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Putting Policy to the Test.

Maxwell X Lab

X Lab and City of Syracuse Press Conference
Treatment and control visual example

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.

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Maxwell student Lia Chabot with Otto the Orange

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.

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Support student research

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. 

Maxwell Hall's north building entrance

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
426 Eggers Hall