Increasing the impact of MIT research on public policy
Our Mission
The mission of the MIT Policy Lab at the Center for International Studies is to develop and enhance connections between MIT research and public policy in order to best serve the nation and the world.
The Policy Lab accomplishes this mission by:
1
Proactively identifying policy-relevant research at MIT
2
Providing education and guidance to prepare researchers for effective policy engagement
3
Collaborating with researchers to create and implement policy engagement strategies
4
Reactively mobilizing research and expertise for timely needs of policymakers
Discover Past Projects
The MIT Policy Lab supports all research disciplines, from Computer Science to Linguistics, and engages at all levels of public policy, from City Councils to the United Nations. Explore some of our previous Policy Impact Projects, including projects from each School and College at MIT.
Featured Projects
Professor Lydia Bourouiba will lead a new NSF research center focused on outbreak prevention science as the Associate Director for Translation, Impact and Policy. The MIT Policy Lab will support Professor Bourouiba and researchers from 12 other universities to incorporate policy implications into the design of research projects that will improve our understanding of the factors that create the perfect conditions for a pandemic. The MIT Policy Lab will also guide faculty and researchers through effective dissemination of their policy-relevant findings to local, state, national, and international policymakers.
Researchers Jarrod Goentzel and Lauren Finegan leverage their studies of supply chain management to provide policy guidance and recommendations that facilitate and restore the movement of goods and services after disasters. Working with the MIT Policy Lab, Goenztel and Finegan have briefed senior officials in FEMA, Members of Congress, and the private sector on the challenges to restoring supply chains and the opportunities to provide greater relief for disaster survivors. Finegan was interviewed by the Washington Post to provide a supply chain expert’s perspective on the fires in Southern California.
Professor Tom Peacock explores the depths of our oceans and studies the environmental impacts of deep seabed mining. By working with the Policy Lab, Professor Peacock is sharing his research and technical expertise with the International Seabed Authority, as well as the US National Security Council and US National Economic Council.
Professors Michel DeGraff and Haynes Miller use their language and education research to dismantle linguistic apartheid in Haiti. Working with the MIT Policy Lab, DeGraff and Miller engaged directly with policymakers in Port-au-Prince and convened other scholars and policy experts for a workshop in Cambridge to develop and analyze education policy options.
Learn more by enrolling in the Policy Lab’s online course:
“Tools for Academic Engagement in Public Policy“