Separating evidence from activism.
PESP Watch is Pinpoint Policy Institute's ongoing effort to examine PESP's research, methodology, funding, relationships, public-record communications, and policy campaigns.
Why PESP Watch exists
Research presented to policymakers and the public should be able to withstand scrutiny.
The Private Equity Stakeholder Project, or PESP, markets itself as a watchdog protecting workers, renters, retirees, and communities from the dangers of private equity.
Its research and advocacy have helped shape debates around housing, retirement systems, taxes, labor policy, and private investment. Those claims deserve scrutiny.
Pinpoint's work has identified incomplete datasets, changing methodologies, funding relationships, coordinated advocacy, and other information that provides important context for evaluating PESP's conclusions.
PESP Watch brings that material together in one place.
The goal is to give policymakers, reporters, and the public the information they need to decide for themselves whether a claim is supported by the evidence.
What we examine
When PESP makes a claim, we go back to the underlying data and documents.
Research & Methodology
What data is being used? What has been left out? Does the methodology support the conclusion? PESP Watch examines the assumptions and methods behind PESP reports, trackers, indices, and other research products.
Funding & Relationships
Who funds the organization and who works alongside it? We examine foundation support, labor relationships, political connections, and other affiliations that can provide useful context for understanding an advocacy campaign.
Public Records
What is happening outside public view? Pinpoint uses public-records requests and source documents to examine communications between PESP and government officials, pension systems, regulators, and other institutions.
Policy Campaigns
How does a research claim move into the broader policy debate? We track the organizations, media narratives, coalition activity, and policy proposals that surround PESP's work.
Our standard
Advocacy groups are free to advocate.
Policymakers should also know when a claim relies on incomplete data, when a methodology changes, when multiple organizations are coordinating around the same campaign, or when funding and political relationships are relevant to understanding the argument.
PESP Watch documents those facts.
The evidence can speak for itself.