Mission Statement
Our mission is to collaborate with nonprofits and public officials to maximize policy effectiveness. Knowing whether policies are having the intended consequences and are cost effective is extremely difficult. We help design, implement, and analyze randomized controlled studies that evaluate the effectiveness of government, policies, programs, and practices. The Laboratories of Democracy is nonpartisan and works with officials of either political party and those with no partisan affiliation to improve communities. We also work with stakeholders to establish best practices and disseminate lessons so that communities can learn from each other.
The Problem and Our Solution
Local governments and nonprofits have to make important decisions and face a wide range of options. With limited information available and a need to act immediately, decision makers choose the option that appears optimal at the time. However, it is difficult to know whether the policy selected effectively addressed the community’s problem and whether it was the most cost effective solution. Unfortunately, most local governments and nonprofits do not have the resources and expertise to conduct systematic evaluations of new programs and policies. Even when rigorous evaluations are conducted, the results of these studies are often not widely disseminated, meaning that governments fail to learn from each other.
The Laboratories of Democracy is a resource that can provide expertise in policy evaluation to government officials, nonprofits, and other actors. We are a group of academic researchers with extensive experience in designing and implementing experiments in real world settings. Experiments are the gold standard for policy evaluation and are widely used in many fields — such as medicine, campaigns, education, advertising, and international development — but are underutilized in studying governance. We help public officials and other civic groups conduct rigorous analysis of their practices with an eye to improving program effectiveness and efficiency. We compile and distribute the results of our studies so that all interested governments and organizations can learn the lessons from the policies that have been evaluated. Our goal is to prevent the waste caused by ineffective (or, worse, harmful) policies and steer organizations towards established best practices
The Laboratories of Democracy is a resource that can provide expertise in policy evaluation to government officials, nonprofits, and other actors. We are a group of academic researchers with extensive experience in designing and implementing experiments in real world settings. Experiments are the gold standard for policy evaluation and are widely used in many fields — such as medicine, campaigns, education, advertising, and international development — but are underutilized in studying governance. We help public officials and other civic groups conduct rigorous analysis of their practices with an eye to improving program effectiveness and efficiency. We compile and distribute the results of our studies so that all interested governments and organizations can learn the lessons from the policies that have been evaluated. Our goal is to prevent the waste caused by ineffective (or, worse, harmful) policies and steer organizations towards established best practices
Our Philosophy
Local partners lead each and every project. We listen to the goals and capacities of each organization and then design the study to fit the needs of each client. Randomized controlled trials are not difficult per se, but they do add another layer of complexity to the process of implementing a project. We work closely with partner organizations to ensure that the evaluation designed does not stretch organizational capacity, is respectful of community members, and answers the questions that the partner wants. We then work with our partners to explain the results clearly and discuss the implications of the results. Experimental evaluation cannot be successful without buy-in from all relevant stakeholders, so we work hard to ensure that all parties understand the design and goals of the process from the outset.