Center For Policy Studies

What Center For Policy Studies does

The Center for Policy Studies, now operating as the Center for Policy Design (CPD), is a Minnesota-based non-profit policy research institute founded in 1981. Its core offering is the proprietary Large System Architecture (LSA) methodology, developed by founder Walter McClure (PhD theoretical physics), which provides a general theory and systematic methods for diagnosing why large public systems chronically underperform and for designing restructuring strategies that alter system-level incentives rather than individual organizational behavior. The Center applies LSA across three domains: K-12 public education, healthcare, and government, with the largest body of work historically in education policy reform through Ted Kolderie's Education|Evolving project.

The Center's products and services span (i) policy fellowship programs — the Minnesota Education Policy Fellowship (MN EPF), the longest continuous education policy fellowship in Minnesota celebrating its 50th year in 2026-27, and the Advanced Education Policy Leadership Program (AEPLP), an eight-month cohort of approximately 30 Senior Fellows across seven consortium states — (ii) CPD Press, an in-house publishing division producing books and reports distributed via Amazon and free PDFs, and (iii) direct policy consultation with state legislatures, education departments, and other government agencies. The Center operates with a small core team of Senior Fellows and Distinguished Senior Fellows.

The revenue model combines fellowship program fees (AEPLP at $1,975 per participant), one-time book sales through CPD Press/Amazon, and recurring donations via a Square checkout link on the Center's website. Go-to-market is community-led: fellowship programs build a pipeline of education policy practitioners across multiple states, publications and books establish thought leadership, and direct engagement with state legislatures and education departments closes policy advisory work. The named customer base includes the Minnesota State Education Department, Minneapolis Public Schools, and historically Medicare, the Pennsylvania Healthcare System, and the Cleveland Medical System.

Name

Center For Policy Studies

Legal name

Center for Policy Design

Website

https://centerforpolicy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Policy, Regulatory & Public Affairs Research (BPAHALAF), Public Sector & Policy Consulting (BPAHACAN), Public Health Strategy, Policy & Legislation (HLAJAMAA), Higher Education Governance & Quality Policy Research (EDADADAI)

Keywords

• Public policy research
• Education policy fellowships
• System redesign consulting
• Policy analysis methodology
• Healthcare policy reform

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Paul

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Fellowship Program Fees: Revenue from professional development programs including the Advanced Education Policy Leadership Program (AEPLP) with fees of $1,975 per participant for the 2026-27 cohort of approximately 30 Senior Fellows.
2. Publications and Book Sales: Revenue from publishing books through CPD Press and sales on Amazon. Books include 'Policy Design for Large Social Systems' and 'Thinking Out the How'. Some publications available as free PDFs.
3. Donations: The Center accepts donations through Square checkout for the Center for Policy Design.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Center for Policy Design conducts applied policy research and provides consulting services focused on redesigning large public systems in education, healthcare, and government. It delivers professional development through policy fellowship programs (MN EPF and AEPLP), publishes books and reports via CPD Press, and offers policy consultation grounded in its proprietary Large System Architecture (LSA) methodology, which analyzes how system incentives shape organizational behavior.

Product overview

The Center for Policy Design (formerly Center for Policy Studies) is a policy research organization offering a portfolio of fellowship programs and publishing products. The core offerings include the Minnesota Education Policy Fellowship (MN EPF) and Advanced Education Policy Leadership Program (AEPLP) for professional development in education policy, CPD Press for publishing policy research, and the Large System Architecture (LSA) methodology for system redesign. The organization focuses on applied political economy and policy design for large social systems in education, healthcare, government, and the economy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Minnesota Education Policy Fellowship (MN EPF) A policy fellowship program for early to mid-career professionals working in or with Minnesota state government on education policy issues. The longest continuous education policy fellowship in Minnesota, serving as a community of practice with nearly 550 alumni. Participants are state education leaders and policy practitioners.
• Advanced Education Policy Leadership Program (AEPLP) An eight-month professional learning opportunity for Senior Fellows who have completed a state education policy program, facilitating cross-state collaboration on strategic leadership skills for policy development and implementation. Targets experienced policy leaders across consortium states.
• CPD Press Publications Books, reports, and external publications on large system analysis and redesign theory and practice, distributed via Amazon for paid purchases and free PDF downloads from the Center's website. Notable titles include 'Policy Design for Large Social Systems' by Walter McClure and 'Thinking Out the How' by Ted Kolderie.
• Policy Consultation and System Redesign Services Direct consulting and policy analysis engagements with state legislatures, education departments, and government agencies on redesign of education, healthcare, and government systems, grounded in the Large System Architecture methodology. Historical clients include the Minnesota State Education Department, Minneapolis Public Schools, Medicare, the Pennsylvania Healthcare System, and the Cleveland Medical System.

