Annenberg Public Policy Center

What Annenberg Public Policy Center does

The Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) is a nonprofit research center of the University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1993 with an endowment from the Annenberg Foundation and headquartered at 202 S. 36th St., Philadelphia. APPC studies the role of communication in politics, science, civic engagement, and public health, executing survey-based research, content analysis, and longitudinal tracking programs (notably the Annenberg Civics Knowledge Survey since 2006 and the ASAPH science knowledge surveys) and producing academic publications including books via Oxford University Press and the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Its operational portfolio spans fact-checking (FactCheck.org, launched 2003, and its SciCheck vertical on scientific evidence), civics education (Annenberg Classroom and the Civics Renewal Network), science media analysis (Annenberg Science Media Monitor, since 2018), the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative book series, the Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics, the Transatlantic Working Group on content moderation (since 2019), and the NAS-Sunnylands-APPC retreat series on science integrity (since 2015). Underlying technology is conventional survey methodology paired with large-scale content analysis rather than a software platform; AI is used selectively for message-selection modeling and survey analysis, and AI governance has become a 2024 convening focus.

APPC is a private nonprofit and does not charge for its research, fact-checks, or educational resources. Revenue consists of endowment income from the 1993 Annenberg Foundation gift, foundation grants (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Rita Allen Foundation), and partnership support (National Academy of Sciences, Sunnylands, University of Amsterdam's IViR, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands). Customer segments are the general public, journalists, policymakers, educators, and academic researchers, all served through free digital distribution rather than commercial sales.

Name

Annenberg Public Policy Center

Legal name

The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania

Website

https://annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Annenberg Public Policy Center is a University of Pennsylvania-affiliated nonprofit research center founded in 1993 that studies communication in politics, science, civics, and public health, distributing fact-checking (FactCheck.org), surveys, educational materials, and convening programs to the public, journalists, policymakers, and educators at no cost.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Policy Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAFAO

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Civil Rights, Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations

SECONDARYBPAGADAN

Education Policy, Research & Advocacy Organizations (Nonprofit)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGAFAJ

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Civil Rights, Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations

Keywords

• Public policy research
• Civic education
• Science communication
• Fact-checking services
• Survey research

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Endowment Income: Ongoing funding from an endowment established by the Annenberg Foundation in 1993.
2. Foundation Grants: APPC receives grant funding from foundations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (to expand model to combat deceptive claims about health) and the Rita Allen Foundation (to support the Science Media Monitor).
3. Sponsorship and Partnerships: Partnership activities with organizations like National Academy of Sciences, Sunnylands, and others that support research initiatives and retreats on science integrity.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Annenberg Public Policy Center conducts research, education, and public engagement on communication policy, civics, science communication, public health, and adolescent behavior. It operates fact-checking initiatives (FactCheck.org, SciCheck), runs longitudinal survey programs on civics and science knowledge, produces free civics education materials for schools, publishes adolescent mental health research, and convenes high-level retreats on science integrity and content moderation.

Product overview

The Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania is a premier research and policy center founded in 1993, operating as a unified research organization rather than a commercial product company. APPC's portfolio consists of research programs and public-facing projects including: fact-checking initiatives (FactCheck.org and SciCheck), survey programs (ASAPH/Annenberg Science Knowledge Surveys and Annenberg Civics Knowledge Survey since 2006), educational materials (Annenberg Classroom and Civics Renewal Network), media analysis (Annenberg Science Media Monitor), adolescent mental health resources (Adolescent Mental Health Initiative book series), and convening initiatives (Transatlantic Working Group on content moderation and NAS-Sunnylands-APPC Retreats on science integrity). The center conducts and disseminates research on communication's role in politics, science, adolescent behavior, health, civics, and mental health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FactCheck.org: A fact-checking project that monitors the factual accuracy of statements made by politicians and political organizations
• Annenberg Classroom
• Civics Renewal Network
• SciCheck
• Annenberg Science Media Monitor
• Adolescent Mental Health Initiative
• Annenberg Civics Knowledge Survey
• Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey
• ASAPH/Annenberg Science Knowledge Surveys
• NAS-Sunnylands-APPC Retreats
• Transatlantic Working Group

