Institute for Research & Evaluation
This content was last updated Oct. 4, 2023, 7:58 a.m. UTC
The Institute for Research & Evaluation (IRE) is an organization that is primarily dedicated to promoting abstinence-only sex education. Director Stan E. Weed of IRE has been used as an alternative to mainstream medical experts on gender dysphoria and its treatment by many conservative Christian websites, including Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen and The Aquila Report.
IRE promotes fringe ideas on transgender medical research, including circulating a document that misrepresents the state of research into gender-affirming care. A representative of IRE has appeared before the Texas State Senate to testify against transgender care.
Research evidence does not support medical intervention for gender-confused minors: Scientific evidence has not shown that cross-sex medical treatments are beneficial to children or adolescents. The research making these claims is not scientifically reliable. In fact, there is evidence of harmful impact.
Founding
IRE was founded in 1986 in Taylorsville, Utah. The group is 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which they state is dedicated to youth development programs. They report their location in public documents as being in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Of the key figures involved with the organization, the only one who is public facing is the director Stan E. Weed. Maryanne Weed is listed as being the secretary/treasurer, whereas Dave Andrews and Joseph Olsen are listed as being officers in the organization. Paul Birch, up until 2018, was listed as the assistant director.
In their most recent tax documents IRE states that their purpose is to ”Conduct basic and applied scientific research in the social, behavioral, health, and public policy sciences. Research focuses on social problems of adolescents & activities to alleviate such problems.”
Finances
The income of IRE ranges by the year, with the lowest reported annual revenue in the past 12 years being about $53,000 and the highest as $178,000. These are reported as being brought in due to a mixture of ‘program services’ and ‘investment income.’ Specifically for the former, ‘program evaluation’ is listed as their source of income. It is unclear exactly what is meant by this.
Stan E. Weed receives approximately $24,000 a year, comprising about 25% of their overall expenses. The group spends between $1,000 and $4,000 on “other salaries and wages.”
Other expenditures include occupancy costs, travel costs, and contract labor.
History of Anti-LGBTQ+ Activism
The organization has circulated a document they published initially in 2022 entitled: “Transgender Research: Five Things Every Parent and Policy-Maker Should Know.”The document describes itself as a review of the evidence on gender dysphoria in youth and its treatments. It consists of a list of sources, ranging from published papers in academic journals to Gallup polls to news articles, and IRE’s characterization of each one.
The primary claims this document makes about trans rights are in contradiction to the established evidence and standards of care by widely acclaimed organizations such as WPATH and the APA.
Texas Legislation
Irene H. Ericksen appeared before the Texas State Senate in 2023 representing IRE in order to testify against transgender care. A reporter for Dallas Morning News who covered the hearings on Twitter described her being questioned on why she was testifying if she was not an expert on transgender medicine.