The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a voluntary membership organization for more than 1,100 member schools and associations in the United States and abroad, and is the national institutional advocate for independent pre-collegiate education.
NAIS is especially concerned about issues related to quality, equity and access in education, pricing and affordability, marketing independent education, and the professional development of heads, administrators, and trustees.
The association owns the School and Student Service for Financial Aid (administered by Educational Testing Service in Princeton, NJ), which processes financial aid applications using a common needs analysis system for member schools and other private schools around the country.

Challenge 20/20

Challenge 20/20 is a new NAIS global initiative that provides an opportunity for public and private schools to develop international partnerships and to work toward real solutions to global problems.
Challenge 20/20 brings together schools in the United States with schools in other countries. Together, they identify local solutions to a global problem.
High Noon: Twenty Global Problems and Twenty Years to Solve Them
by Jean-Francois Rischard
The NAIS Challenge 20/20 program is built upon the concepts in this book. In his book, Rischard describes the following problems.
Sharing our planet: Issues involving the global commons
1. Global warming
2. Biodiversity and ecosystem losses
3. Fisheries depletion
4. Deforestation
5. Water deficits
Sharing our humanity: Issues requiring global commitment
6. Maritime safety and pollution
7. Massive step-up in the fight against poverty
8. Peacekeeping, conflict prevention, combating terrorism
9. Education for all
10. Global infectious diseases
11. Digital divide
12. Natural disaster prevention and mitigation
Sharing our rule book: Issues needing a global regulatory approach
13. Reinventing taxation for the 21st Century
14. Biotechnology rules
15. Global financial architecture
16. Illegal drugs
17. Trade, investment, and competition rules
18. Intellectual property rights
19. E-commerce rules
20. International labor and migration rules