Products and services

• FactCheck.org A nonpartisan fact-checking project that monitors the factual accuracy of statements made by politicians, political organizations, and public figures, with a sub-initiative called SciCheck focused on misuse of scientific evidence. It serves journalists, policymakers, and the general public and has won Webby People's Voice Awards and National Headliner Awards.
• SciCheck A fact-checking initiative focused specifically on the use and misuse of scientific evidence, examining science-related claims in public discourse to combat misinformation on health and science topics.
• Annenberg Civics Knowledge Survey An annual survey conducted since 2006 measuring American adults' understanding of the U.S. Constitution, civics, and the three branches of government. Findings are published as the Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey each September 17 for Constitution Day.
• ASAPH / Annenberg Science Knowledge Surveys An ongoing survey program that tracks American public knowledge and attitudes on science and health topics including vaccination, fluoridation, maternal health, STI vaccines, and trust in scientists. The program received AAPOR's 2026 Policy Impact Award.
• Annenberg Classroom Free, award-winning civics education materials that help K-12 educators and schools teach youth about citizen rights, civic responsibility, democracy, and the Constitution.
• Civics Renewal Network A consortium of organizations dedicated to civics education, organized and managed by APPC, providing civic education resources and materials for educators, schools, and students.
• Annenberg Science Media Monitor A large-scale content analysis project that examines news coverage of science from mainstream media outlets including The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post to increase public understanding of the scientific process.
• Adolescent Mental Health Initiative Book Series A book series synthesizing and disseminating scientific research on the prevention and treatment of mental disorders in adolescents, covering depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, schizophrenia, eating disorders, suicide prevention, and autism.
• Transatlantic Working Group on Content Moderation Online and Freedom of Expression A high-level commission bringing together government representatives, legislators, corporate and policy experts from the EU and US to identify scalable solutions to reduce hate speech, violent extremism, and viral deception online while protecting freedom of expression.
• NAS-Sunnylands-APPC Retreats on Integrity of Science A series of high-level convenings since 2015 bringing together scientists, policymakers, and leaders to address science integrity, AI governance, ethics in genome editing, survey research accuracy, and science communication. These retreats have produced white papers and PNAS publications.
• Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics An institute within APPC focused on civic education and engagement that provides awards and develops civic education materials for youth, including the Civics-in-a-Box project recognized with the institute's 2026 award.

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and collaborative.

• Annenberg Foundation Trust at SunnylandscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2019Sunnylands operates The Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California, hosting meetings for leaders to address serious issues. APPC co-hosts retreats with Sunnylands on science, AI, and policy topics. Sunnylands also created the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative in partnership with APPC.
• Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of AmsterdammajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2019IViR, one of the largest research centers in information law, is a European partner in the Transatlantic Working Group on Content Moderation Online and Freedom of Expression, co-hosted by APPC.
• National Academy of Sciences (NAS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Since 2015, APPC has partnered with the National Academy of Sciences and the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands to convene more than a dozen retreats on science integrity, AI in research, genome editing ethics, survey research, and science workforce training. These retreats have produced white papers, PNAS publications, and influenced NAS policies.
• Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media (PCSSM)collaborativeStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCSSM is a collaborative center affiliated with APPC focused on the intersection of science, media, and sustainability.
• The Rendell Center for Civics and Civic EngagementcollaborativeChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner organization working with APPC on civics education initiatives.
• The Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP)collaborativeStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia collaborating with APPC on research initiatives.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Snopes: One of the earliest internet fact-checking organizations, covering political, scientific, and viral claims. Snopes competes with FactCheck.org and SciCheck for media citations and audience attention in political fact-checking.
• Brookings Institution: A premier Washington-based public policy research organization conducting in-depth, nonpartisan research across economics, foreign policy, and governance. It is the closest structural analogue to APPC as a nonprofit think tank producing scholarly publications, surveys, and policy convenings.
• RAND Corporation: A nonprofit research institution that conducts policy analysis across health, education, civic institutions, and emerging technology. RAND's longitudinal survey programs and policy convenings map directly onto APPC's civics and science research portfolio.
• Pew Research Center: A nonpartisan fact tank that conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, and content analysis on U.S. civic and science attitudes. Pew's American Trends Panel surveys are the closest methodological peer to APPC's ASAPH and Civics Knowledge surveys.
• PolitiFact: A Pulitzer Prize-winning political fact-checking project that rates the accuracy of claims by politicians and public figures. PolitiFact is the most direct competitor to FactCheck.org, operating with similar editorial methodology and target audience.

Broad incumbents

• Cato Institute: A libertarian public policy research foundation producing books, policy studies, and congressional testimony. Comparable to APPC as a high-visibility nonprofit think tank, but with a defined ideological orientation that APPC explicitly lacks.
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: A global think tank producing policy research and convening experts on international affairs. Comparable to APPC's Transatlantic Working Group convenings but operating at significantly larger international scale and with broader topic coverage.
• Council on Foreign Relations: An independent, nonpartisan think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs. Shares APPC's nonprofit, membership-and-grant-funded structure and convening-driven dissemination model, though focused on foreign rather than domestic policy.
• Urban Institute: A nonprofit research organization focused on social and economic policy, with strong survey and evaluation capabilities. Comparable to APPC in its evidence-based research posture and reliance on foundation funding, though oriented toward domestic social policy.

Emerging players

• Stanford Internet Observatory: A university-based research program studying the abuse of information technologies, including election integrity and platform governance. Comparable to APPC's content-moderation and disinformation research within the Transatlantic Working Group, but with a narrower tech-platform focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/appcpenn
• Facebookfacebook.com/appc.org
• Instagraminstagram.com/appcpenn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-annenberg-public-policy-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Annenberg Public Policy Center