Putting Policy to the Test.
Maxwell X Lab
Featured Projects
Hennepin County, MN SNAP
The Maxwell X Lab partnered with the University of Minnesota and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to test behavioral interventions designed to increase the likelihood that SNAP recipients recertify on-time in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
New York Opioid Court Treatment Enhancement Project
We are partnering with the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health and the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, to evaluate substance abuse treatment and recovery support service systems treating individuals with opioid use disorders (OUD), participating in 10 geographically diverse opioid courts in the state of New York.
Glimmerglass Festival
Breaking Glass is a five-episode podcast that offers the Glimmerglass audience insight into how opera can connect to contemporary issues and diverse audiences. Our experiment tested how listening to Breaking Glass changes preferences on opera and performing arts and supports diversity.
The Maxwell X Lab Approach
Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs)
When some people are randomly assigned to get business-as-usual and others to get a new intervention, we can attribute any differences in outcomes to what we did and not some unknown factor or chance.
Behavioral Science
As humans, we fail to show up and follow through on many of our best-laid plans because seemingly irrelevant factors can bias our behavior. Fortunately, we can improve outcomes by accounting for when these biases could occur and designing around them.
Request for Proposals
Maxwell X Lab seeks government and nonprofit agency partners to develop innovative interventions through the Walters Community Partnership Fund. You are invited to submit a proposal to collaborate with the Maxwell X Lab to generate an intervention and then to evaluate the success of that intervention.
Helping Syracuse thrive
Lia Chabot arrived at Syracuse University with a passion for economics and graduated with two degrees—and the Chancellor's Award for Public Engagement—that reflect her academic and research prowess, compassion, and commitment to activism. Working with the City of Syracuse Department of Neighborhood and Business Development and the Maxwell X Lab, Chabot's data analysis revealed potential mortgage fraud that resulted in litigation.
Public Policy and COVID-19: Managing the Pandemic's Impact on the Economy
Hear X Lab director Leonard Lopoo speak about how the X Lab can help fill the knowledge gap of understanding what the impact—positive or negative—is of innovations in managing the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic through the use of randomized control trials and behavioral science.
Follow us on Twitter @MaxwellXLab
Center for Policy Research
The Maxwell X Lab is a program of the Center for Policy Research, where experts from diverse fields explore policy issues through a range of different disciplinary lenses—primarily economics, public administration, political science and sociology.
Maxwell X Lab Projects In Action
School News
Feb 24, 2023
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Jan 13, 2023
School News
Dec 8, 2022