Public Policy Lab

The Public Policy Lab (PPL) at Colby College supports interdisciplinary research, immersive learning, and direct collaboration with policymakers, thought-leaders, and lawmakers throughout the country, and especially in the state of Maine. PPL provides students with real-world policymaking experiences through internships, partnerships, and hands-on research across a range of policy issues. In doing so, PPL prepares students to become thoughtful leaders who understand the importance of evidence-based solutions, and the necessity of working alongside communities to better understand how diverse viewpoints make evidence accurate. We build tools, gather data, and share perspectives in order to promote democratic decision-making at the local, state, and national level.

Colby’s Public Policy Lab was established in 2024 through a generous, $5-million anonymous gift. It builds on the longstanding commitment of Colby faculty and students to engage directly with pressing policy challenges across Maine and beyond.

In its first year, the Lab will expand that work by launching four initiatives that bring students and partners together in the real work of public problem-solving:

• Public Policy Practicum: A semester-long course where students collaborate with government and nonprofit partners to address concrete policy challenges.

• Pathways in Public Policy Fund: Financial support for students pursuing policy-focused internships and research with Maine-based and national organizations.

• Jan Plan Policy Course: A winter-term experience that immerses students in a focused policy issue through fieldwork, guest practitioners, and applied analysis.

• Faculty-Student Research Collaborative: Immersive research opportunities pairing students with faculty to explore underexamined policy topics with public relevance.

Stay tuned for additional opportunities and partnerships as the Lab grows in the months ahead!

Nicholas F. Jacobs is the inaugural director of the Public Policy Lab and The Goldfarb Family Distinguished Chair in American Government at Colby College. A nationally recognized scholar of American politics and policymaking, Jacobs brings a deep commitment to making public policy accessible, accountable, and rooted in local community needs.

He is the author of multiple books and peer-reviewed articles on federalism, democratic institutions, and the administrative state. His research explores how durable policy change happens in complex democracies — and why expert judgment often deviates from public judgment.

Jacobs has worked with local governments, nonprofit organizations, and national policy networks, always with an eye toward fostering civic trust through transparent methods, mutual collaboration, and respect for diverse forms of knowledge.

“Good policy doesn’t come from telling people what they need—it comes from asking, listening, and building together,” he says. “The Lab exists to restore trust by making policymaking more open, more honest, and more connected to the communities it aims to serve.”