Submit an Experiment

Help build the commons.

The registry grows through contributions from practitioners, researchers, and civic institutions. If you or your organization ran an experiment — or know of one that belongs here — submit it below. Null and negative results are equally welcome. A registry that only shows successes is a biased sample.

Submission criteria

What belongs in the registry.

We accept any civic experiment with a comparison condition and a measured outcome — regardless of result. The registry is a knowledge base, not a highlight reel.

We do not accept

✕Experiments where participants faced serious harm, rights violations, or deprivation of essential services without consent
✕Programs with no measurable outcome (activity reports, participation counts without comparison)
✕Pure literature reviews or synthesis papers without a primary experiment
✕Proprietary evaluations that cannot be summarized publicly

✓ A public institution ran it

Government agency, school, library, transit authority, nonprofit in partnership with government, or similar.

✓ There is a comparison condition

At minimum, a before/after comparison. Stronger: a control group, matched comparison, or regression discontinuity design.

✓ Outcomes were measured

At least one quantitative outcome with a reported effect estimate, even if the estimate is zero or negative.

✓ The result is documented

A report, paper, internal evaluation, or administrative analysis exists — unpublished internal evaluations are acceptable.

✓ Null and negative results welcome

We actively seek experiments that did not produce the hoped-for result. A documented null result is a public good.

Review process

From submission to publication.

Submit

Complete the form below. Null and negative results are equally welcome. A report URL helps but is not required.

Review

Our team reviews submissions within 2–3 weeks. We may contact you to clarify details or request the source document.

Confirm

Before publishing, we send you a draft entry for review. You can request corrections or ask to remain uncredited.

Publish

Your experiment joins the registry with full attribution. All data is available for download under CC BY 4.0.

Registry submission

Submit an experiment for review.

Fill in as many fields as possible. Incomplete submissions can still be accepted if the core methodology and results are clear. We will follow up if we need additional information.

Fields marked * are required. All submitted data is reviewed before publication.

Null results especially welcome

If your experiment showed no effect, submit it. Documented null results prevent future communities from repeating approaches that have already been tested and failed.

Experiment identification

Experiment title*

Descriptive name that identifies the program, location, and type of intervention.

Institution*

The organization that ran the experiment.

Location*

City, state/province, country.

Year*

When results were published or the experiment ended.

Policy area*

Primary mechanism*

The mechanism through which the intervention was expected to work.

Experiment design

Research question*

What uncertainty did the institution want to reduce? Frame as a yes/no or comparative question.

Intervention description*

What exactly was done, by whom, at what dosage, for how long?

Assignment method*

How were units assigned to treatment vs. control?

Sample size*

Number of people, units, or clusters in treatment and control.

Results

Primary outcome*

The main outcome variable pre-specified before the experiment.

Effect estimate*

Quantify the effect: percentage point change, standard deviation, or practical equivalent.

Overall result*

Replication status*

Decision*

What did the institution decide to do based on the result?

Summary*

2–4 sentences describing the experiment, key finding, and what it means for practice. Include null and negative context if applicable.

Source report or paper URL

Link to the evaluation report, published paper, or official results document.

Submitter information

Your email address*

We will contact you before publishing to confirm details.

Notes for the registry team

Anything we should know: context, limitations, sensitivity, unpublished status, etc.

Questions?

Not sure if your experiment qualifies?

If you are uncertain whether an experiment meets the criteria — or if you have a large batch of experiments to submit, an ongoing experiment you want to pre-register, or a proprietary evaluation with publication restrictions — contact us before submitting.