index.html

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title: The Policy Lab
nav-title: Home
permalink: /
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          <article class="main__article intro">
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              <h1>
                <span class="text-uppercase">Welcome to</span>
                <span class="display-1">The Policy Lab</span>
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            <div class="intro__content u__content mx-auto">
              <p class="h4 alt-bold">We’re at the center of Rhode Island’s<br> infrastructure for evidence-based policymaking.</p>
              <p class="h4 alt-bold">Let’s learn together.</p>
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                <h2 class="h1">Why We’re Here</h2>
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                <p class="lead">The Policy Lab brings together experts from government, universities, and community organizations to collaborate on research tailored to inform decisions about how to improve policies and programs across the state.</p>
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              <h2 class="h1 mb-2">Projects</h2>
              <span class="lead">Learn more about our work across state, local, and national partners</span>
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            {% assign projects_most_recent = site.projects | reverse %}
            {% for project in projects_most_recent limit:6 %}
              <div class="col-sm-4 project__recirc__post d-flex flex-column text-center">
                <span class="project__recirc__post__meta">{{ project.aside.method }}</span>
                <h3 class="project__recirc__post__title h4"><a href="{{ project.url }}">{{ project.title }}</a></h3>
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            {% endfor %}
            <div class="col-12 pt-5 text-center">
              <a href="{% link projects.html %}" class="project__recirc__landing-link h4">All Projects</a>
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                  By 
                  {% for author in reflection.authors %}
                  {% include byline.html %}
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                {{ reflection.excerpt }}
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            {% endfor %}
            <div class="col-12">
              <a href="{% link reflections.html %}" class="reflection__recirc__landing-link h4">All Reflections</a>
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              <h2 class="h1">Get Updates</h2>
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              <p class="lead">Sign up to get updates on projects, events, and new episodes of our podcast, <a href="https://thirtythousandleagues.com/">30,000 Leagues</a></p>

              {% include mailchimp.html %}

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            <blockquote class="h2 quote__content">Applied research can be remarkably difficult, as theories often fail to work in practice. We need scientists shoulder-to-shoulder with practitioners in those moments, co-designing fresh ideas and iteratively experimenting to optimize solutions. The Policy Lab is a place and group of people dedicated to this work. Think NASA or Bell Labs, but for public policy. </blockquote>
            <figcaption class="quote__attribution">
              <cite><a href="/team/david-yokum/">David Yokum</a>, Director</cite>
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            <h2 class="display-4 text-center text-primary">Theory of Change</h2>
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              <p class="text-center px-lg-5">It is common nowadays to agree that policy should be evidence-based. But how to deliver on that rhetoric in practice is harder. We need not only the highest quality scientific methods, but also a pragmatic mindset geared toward designing learning agendas that can concretely inform decision-making within the bureaucratic and political trenches.
              <p class="text-center px-lg-5">We look to improve policy outcomes through three interconnected areas:</p>
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                  <p class="text-center"><img class="theory__icon" src="{{ '/' | relative_url }}assets/img/icon-generating-evidence.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></p>
                  <p class="text-center">Generating evidence to fill knowledge gaps</p>
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                <div class="col-sm pt-4 px-4 my-2 mx-sm-2 mx-lg-3 theory__wrapper">
                  <p class="text-center"><img class="theory__icon" src="{{ '/' | relative_url }}assets/img/icon-integrating-evidence.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></p>
                  <p class="text-center">Integrating that evidence into planning, budget, procurement, and performance management processes</p>
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                <div class="col-sm pt-4 px-4 my-2 mx-sm-2 mx-lg-3 theory__wrapper">
                  <p class="text-center"><img class="theory__icon" src="{{ '/' | relative_url }}assets/img/icon-building-coalitions.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></p>
                  <p class="text-center">Building coalitions across government, universities, and community organizations to support evidence-based policy</p>
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              <p class="text-center px-lg-5">While many approaches to this work focus on one or two areas at a time, building a culture of evidence-based policymaking requires us to pursue all three simultaneously. We need a substantial amount of stakeholder engagement throughout the entire research process — from carefully listening to and observing what questions most need answering, to helping partners troubleshoot any unanticipated implementation issues based on the generated answers.</p>

              <p class="text-center px-lg-5">The partnership is also a vehicle for increasing staff training and capacity by way of onsite trainings and courses, fellowships, speaker and event series, curating a statewide integrated data system, and other activities to foster a community of practice around the work.</p>

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              {% assign sortedTeam = site.team | sort: 'title' %}
              {%- for teammate in sortedTeam -%}
                {% include team-teaser.html %}
              {% endfor %}


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              <h2 class="h1">Join Us</h2>
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              <p class="lead pb-4">Are you interested in volunteering or proposing a role? <br/><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfAYK-onTssVu_UZ70brJ5euSNcSUV7JLZ2mYNZb_rHoE4vBw/viewform">Send us a message!</a></p>

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