The Pacific Research Institute is a non-partisan, non-profit educational charity. Because PRI's trustees believe that all financial support should be voluntary, PRI neither solicits nor accepts government funding. Its contributors consist primarily of foundations and individuals, with some corporate support, as described in its 2009 annual report.

PRI salaried employees do not serve in a consulting capacity to the Institute's contributors, but they may receive speaking fees. PRI's adjunct fellows, who are not salaried employees of the Institute, may receive consulting fees or other payments from entities that may also be contributors to the Institute. However, when writing and speaking on behalf of PRI, all scholars have agreed to the following conditions in order to avoid conflicts of interest.

• PRI maintains rigorous research standards and clear institutional independence.

• Original research is peer reviewed, and all publications are subject to a thorough internal review and editorial process.

• The Institute's donors do not have any input into the analysis or interpretation of research, or into the writing of any publication.

• As part of this policy, PRI donors do not preview any research before publication, nor do they determine who the peer reviewers are, nor are the identities of peer reviewers disclosed to donors.