Georgia Policy Labs — Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

What Georgia Policy Labs — Andrew Young School of Policy Studies does

Georgia Policy Labs is a non-profit university-based policy research center housed within the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University in Atlanta, founded in 2017 with an initial $3.9 million grant from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. The organization operates three research labs: the Metro Atlanta Policy Lab for Education (MAPLE), partnering with five of the largest metro-Atlanta school districts representing approximately 30% of Georgia's public school students; the Career & Technical Education Policy Exchange (CTEx), a multi-state policy lab working with state departments of education in six states; and the Child & Family Policy Lab, launched in 2019, which examines programs and policies affecting Georgia's children and families across agency boundaries.

The center's core technology is a cross-agency data infrastructure that links administrative data across education agencies, state departments, and community organizations to enable timely evidence-based analysis. Its core products include the three research labs, a public publications library, free capacity-building workshops in data analysis tools (Python, R, Tableau, Power BI, Excel) that have trained over 1,000 participants since 2019, and an annual Engaged Research Competition awarding up to $30,000 in grants. Revenue is derived entirely from federal and private foundation research grants — including awards from the Institute of Education Sciences, Arnold Ventures, Ascendium, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the William T. Grant Foundation — with all research services and publications provided free of charge to partners and the public.

Name

Georgia Policy Labs — Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

Legal name

Georgia Policy Labs

Website

https://gpl.gsu.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Georgia Policy Labs is a non-profit policy research center at Georgia State University that conducts evidence-based research on K-12 education, career and technical education, and child/family policy through three labs (MAPLE, CTEx, Child & Family Policy Lab), serving school districts, state education agencies, and nonprofits in Georgia and beyond.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Policy Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Policy Research Institutes & Think Tanks (EDADADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Equity, Access & Inclusion Policy Research (EDADADAF), Curriculum, Standards & Assessment Policy Research (EDADADAH), Teacher Workforce & Professional Standards Policy Research (EDADADAG), Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

Keywords

• Education policy research
• K-12 education research
• CTE policy research
• Child and family policy
• Research-practice partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Research Grants: Primary funding from federal and state government research grants, including Institute of Education Sciences (U.S. Department of Education), supporting K-12 education, CTE, and postsecondary research initiatives.
2. Private Foundation Grants: Funding from private foundations including Arnold Ventures ($1 million grant for Child and Family Policy Lab, $3.9 million initial grant), Ascendium ($500,000 three-year grant for rural learner research), The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Sartain Lanier Family Foundation, and American Institutes for Research subawards.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Georgia Policy Labs is a university-based policy research center that conducts evidence-based research in education and family policy through three research labs: MAPLE (K-12 education partnerships with metro-Atlanta school districts), CTEx (career and technical education policy across six states), and the Child & Family Policy Lab (cross-agency programs for children and families). It also delivers free capacity-building workshops, an annual Engaged Research Competition, and publishes open-access research findings to inform policy and practice.

