Support

Fund the infrastructure for learning governments.

The Experiment Society is building the scaffolding that allows local governments to run rigorous pilots, publish honest results, and learn from each other. Funding closes the gap between what governments want to know and what they have the capacity to find out.

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Theory of change

What we are trying to build.

The problem is not a shortage of good intentions in government. It is a shortage of infrastructure for learning from experience. Funding supports a four-stage path from individual pilots to field-level norms.

First pilots

Library and municipal department pilots that produce the first published, registry-documented experiments. Proof of concept for the model.

Municipal Fellows

Embedded researchers who build lasting experiment capacity inside city departments — not one-off studies, but recurring institutional practice.

Network effects

As the registry grows, each new experiment becomes more valuable. A city trying an SMS reminder for benefits enrollment can now find ten prior attempts and their results.

Field norms

Eventually: publishing null results, pre-registering city pilots, and running sequential learning sprints become expected practice — not exceptional effort.

What funding enables

Concrete uses, honest estimates.

These figures reflect what it actually costs to design, run, analyze, and publish a rigorous civic experiment. We are direct about costs because the field tends to systematically undercount the real cost of good evidence.

$5,000

One library or benefits-office pilot

Covers study design, randomization, analysis, and a public report. Typically tests a message variant, process simplification, or outreach sequence with 500–2,000 participants.

$25,000

A three-pilot sprint with one city department

Covers a six-month partnership with one city department: two or three sequential pilots building on each other, a summary report, and training for department staff on reading evidence.

$100,000

One Municipal Fellow placement

Covers a 12-month embedded placement — fellow stipend, benefits, research budget, and supervision — plus at least one fully-documented published experiment from a city department that keeps the protocol afterward.

$500,000

A city-level learning infrastructure pilot

A two-year partnership with one mid-sized city (population 50,000–300,000) to embed experimentation across three or more departments, train staff, and build a local experiment culture that persists after the grant ends.

Who gives

We work with a range of funders.

Foundations

We welcome grants from private, community, and operating foundations focused on government effectiveness, civic innovation, evidence-based policy, or local government capacity. We can work within program officer timelines and reporting requirements. Letters of inquiry are welcome.

Individual donors

Major gifts from individuals with an interest in good government, institutional learning, or the evidence-based policy field. We issue 501(c)(3) tax receipts for all gifts once our nonprofit status is complete.

Government and municipal grants

City and county governments can fund pilot work directly — particularly relevant for discretionary funds, ARPA-related innovation grants, and CDBG-eligible activities. We have experience working within government procurement constraints.

Corporate and ESG programs

Companies with government affairs, public sector, or civic engagement programs. We are particularly interested in partnerships with technology companies, financial services firms, and management consultancies that advise governments.

Funder independence

What donors cannot do.

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Funders do not select which experiments get run or which policy areas get prioritized. Experiment selection is driven by city partner interest and ethical review.

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Funders do not review findings before publication. Results are published in the public registry regardless of direction — positive, null, or negative.

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Funders are not named as authors or co-investigators on published experiment records. City partners and The Experiment Society are credited.

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General operating support is welcomed without programmatic strings. Directed grants are accepted when the direction is consistent with our existing program areas.

Invest in the field

Start a conversation about funding.

We welcome exploratory conversations before any formal proposal. If the model resonates and you want to understand fit before investing time in a LOI, email us directly.