Sciences Po’s Interdisciplinary Laboratory for the Evaluation of Public Policy

An international panel of judges appointed by the National Research Agency has awarded funding to a proposal from Sciences Po’s Interdisciplinary Laboratory for the Evaluation of Public Policy as part of the highly selective “Investments for the Future” competition launched by the government in 2010 to identify “Laboratories of excellence” (Labex). The project, coordinated by economist Etienne Wasmer and political scientist Cornelia Woll, brings together researchers and professors from the Economics department, the Centre for European Studies, the Centre for the Sociology of Organizations and the Sociological Observatory of Change. Of the 100 projects selected by the panel, the LIEPP Labex was one of only 26 in the social sciences and humanities.

LIEPP aims to study and evaluate public policy from an interdisciplinary perspective. The project will bring together economists, sociologists, political scientists, jurists and historians. It will involve the evaluation of existing public policies, predicting the results of policies currently being implemented and as following their development. By drawing on the diverse methods and expertise of the different disciplines at Sciences Po, ILEPP aims to build on existing methods and develop new tools of evaluation. It is also hoped that, through the education of future generations of decision makers, these methods of evaluation will eventually adopted by public administration, business and international organisations.