Manning distinguishes between conservative political parties and the "conservative movement" with both the Foundation and the Centre being movement organizations. Their purpose is to strengthen democracy and conservatism in Canada by facilitating the generation of intellectual capital through the support of think tanks and idea generators; by facilitating the development of human resources for the political process through education and training.and to facilitate networking among the various components of the movement through communications and conferencing. The signature event of the Manning Centre is its Networking Conference held in Ottawa each year.