Evans Policy Innovation Collaborative

The Evans Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) is a policy lab at the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy & Governance that partners with communities, organizations, and government to design, test, and scale policy innovations for the public good.

We address challenges through a human-centered design process that blends evidence and engagement to spark shared learning and create public impact. While our work is complex, our core belief is simple: inclusive community collaboration builds a bridge to a better future.

Let's Collaborate

What We Offer

We invite you to partner with us in our three areas of work:

Research Projects

We contract with organizations to evaluate and address their pressing challenges, combining traditional social science methods and engagement of diverse stakeholder voices to inform practical steps toward improved public outcomes.

Examples of this work:

Raise the Age
Washington State Ballots Project

Collaborative Initiatives

We serve as an incubator for public innovation around complex public challenges, bringing diverse stakeholders together in iterative collaborative processes that combine different perspectives and forms of expertise to define root problems, explore possibilities, and test viable solutions.

Examples of this work:

Home Equity Sharing Agreements in Washington

Public Leader-Training and Support

We support capacity building through training and technical assistance for leaders seeking to deepen stakeholder relationships and foster effective collaboration through facilitation of authentic engagement approaches.

Examples of this work:

Art of Hosting & Harvesting Trainings
Wolfle Action Lab @EPIC

Our Approach

The EPIC approach recognizes that policy implementation happens within complex systems. We work with a three-phase iterative approach to human-centered design processes that focuses on action and inquiry. Intentional engagement of key stakeholders through dialogue and design helps to reduce complexity and allows for collective sense-making which enables a change process that keeps the needs and perspectives of stakeholders centered.