In 2007, MissionSquare Research Institute (formerly the Center for State and Local Government Excellence) was founded by ICMA-RC (now MissionSquare Retirement) to respond to the challenges facing state and local governments as they sought to attract and develop the best workforce for the 21st century. Through its ongoing role as a non-profit research organization, the Institute undertakes a range of important retirement research projects.

In aiming to achieve its mission, the Institute has also collaborated with other research partners and sponsors, including:

• AARP
• AFSCME
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
• Alliance for Innovation/Local Government Research Collaborative
• Aon Hewitt
• Arthur N. Caple Foundation
• Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
• Center for Public Safety Management
• Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
• Center for Sharing Public Health Services
• City of Decatur, Georgia
• City of Troy, Michigan
• Colonial Life
• de Beaumont Foundation
• FINRA
• Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company
• Government Finance Officers Association
• Governing Magazine
• Ibbotson/Morningstar Investment Management
• IBM Center for the Business of Government
• Institute for Building Technology and Safety
• International Code Council
• International City/County Management Association
• IML Worldwide
• International Public Management Association for Human Resources
• Kaiser Family Foundation
• Kronos, Inc.
• Laura and John Arnold Foundation
• Lead for America
• LinkedIn Learning
• Mesirow Financial Investment Management
• Michigan State University, Institute for Public Policy and Social Research
• National Association of County and City Health Officials
• National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators
• National Association of State Personnel Executives
• National Association of State Retirement Administrators
• National Association of State Treasurers
• National Conference of State Legislatures
• National Governors Association
• National League of Cities
• National Public Pension Coalition
• North Carolina State University, School of Public & International Affairs and Poole College of Management
• Pew Charitable Trusts
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• Segal Group
• SmartWorksPlus
• Smith Richardson Foundation
• South Dakota Retirement System
• Spy Pond Partners, LLC
• The Ohio State University, John Glenn School of Public Affairs
• TIAA Institute
• UnitedHealthcare
• University of Connecticut, Department of Public Policy
• University of Georgia, Carl Vinson Institute of Government
• University of Illinois, School of Public Health
• University of Tennessee, Institute for Public Service
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Wells Fargo Foundation
• Willis Towers Watson
• World Pensions Council