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| The GovLab | |
|---|---|
| Name | The GovLab |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Founder | Beth Noveck |
| Type | Research center |
| Parent organization | New York University |
The GovLab is a research center focused on improving public problem-solving through data, technology, and civic innovation. It conducts applied research, develops tools, and partners with public, private, and civic actors to increase openness and effectiveness in public decision-making. The center engages with global networks of researchers, practitioners, funders, and policymakers to translate evidence into practice.
The center was launched amid a wave of institutional experimentation that included initiatives such as Sunlight Foundation, Code for America, Open Knowledge Foundation, Data.gov, and Open Government Partnership; it arose from dialogues involving scholars and officials associated with Harvard University, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University. Its founder had previously advised administrations participating in Presidential Innovation Fellows and worked with elements of United States Digital Service, UK Government Digital Service, European Commission digital policy teams, and civic technology leaders from Omidyar Network and Mozilla. Early collaborations brought together stakeholders from Brookings Institution, RAND Corporation, World Bank, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to shape research agendas. Over time it engaged with municipal innovators in New York City, Barcelona, Seoul, and Reykjavík as well as national agencies such as United Nations Development Programme, Inter-American Development Bank, and Australian Digital Transformation Agency.
The center’s stated mission aligns with networks like Open Data Institute, Transparency International, International Association for Public Participation, and Civic Hall. It aims to increase civic capacity through initiatives similar to Participatory Budgeting Project, MySociety, and Public Lab. Activities include convenings reminiscent of events hosted by TED, Aspen Institute, Clinton Global Initiative, and World Economic Forum, and technical assistance comparable to programs run by Accenture, McKinsey & Company, and Deloitte in public sector transformation. The organization supports capacity building seen in partnerships with United Nations, World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and philanthropic actors such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and MacArthur Foundation.
Scholarly output echoes work published by authors affiliated with Yale University, Princeton University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and University of California, Berkeley. Research topics intersect with case studies from Estonia, Singapore, Canada, Germany, and France and draw on datasets maintained by OpenCorporates, UNICEF, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank. Publications have been cited alongside reports from Pew Research Center, MIT Media Lab, Harvard Kennedy School, and Berkman Klein Center. The center’s white papers, toolkits, and working papers sit in the same ecosystem as outputs from Center for Strategic and International Studies, Chatham House, European Policy Centre, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Programs mirror initiatives like Code for All, GovLab Academy, Civic Innovation Challenge, and practitioner networks similar to DataKind and OpenAI Scholars programs. It runs applied labs, fellowship programs akin to Ashoka Fellowship and Erasmus Mundus, and runs experimental pilot projects comparable to pilots by Facebook Connectivity Lab and Google.org. Initiative areas include participatory design used in IDEO projects, data stewardship comparable to standards advocated by IEEE, and impact evaluation methods employed by 3ie and J-PAL.
Collaborators include academic partners such as New York University, Columbia University, University College London, and Tsinghua University; multilaterals such as United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, World Economic Forum, United Nations Development Programme, and International Labour Organization; and civic actors like Sunrise Movement, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Access Now. It has worked with government bodies including Office of Management and Budget, UK Cabinet Office, Singapore Prime Minister’s Office, and municipal offices in Buenos Aires and Toronto. Private sector partners have included Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Google, IBM, Salesforce, SAP, and philanthropic partners including Skoll Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation.
Structurally, the center resembles research units within NYU Wagner School of Public Service and research institutes such as Brookings Institution and Urban Institute with a director, research faculty, fellows, and staff. Funding sources echo patterns seen at National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and private philanthropy from Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, and corporate sponsorship like programs funded by Google.org and Microsoft Philanthropies. It secures grants from entities like MacArthur Foundation, contracts with agencies such as USAID and European Commission, and revenue through consulting engagements similar to those of McKinsey & Company and Booz Allen Hamilton.
Impact claims are evaluated alongside assessments from OECD, World Bank Independent Evaluation Group, Accountability Lab, and audits published by Government Accountability Office. Advocates cite contributions to open-data practices seen in Data.gov and participatory processes like those credited in Icelandic constitutional reform experiments. Critics raise concerns consistent with debates involving Surveillance Capitalism critiques associated with Shoshana Zuboff, ethical reviews from AI Now Institute, and equity critiques similar to those leveled at Big Tech engagements in public policy. Debates involve trade-offs discussed in forums such as International Conference on Information Systems, Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, and panels at World Economic Forum meetings.
Category:Research institutes