Quantifiable outcome

• Minnesota has transformed from public utility to broad array of public options with more ways to finish high school than anywhere else in the world
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lakes Country Service CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partnership begun in 2020 to offer both metro and rural Minnesota Education Policy Fellowship programs. Troy Haugen serves as Director at Lakes Country Service Cooperative and coordinates the rural cohort of the MN EPF. The Center partners with this cooperative to expand fellowship reach across Minnesota.
• RAND CorporationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTim McDonald is an assistant policy researcher at RAND Corporation and serves as Senior Fellow at the Center. Collaboration on policy analysis and research.
• Harvard Law School Program on NegotiationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTim McDonald is a visiting researcher at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, connecting the Center with academic policy research.
• Education Policy Leadership Consortium StatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-state consortium including Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania coordinating the Advanced Education Policy Leadership Program (AEPLP). Each state has coordinators managing local participation.
• Education EvolvingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociated organization working on education system redesign. Walter Enloe was an associate of Education Evolving and EdVisions. Kolderie worked with this initiative through the project Education|Evolving.
• Hamline UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDan Loritz served as associate professor of education at Hamline University for 17 years. The Center maintains relationships with academic institutions for research and policy development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• RAND Corporation: Nonpartisan policy research organization with explicit overlap: Tim McDonald is both an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Senior Fellow at the Center. RAND's severity-adjusted outcomes work and the Center's LSA-driven healthcare redesign pursue the same underlying logic of restructuring system incentives.
• Education Evolving: Minnesota-based nonprofit advocating for teacher-led, student-centered public education redesign. Walter Enloe and Ted Kolderie collaborated with Education Evolving through the Education|Evolving project, making this an explicitly linked peer in the same education redesign niche.
• Education Commission of the States (ECS): Interstate education policy organization that awarded Ted Kolderie the James Bryant Conant Award in 2011. ECS convenes state policymakers on K-12 system architecture — exactly the policy layer where the Center's LSA framework and AEPLP consortium are designed to operate.
• Citizens League: Minnesota-based civic policy organization where Ted Kolderie was executive director and Paul Gilje served as associate director. Both are now Senior Fellows at the Center. The Citizens League works on the same Minnesota civic policy terrain and shares institutional DNA around cross-partisan system reform.
• National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE): Policy organization focused on restructuring U.S. education systems to international benchmarks. NCEE's 'Tough Choices or Tough Times' and systems-design work maps closely to the Center's LSA-driven redesign of large public systems, particularly the emphasis on altering system structure rather than individual actors.
• Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE): Education policy research organization focused on systemic redesign of public schooling, including portfolio/district choice models. CRPE's work on new public education systems directly parallels the Center's LSA-based transition from public utility to choice-based public education, particularly in Minnesota.

Others

• Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation: Academic research program at Harvard where Tim McDonald is a visiting researcher. Not a direct competitor but an institutional partner that lends policy research gravitas and provides channels for the Center's healthcare and education system redesign work.

Broad incumbents

• Brookings Institution (Brown Center on Education Policy): Large, well-resourced think tank with a dedicated education policy center. While Brookings operates at a far larger scale and broader policy footprint, its education system redesign research (e.g., on charter schools, accountability, system architecture) overlaps materially with the Center's LSA-driven framing.
• Urban Institute: Large social and economic policy research organization. Overlaps with the Center on healthcare market redesign and education policy research, but operates across a much wider topic portfolio with substantially more funding and staff.
• Manhattan Institute (Center for State and Local Leadership): Policy think tank with significant work on K-12 choice, charter policy, and state-level education reform — areas where Ted Kolderie and the Center have been influential for decades. Comparable intellectual tradition but larger national footprint and funding base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-for-policy-design

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Center For Policy Studies