About the Nicholas Institute

The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University is a nonpartisan institute founded in 2005 to help decision makers in business, industry, government, and the nonprofit sector understand their options, anticipate their choices, and make the most of opportunities for leadership in creating a more economically and environmentally sustainable future. 

The Institute is led by a small team of economists, scientists, and policy experts who leverage the broad expertise of their faculty colleagues—in arts and sciences, business, engineering, environment, divinity, law, and public policy—to help Duke deliver on its commitment to put "knowledge in the service of society” in the domain of energy, environment, and sustainability. The Institute

• acts as an “honest broker” by convening and fostering open, ongoing, and often off-the-record dialogue among stakeholders from all sides of an issue;
• develops and delivers timely, relevant, and sophisticated data modeling and analysis; and
  

• provides decision makers with unbiased evaluations of policy risks and rewards, and helps them develop innovative, practical solutions to complex challenges.

Mission Statement

To help decision makers create timely, effective, and economically practical solutions to the world's critical environmental challenges.

Five-Year Strategic Plan
A new five-year strategic plan for the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University will strengthen the Institute's ties with the university, focus its research on the University’s core competencies, and encourage outreach to new audiences.