Putting Policy to the Test.
Maxwell X Lab
Featured Projects
Recruitment for the Baldanza Teaching Fellowship
Text reminders and mailed flyers with behaviorally informed messages are regularly used in public sector communication. This study uses a randomized controlled trial to examine which email format, a letter with university logos signed by a university official or an informational flyer with a photograph, is the more salient option when recruiting for a teacher training program designed for diverse, underrepresented students.
Behavioral Nudges Increasing Activity in Adolescents with ADHD
An estimated 6.4 million U.S. children and adolescents have an ADHD diagnosis. This pilot study tested the efficacy of behavioral interventions aimed at encouraging daily physical activity (i.e., steps measured with an activity tracker) among adolescents with ADHD.
Understanding Census Non-Response
Maxwell X Lab employed a multi-method approach to understand the scope of the problem of census non-response and identify possible solutions to low response rates across NYS.
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.
I am Maxwell.
I learned how to approach research systematically, how to analyze data in the most transparent way and how to communicate my findings. Also, I learned about the academic publication process, which is immensely beneficial for my future research and publication.”
Ashraf Haque Ph.D. Student, Public Administration and International Affairs Department
Research Assistant, Maxwell X Lab
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.
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
Mar 7, 2025
