Policy Labs

Policy Labs are an elective course for students in the School of Public Policy. Run over three terms and supported by CEU faculty, students work in small teams of three-four to produce and present a piece of original research for an external client that is engaged in public policy advocacy, implementation and development. Clients vary in size and subject, but all come from the public, private and civic sectors and share a common interest for using social science research in support their work.

Policy Labs offer real-time practical experience on producing and using policy research. The course is based on the assumption that in many cases, policy oriented research is carried out by teams rather than individuals. Policy labs are made up of small groups working in close collaboration, drawing on quantitative and qualitative methods, and making their recommendations after close consultation with interested parties.

Policy Lab outputs include briefing reports, policy studies, reviews of academic and practitioner literatures, policy scenarios and situation reports and in-depth case studies.

Course Director: Andrew Cartwright

partner Organizations and outputs