High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), or officially the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, is a California-based free-market think tank founded in 1979 whose stated vision is the promotion of "the principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility". The Institute believes these principles are best encouraged through policies that emphasize a free economy, private initiative, and limited government." The Pacific Research Institute has been associated with other think-tanks, including the American Enterprise Institute, The Heritage Foundation, The Fraser Institute, and the Cato Institute.