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William & Mary to Host Fourth Annual Gates Forum on Security Assistance in Winter 2025
William & Mary will host its fourth annual Gates Forum in winter 2025, bringing together leading policymakers and practitioners from across the country to address a critical issue in U.S. national security. This year’s forum will examine how the United States can rethink its approach to security assistance to best advance its national interests, deliver effective results, and respond to changing international circumstances.
A Partnership Rooted in Excellence and Public Service
The Gates Forum is a partnership between William & Mary's Global Research Institute (GRI) and the Robert M. Gates Global Policy Center (GGPC). Each year, they work together to convene 15-20 senior government and industry leaders in Williamsburg to better understand how the United States can best coordinate and implement its tools of statecraft. The Gates Forums will run for two days, drawing upon the real-world experience of conferees and the best available evidence to diagnose challenges, consider a range of possible response options, and articulate a non-partisan roadmap for improvements in U.S. policy moving forward. Each Gates Forum is chaired and convened by W&M Chancellor Robert M. Gates, an alumnus of the Class of 1965 whose decades of bipartisan public service as CIA Director, Secretary of Defense, and university president embody W&M's commitment to leadership, integrity, and civic engagement.
Now in its fourth iteration, the Gates Forum began in December 2022 with a convening around U.S. strategic communications. In 2023, the focus shifted to U.S. development assistance. Last year, the Gates Forum tackled the U.S. approach to sanctions and economic statecraft. Distinguished participants over the years have included Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), Senator Todd Young (R-IN), Representative Young Kim (R-CA), Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (R-IL), Ambassador Mark Green, and Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Elizabeth Allen, amongst many others.
Research-Driven Policy Solutions
GRI serves as a national leader in applied, multidisciplinary research that bridges the gap between academia and real-world policymaking. Behind every Gates Forum lies a rigorous research engine in that mold. Under the stewardship of GRI's Dr. Ryan Musto, Director of Forums and Research Initiatives, and Eric Brown, Senior Research Scientist, researchers from across the country gather evidence, assess case studies, and provide real-time data analysis to inform Forum discussions. The intellectual backbone of each Gates Forum is an original research volume that brings the best academic evidence to bear on the topic at hand. At the Forum, authors of the research volume brief their findings directly to the conferees and help answer questions that may arise.
A Nonpartisan Platform for Action
The Gates Forum stands as an annual, nonpartisan convening that focuses on how the United States can best exercise its power in the world. The Gates Forums not only help educate, but also catalyze policy action.