Centers

The Berkeley Food Institute is an interdisciplinary research, education and policy institute working in partnership with communities to advance just and sustainable food and farm systems. We do this work across our five program areas: Education, Research, Policy, Community Engagement and Communications.

BFI takes a “whole food and farm systems” approach to help advance transformational change, working across our four mission areas of urban and rural agroecology, good food access, fair and healthy jobs and racial equity in the food system.

To learn more about BFI, please visit https://food.berkeley.edu/ or contact BFI's Policy Director, Neha Sanghera (foodinstitute@gmail.com)

The Opportunity Lab serves as the central research hub for UC Berkeley scholars conducting cutting-edge and data-driven research on inequality in the United States. The O-Lab's mission is to build new insights into the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality, and to provide policymakers with data-driven solutions promoting equity and opportunity for all.

For more information: http://www.olab.berkeley.edu/

Please direct inquiries to O-Lab Director Hilary Hoynes: https://www.hilaryhoynes.com/

The Berkeley Risk and Security Lab at the UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy is an academic research institute focused on the intersection of technology and security. The Lab conducts analytical research, designs and fields wargames, and engages with policy-makers and stakeholders in government, private industry, and civil society.

Learn more at brsl.berkeley.edu

The California Policy Lab (CPL) generates research insights for government impact.

From homelessness and education inequality to economic exclusion, systemic biases, and criminal justice system harms, Californians face interconnected challenges. But too often, the policies and programs intended to solve these challenges are siloed and not evidence-based.

Government agencies managing these programs collect detailed data about their programs and the people they serve, but they often lack the resources, data infrastructure, and research expertise to use that data to inform their policy decisions and make programs more effective.

CPL’s unique research model addresses overcomes these challenges through trusted government partnerships. Together, we conduct scientific analysis to find out what works and to help bring solutions to scale. In addition, we offer a safe and secure data infrastructure for processing and linking government datasets within and across agencies while maintaining confidentiality. We pursue collaborative research projects typically at no cost to our partner agencies. 

Through hands-on partnerships with government agencies, CPL performs rigorous research across issue silos and builds the data infrastructure necessary to improve programs and policies that millions of Californians rely on every day.

For more information: https://www.capolicylab.org/

Established in 1956, the Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) is the first research institute in the United States devoted to the study of higher education. The Center’s mission is to produce and support multi-disciplinary scholarly perspectives on strategic issues in higher education, to conduct relevant policy research, to promote the development of a community of scholars and policymakers engaged in policy-oriented discussion, and to serve the public as a resource on higher education. CSHE brings to this discussion several distinct perspectives:

• A national and international and comparative focus.
• A focus on higher education policy issues unique to California and its different tiers of education.
• A focus on the specific strategic issues important to the University of California.

More information: https://cshe.berkeley.edu/

To contact the CSHE team directly, reach out to cshe@berkeley.edu 

The Center on Civility & Democratic Engagement focuses on preparing current and future leaders to successfully engage people of diverse perspectives in finding solutions for pressing public policy issues.

Founded by the Cal Class of '68 and led by Meredith Sadin, the Center supports program strategies, activities and events on the UC Berkeley campus and beyond.

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The Center for Environmental Public Policy (CEPP) at the Goldman School of Public Policy (GSPP) takes an integrated approach to solving environmental problems. By synthesizing scientific, economic, technical, social, financial, and political understanding, CEPP collaborates to support the creation and implementation of public policies based on exacting analytical standards that carefully define problems and match them with the most impactful solutions. CEPP’s primary focus is on climate change, the key environmental challenge of our time.

Learn more about our team and current projects. 

The Democracy Policy Lab (DPL) engages in rigorous studies to further a new field of policy research: democracy policy. The DPL's research investigates how existing policies and institutions are vulnerable to emerging threats, as well as how policy can protect and expand majority rule, political equality, the rule of law, and other key components of governance by, for, and of the people. DPL researchers also study how policy can strengthen democracy over the long term—by building social trust and solidarity through the labor movement, increasing the inclusion of young Americans and other groups on the margins of the political system, and producing a political economy conducive to human flourishing.

Scholars at DPL use cutting-edge methods to study the workings of effective election administration, fair legislative redistricting and gerrymandering, equitable campaign finance policies, and strong relationships between American communities and policymakers. Recent DPL projects include: 

• The State Democracy Index, a quantitative measure of democratic performance across all 50 states within the U.S.
• Studies on inequalities within the campaign finance system and across race, gender, and age.
• An analysis of the effects of labor policy on voting rights. 

The Democracy Policy Lab is led by Jacob Grumbach, Associate Professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy. To learn more or engage with the DPL, please visit dpl.berkeley.edu or contact democracy-initiative@berkeley.edu.

The India Energy & Climate Center (IECC) at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy leverages clean energy technology and policy expertise at the world’s top public university, Silicon Valley, and the state of California to catalyze the rapid transformation of energy systems that can deliver significant environmental, economic, and energy security benefits.

IECC works collaboratively with Indian policymakers and business leaders to design an innovation and deployment ecosystem through tech-informed policy design, capacity building, a leadership dialogue platform and south-to-south collaboration.

Visit the IECC website

The Institute for Research on Labor and Employment promotes better understanding of the conditions, policies, and institutions that affect the well-being of workers and their families and communities. We inform public debate with hard evidence about inequality, the economy, and the nature of work.

IRLE is home to several nationally-recognized centers and programs that conduct research, education, and outreach on labor and employment issues. The largest of our centers and principal outreach program is the Center for Labor Research and Education, also known as the Labor Center. IRLE also houses the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics (CWED), Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE), California Policy Lab (CPL), and California Public Employee Relations (CPER). Our centers provide in-depth research and policy analysis in areas such as minimum wage policies, the early childcare workforce, homelessness, and public sector labor and employment law.

For more information: https://irle.berkeley.edu/

The Institute for Security and Governance supports research, curriculum, and convenings that bring students, academics, and leading political practitioners together to address critical global risks, to translate research and analysis into actionable solutions for policymakers, thought leaders and elected officials, and to train a diverse generation of security professionals for careers in public service.

The Center is led by Janet Napolitano, who has a unique background as a former federal and state prosecutor, Arizona governor, and the nation’s longest-serving Secretary of Homeland Security. She also served as president of the University of California from 2013-2020.

Visit the center's website at csp.berkeley.edu

The Risk Resilience Research Lab aims to improve justice, safety and well-being for people and communities at risk, through policy-relevant research. They partner with government and non-profit stakeholders, including the people they serve, to develop evidence-based strategies that:

• advance violence prevention and well-being
• improve treatment services and supervision, and
• reduce inequality in the justice system.

To shed light on what works, their team uses a variety of disciplinary approaches and rigorous methods — from state-of-the-art analyses of ‘big data,’ to experiments in real-world settings. Their results often challenge common-sense assumptions about the cause of the problem and suggest innovative strategies for prevention, intervention, and justice.

For more information, visit risk-resilience.berkeley.edu

The Possibility Lab works to mobilize community-engaged, data-driven innovation for the public good. Through on-going partnerships with changemakers both inside and outside government, we tackle big questions that cut across traditional research/practitioner boundaries.

The Possibility Lab brings together public policy experts who are committed to evidence-based policymaking and who use quantitative, participatory, and experimental methods to understand the potential of new ideas to improve people’s lives. All projects are co-designed with community and government partners in order to ensure that innovations are feasible in the short term, scalable in the future, and make meaningful progress towards systemic change.

For more information about the Possibility Lab, visit possibilitylab.berkeley.edu.

To contact the Lab's team directly, reach out to possibilitylab@berkeley.edu.