Product overview

Georgia Policy Labs is a university-affiliated policy research organization comprising three distinct research labs: the Metro Atlanta Policy Lab for Education (MAPLE) focusing on K-12 education partnerships with metro-Atlanta school districts; the Child & Family Policy Lab examining programs for children and families across agency boundaries; and the Career & Technical Education Policy Exchange (CTEx) conducting multi-state research on career and technical education. The organization supplements its research with capacity building workshops, an annual Engaged Research Competition awarding up to $30,000 in grants, and produces extensive research publications for evidence-based policymaking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Metro Atlanta Policy Lab for Education (MAPLE) An education-focused policy research lab that partners with five of the largest school districts in the metro-Atlanta area, collectively serving approximately 30 percent of Georgia's public school students. Conducts rapid-response research on student achievement, COVID-19 impacts, and K-12 education policy.
• Child & Family Policy Lab Examines programs and policies that touch the lives of Georgia's children and families across agency boundaries, including education and economic mobility. Works with state agencies and nonprofit organizations to increase education and economic stability.
• Career & Technical Education Policy Exchange (CTEx) A multi-state policy lab dedicated to improving the quality of high school career and technical education programs. Partners with state departments of education in six states to develop data-driven policy recommendations ensuring students are ready for both college and career.
• Engaged Research Competition An annual competition that awards up to $30,000 to support engaged research with public or nonprofit partners. Funds intended to remove structural barriers from conducting research-practice partnerships. Open to all Georgia State University campuses.
• Capacity Building Workshops Free capacity-building workshops for government and school district partners covering topics including Microsoft Excel, Power BI, Python, R, Tableau, and graphic design for public administrators. Has trained over 1,000 participants since 2019.
• Research Publications Extensive library of policy research reports, briefs, and academic publications covering K-12 education, postsecondary education, career pathways, early childhood, and COVID-19 impacts. Includes evidence-based recommendations for policymakers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research contributed to development of Georgia's new need-based scholarship policy
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Achieve AtlantacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Achieve Atlanta partnership with GPL studying place-based college scholarships, college persistence and completion, and financial counseling effectiveness. Partnership won 2022 Institutional Challenge Grant from William T. Grant Foundation.
• Technical College System of GeorgiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Technical College System of Georgia entered strategic research-practice partnership with GPL's Child & Family Policy lab to study eCampus initiative, adult education outcomes, and CTE programs across Georgia's 22 technical colleges.
• State Agencies and Nonprofits (Child & Family Policy Lab)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Child & Family Policy Lab launched in 2019, examining programs and policies touching lives of Georgia's children and families across agency boundaries, such as education and economic mobility. Works with state agencies and nonprofit organizations.
• Metro Atlanta School Districts (MAPLE Partners)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017MAPLE (Metro Atlanta Policy Lab for Education) established in 2017, partnering with five of the largest school districts in metro-Atlanta area that collectively educate approximately 30 percent of Georgia's public school students. Districts participate in joint research agendas focused on K-12 education outcomes.
• State Departments of Education (CTEx Partners)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017CTEx (Career & Technical Education Policy Exchange) established in 2017 as multi-state policy lab, partnering with state departments of education in six states to address issues in high-school based career and technical education. Focus on data-driven policy recommendations.
• The Boyce L. Ansley SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development Partner2025 Engaged Research Competition winner Dr. Jennifer Austin partnering with tuition-free private school for children of families in metro-Atlanta who have experienced homelessness. Focus on trauma-informed behavioral interventions.
• Gateway Center and Family PromiseminorStrategic or Co-development Partner2024 Engaged Research Competition winner Dr. Jonathan Oxley partnering with nonprofit organizations working to help unhoused individuals in Atlanta, studying donor preferences for giving.
• Gullah MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner2023 Engaged Research Competition winner Dr. Ras Michael Brown partnering with nonprofit museum in Georgetown, S.C. dedicated to preservation of Gullah Geechee culture and history.
• Dixie Hills Community Civic ClubminorStrategic or Co-development Partner2022 Engaged Research Competition winner Dr. Rea Zaimi partnering with nonprofit neighbors' association in Atlanta to study remote-investor-owned properties and housing policy.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Urban Institute: Non-profit research organization producing evidence on education, child and family policy, housing, and economic mobility. Overlaps with GPL on cross-agency social policy research and federal grant funding.
• MDRC: Non-profit social and education policy research organization running randomized evaluations of programs in K-12, postsecondary, and workforce development. Comparable as a research-practice partnership model operator serving similar funders and policy audiences.
• Mathematica Policy Research: Non-profit research organization conducting rigorous, evidence-based studies on education, health, and social policy for federal and state clients. Highly comparable as a mission-driven policy research center competing for IES, Arnold Ventures, and state-agency contracts.
• RAND Corporation: Major non-profit policy research institution with substantial education and children/families research portfolios funded by foundations and federal agencies. Comparable on scale, scope, and policy-impact orientation.
• Child Trends: Non-profit research organization focused exclusively on children, families, and education policy research for federal, state, and foundation clients. Strongly comparable on Child & Family Policy Lab scope and funder mix.
• Westat: Employee-owned research organization providing statistical, survey, and program evaluation services to federal and state education agencies. Comparable on IES contract competition and large-scale K-12 evaluation work.
• American Institutes for Research (AIR): Large non-profit behavioral and social science research organization with deep K-12, postsecondary, and CTE practice. Already a financial partner to GPL via subawards, and a direct competitor for IES and foundation grants.

Broad incumbents

• National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) / REL Program: Federally funded IES center network producing rigorous education evaluations and regional research-practice partnerships. Direct funder-adjacent peer competing with GPL for IES attention and state-level research contracts.

Regional players

• Southern Education Foundation: Regional non-profit focused on education equity and policy across the American South, headquartered in Atlanta. Comparable on regional K-12 and family-policy research orientation with strong Georgia presence.

Emerging players

• Education Trust: Non-profit education research and advocacy organization focused on equity, access, and achievement gaps for underserved students. Comparable on K-12 policy research and equity lens, though more advocacy-oriented.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gapolicylabs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Georgia Policy Labs — Andrew Young School of Policy Studies