NEW YORK — The Guttmacher Institute today announced its 2026–2029 Strategic Plan, a focused roadmap for strengthening the Institute’s role as a trusted source of evidence and action at a time of profound threats to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in the United States and around the world.
The plan builds on Guttmacher’s decades of leadership in rigorous research, policy analysis, strategic communications and evidence-based advocacy, while sharpening the Institute’s approach in response to a rapidly changing landscape.
“At this moment, the need for trusted facts, clear analysis and effective advocacy could not be greater,” said Jonathan Wittenberg, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute. “Guttmacher has a critical role to play in helping the field understand what is happening, respond effectively to immediate threats, and build toward a future in which all people can realize their sexual and reproductive health and rights.”
The 2026–2029 Strategic Plan identifies four mutually reinforcing priorities that will guide Guttmacher’s work over the next three years:
- Center the facts to disrupt misinformation and disinformation, by conducting original research, exposing junk science and false narratives, and engaging with policymakers and new audiences.
- Advance global work through equitable partnership, by strengthening collaboration with in-country and regional partners, expanding open-access tools, and supporting efforts to advance the measurement of comprehensive SRHR indicators.
- Drive progress in the United States through responsive, state-specific resources, providing timely data, technical support and policy expertise that meets the needs of advocates and policymakers.
- Increase relevance and reach through digital innovation, using data-driven storytelling, stronger discoverability, and enhanced data visualization to make evidence more accessible and useful.
“Global progress depends on evidence that is rigorous, relevant and built with partners,” said Onikepe Owolabi, vice president for international research. “This plan sharpens our commitment to equitable collaboration and data that advocates and decisionmakers can use and are looking to Guttmacher to provide.”
Guttmacher's strategic priorities reflect the pressures facing the field today, including attacks on abortion and contraception, the spread of junk science and false narratives, funding threats, widening inequities and a communications environment in which accurate information must compete for attention. The plan positions Guttmacher to respond with the speed, rigor and clarity that partners and decisionmakers need.
“The need for rapid, credible and actionable evidence has never been greater,” said Blair Darney, vice president for domestic research. “We will build on groundbreaking bodies of work, like our Monthly Abortion Provision Study and Family Planning Clinic Census, to meet that need with timely data and analysis tailored to researchers, advocates and policymakers on the ground.”
Through the strategic plan, Guttmacher will continue to produce timely research and policy analysis, equip advocates and decisionmakers with actionable evidence, and help shape public understanding of sexual and reproductive health and rights. The Institute will also invest in stronger digital tools and more accessible formats as part of its effort to democratize data access and enable users to customize how they view and receive the evidence to best meet their needs.
“Facts do not move policy or public understanding on their own—they need to be clear, accessible and impossible to ignore,” said Kelly Baden, vice president for US policy and communications. “This plan strengthens how Guttmacher turns evidence into impact and gives us a strong mandate to double down on our ongoing work to counter mis- and disinformation in policy debates and other spaces.”
The Guttmacher Institute’s 2026–2029 Strategic Plan is available here.
About the Guttmacher Institute
The Guttmacher Institute is a leading research and policy organization committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide. The Institute works to generate rigorous evidence, inform public debate, shape policy and advance a future in which all people can realize their rights and access the resources they need to achieve sexual and reproductive health.