to: present new project ideas for feedback, report on the status of on-going projects, present preliminary findings for discussion, and make final products available.

The committees are broad in nature and address a range of specific issues.

• The Economic, finance, and community development committee addresses:
• Economic development
• Finance
• Employment
• Housing
• Telecommunications
• Transportation
• Infrastructure

• The human resources committee addresses:
• Education
• Elders
• Disabilities
• Health
• Indian child and family welfare.

• The land and natural resources committee addresses:
• Agriculture
• Energy policy
• Environmental protection
• Land use
• Mineral policy
• Natural resources
• Trust lands

• The litigation and governance committee addresses:
• Human, religious and cultural concerns
• Jurisdiction and tribal government
• Taxation, Tribal gaming

• The veterans committee addresses the range of issues that affect Native veterans

At times, topics may fall within the purview of multiple committees, and information about a project may be shared with more than one committee.