The National Industrial Conference Board (NICB), later named The Conference Board, is a non-profit membership organization specializing in economic research. Established in 1916 by eleven of the United States' major trade associations, the NICB's primary goal was to to maintain "harmonious relationships between employer and employees and between both labor and government." Members operated on the basis of consensus and voluntary agreement. If a representative of a trade association did not agree with the organization's stated positions, he was free to voice his opposition. This process allowed the NICB to embrace the twin banners of employer unity and labor reform.

In 1916, the NICB began holding annual meetings which became known as Yama Conferences (since the first was held on the Yama farm in New York State's Catskill region.) The meetings were a chance for members to discuss the economic and social issues of the day and to develop a consensus that would define the organization's positions. As part of this process, the NICB's staff compiled economic and sociological reports on contemporary issues. Over the years, the NICB became a spokesman for the so-called progressive wing of the business community. As part of its ongoing function as a lobbying group and publicist for American business, it produced hundreds of research reports on economic and social issues facing the United States.