The Advance Arkansas Institute is a right-of-center think tank which supports free-market policy. The institute has received funding from the Charles Koch Foundation and has been involved with programs at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. ¹

The group has reduced its activities or possibly folded. As of mid-2021, the institute does not appear to have an active website, and the organization’s most recent statement on Twitter is from October 2018. ² The institute formerly ran a media outlet, known as the Arkansas Project, which covers news and provides commentary about Arkansas politics and government. The project has not been updated since 2019. ³

Background

The Advance Arkansas Institute is a free-market research and educational organization that promotes public policy based on individual liberty and limited, transparent government. ⁴ The right-leaning think tank focuses on educating policymakers and citizens of Arkansas on public policy through issuing studies and policy proposals. ⁵

The institute analyzes legislation in the Arkansas Legislature and provides information and commentary on bills to lawmakers, citizens, activists, the media, and local public officials. The institute also produces proposals and speaks at state legislative hearings and to the media. ⁶

As of mid-2021, the institute does not appear to have an active website, and the organization’s most recent statement on Twitter is from October 2018. ⁷

The Advance Arkansas Institute has issued “Freedom Scorecards” for members of the Arkansas Legislature. The scorecards measure lawmakers based on their voting record in six categories: economic freedom, education reform, good government, personal liberty, small government, and tax/budget policy. Top-scoring lawmakers receive a “Friend of Freedom” ranking from the institute. ⁸

The Advance Arkansas Institute has partnered with several faculty members at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock for public policy research and scholarships. ⁹

The Charles Koch Foundation provided a grant of $28,440 to the Advance Arkansas Institute in 2018. ¹⁰

The Arkansas Project

The Advance Arkansas Institute has a journalism outlet known as the Arkansas Project that provided news and commentary about Arkansas politics and government. ¹¹

The Arkansas Project began in 2008. In 2011, it became a media affiliate of the Advance Arkansas Institute. ¹² As of summer 2021, the homepage of the Arkansas Project’s top content is dated from 2019, and the page appears to have become inactive. ¹³

Leadership

Dan Greenberg is the most recent listed president of the Advance Arkansas Institute. ¹⁴ Greenberg became president of the group in 2011 but left the post in 2017 to take a job in the Washington, D.C. area. ¹⁵ Greenberg is a former Republican member of the Arkansas State House of Representatives, serving from 2006 until 2011. Greenberg was previously an analyst for the right-of-center Heritage Foundation and a writer for the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute. ¹⁶  Greenberg also worked on the staff of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R) and as a Capitol Hill staffer. ¹⁷

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2. “Advance Arkansas Institute.” Twitter. Accessed July 17, 2021. https://twitter.com/AdvanceAR
3. “Advance Arkansas Institute.” Cause IQ. Accessed July 16, 2021. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/advance-arkansas-institute,270271657/
4. “Daniel Greenberg.” Federalist Society. Accessed July 16, 2021 . https://fedsoc.org/contributors/daniel-greenberg
5. “Advance Arkansas Institute.” Cause IQ. Accessed July 16, 2021. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/advance-arkansas-institute,270271657/
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7. “Advance Arkansas Institute.” Twitter. Accessed July 17, 2021. https://twitter.com/AdvanceAR
8. “Arkansas’ Freedom Scorecard.” Ballotpedia. Accessed July 16, 2021. https://ballotpedia.org/Arkansas%27_Freedom_Scorecard
9. “Advance Arkansas Institute.” Cause IQ. Accessed July 16, 2021. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/advance-arkansas-institute,270271657/
10. “Advance Arkansas Institute.” Cause IQ. Accessed July 16, 2021. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/advance-arkansas-institute,270271657/
11. “Advance Arkansas Institute.” Cause IQ. Accessed July 16, 2021. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/advance-arkansas-institute,270271657/
12. “About Us.” The Arkansas Project. Accessed July 16, 2021. https://www.thearkansasproject.com/about-us/
13. Home Page. The Arkansas Project. Accessed July 16, 2021. https://www.thearkansasproject.com/
14. “Advance Arkansas Institute.” State Policy Network. Accessed July 16, 2021. https://spn.org/organization/advance-arkansas-institute/
15. Hardy, Benjamin. “Investigation of state senator began after onetime political rival helped senator’s lover contact FBI.” Arkansas Times. June 12, 2019. Accessed July 17, 2021. https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2019/06/12/corruption-probe-of-state-senator-began-after-erstwhile-political-rival-helped-senators-lover-reach-out-to-fbi
16. “Daniel Greenberg.” Federalist Society. Accessed July 16, 2021 . https://fedsoc.org/contributors/daniel-greenberg
17. “40 Under 40 – Dan Greenberg.” Arkansas Business. March 16, 2012. Accessed July 16, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20120316170934/http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/people_ab_40U.asp?id=297