Harvard launches pilot initiative to tackle some of today’s biggest challenges

Harvard announced Wednesday the launch of a pilot for a new University-wide initiative called Harvard Impact Labs. The initiative will support faculty working in collaboration with leaders in government, nonprofits, and the private sector to develop solutions to pressing societal problems. 

Universities have long led the way in generating scientific knowledge to improve the human condition through research in the life sciences and engineering. Harvard Impact Labs seeks to support the impact-focused work of social scientists, harnessing the tools of scientific research to help public leaders solve the problems they confront every day. Each lab will focus on a specific societal challenge, such as local economic development, affordable housing, educational achievement, high-quality healthcare, or public safety.

During the pilot phase, the initiative will have three core components: (1) a fellowship program to support faculty as they develop meaningful scientific collaborations with leaders in the public and social sectors, (2) start-up funding to support these types of collaborations as they design, test, and scale solutions in real-world settings, and (3) public service leaves to give faculty the opportunity to embed in governments or nonprofits to learn more deeply about the problems they wish to work on. Through these functions, Harvard Impact Labs will support faculty who are already doing this critical work and provide others with the skills and resources they need to put their research and expertise to work for society.

“Just as Harvard faculty in the life sciences have long worked to develop medical cures that save and improve lives, Harvard Impact Labs will help faculty and students in other disciplines address the real-world challenges that our society faces,” said Hopi Hoekstra, the Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the C.Y. Chan Professor of Arts and Sciences, and the Xiaomeng Tong and Yu Chen Professor of Life Sciences.  

“In this moment of dissatisfaction with the status quo, declining faith in expertise, and skepticism of government and democracy, there has never been a more important time for an initiative like this,” said Jeremy Weinstein, dean of Harvard Kennedy School and Don K. Price Professor of Public Policy. “By giving faculty and students the support they need — and connecting them with real-world practitioners — Harvard Impact Labs can help tackle our biggest challenges and improve lives across the world.”

“Harvard Impact Labs builds on the extraordinary work being done by many of our faculty in partnership with communities across the nation and around the globe, whether improving education, healthcare, housing, public safety, the environment, or a host of other issues,” said Nonie K. Lesaux, the interim dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Roy E. Larsen Professor of Education and Human Development. “Communities and leaders are working hard to develop solutions, and we can help accelerate more of that work.”

“We are eager to enable more Harvard faculty to work with public- and private-sector changemakers to develop, test, and scale solutions to a range of social problems,” said Jeffrey Liebman, the Robert W. Scrivner Professor of Public Policy at the Kennedy School and co-faculty director of Harvard Impact Labs. “At the Government Performance Lab, I’ve seen firsthand how faculty and students can simultaneously change lives and advance scientific understanding by working directly with those on the front lines of society’s biggest challenges — and I’m thrilled to be building upon that mission with Harvard Impact Labs.”

“Many Harvard faculty are eager to put their expertise to work making a difference outside of Harvard, but it can be hard to know where to start,” said Danielle Allen, the James Bryant Conant University Professor, co-faculty director of this initiative, and director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation. “This initiative is going to make it possible for more faculty to have impact at scale and lead to more rapid progress on some of the nation’s and the world’s most difficult social problems.”

Faculty at all Harvard Schools will be eligible for funding and support. The initiative will be housed at Harvard Kennedy School and report to the deans of the Kennedy School, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and the Graduate School of Education. It will be guided by a distinguished group of faculty advisers from across the University and led by co-faculty directors Danielle Allen; Jeffrey Liebman; James S. Kim, professor of education; and Amanda Pallais, the Robert C. Waggoner Professor of Economics. Its executive director, Pauline Abernathy, brings a wealth of experience creating reform at the national, state and local levels while in senior positions in government, nonprofits, and philanthropy. She is a graduate of the Kennedy School’s Master in Public Policy program. 

This pilot is made possible by a generous donation from Julian Baker, who graduated from Harvard College in 1988 with an A.B. in social studies.

More information on the initiative can be found on the Harvard Impact Labs website.