Everyday Indicators for Policy Innovation (California)

This project seeks to understand how everyday indicators can play a role in policy development and innovation, specifically in contexts of injustice and inequity.  We are starting in California, where we are supporting the Innovation Stream of California 100, a state-wide initiative to map an equitable, long-term policy future for the state of California.  California 100 is bringing together diverse stakeholders from academic, public, private and civil society sectors across the state to address the state’s most pressing policy issues, from police violence to health and education.  In partnership with The People Lab at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, EPI is testing the ability of community-driven indicators to inform policy development and assess policy implementation.  We are sourcing and measuring bottom-up, everyday indicators of key policy outcomes from the very communities who will live with the consequences of these solutions, and then feeding these data back into policy discussions and evaluations.  

Our work with California 100 will occur over several waves. We are beginning with the specific issue of police reform.  In the context of a national movement to defund police departments, several American cities are moving toward a process of reimagining public safety.  Central to this conversation is understanding that in order to actualize meaningful public safety reforms, those most impacted by the current public safety infrastructure must play a key role.  Yet, key gaps remain in our understanding of how to carry out such consultation so that it is systematic, representative and meaningful.  This project aims to fill this gap.