Public Policy Lab

Public Policy Lab We design policy and services that help the American public build better lives. Nonprofit and nonpartisan. Visit us at www.publicpolicylab.org.

The Public Policy Lab is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to the more effective delivery of public services to all Americans.

What does human-centered public service design look like when the status quo keeps shifting? That's the question our pol...
09/14/2026

What does human-centered public service design look like when the status quo keeps shifting?

That's the question our policy analyst Isabelle Bradberry has been wrestling with all year. She was in the midst of redesigning SNAP benefit notices for Arizona's Department of Economic Security last July when President Trump's H.R. 1 budget bill was signed into law, immediately upending the policy landscape she and her team were designing for.

The human toll has been difficult to grasp: over 457,000 Arizonans have lost access to food assistance since the bill passed. Isabelle witnesses that impact up close in her work, talking directly with the people navigating this loss, which has in turn informed her approach to service design. As she puts it:

"While the past year has been filled with conversations about numbers and error rates, this system is a fundamentally human one. It is our job to remember that."

Isabelle's article is part of PPL15, our ongoing series marking 15 years of service design innovation, and the lessons we've picked up along the way. Give Isabelle’s full article a read below.

https://ow.ly/2RpU50ZNxnJ

Interested in learning about how to make government forms clearer, more accessible, and more action-oriented? Join the P...
09/01/2026

Interested in learning about how to make government forms clearer, more accessible, and more action-oriented? Join the Public Policy Lab on Wednesday, September 16th at 3:30PM EST for a free, virtual session that we’ll be hosting at FormFest2026.

Our session focuses on redesigning SNAP change reporting forms to reduce payment error rates and improve client experience. Register for FormFest2026 here: https://ow.ly/1Eqv50ZFTil. We look forward to seeing you there!

As federal penalties loom for SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) payment errors and new Medicaid work ...
08/27/2026

As federal penalties loom for SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) payment errors and new Medicaid work requirements come into effect, the need for clear benefits communication is higher than ever. That’s why we’re excited to announce that PPL and the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) will be redesigning the state’s SNAP and Medicaid notices to ensure that each enrollee receives clear, actionable, and timely information about how to keep the benefits they’re eligible for.

Public-benefits notices are among the most critical touchpoints for Delawareans enrolled in SNAP and Medicaid. Head to our website to learn more about this project (https://www.publicpolicylab.org/projects/delaware-forms/) and how we’re supporting states’ capacity to administer these programs at this critical moment.

When interacting with city agencies, residents often need access to their vital documents, such as utility bills and ide...
08/21/2026

When interacting with city agencies, residents often need access to their vital documents, such as utility bills and identification papers. However, a safe place to store those sensitive materials can be hard to come by. To address this issue in New York City, the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity created My File NYC, a secure website that lets residents store these critical documents and share them with City agencies.

As part of this effort, the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity asked PPL to conduct research with New Yorkers to better understand how the tool could meet the needs of people applying for housing assistance. Head to our online case study to learn more about the project and the ways in which we’re helping to expand My File NYC’s capabilities and reach: https://www.publicpolicylab.org/projects/scaling-my-file/

08/19/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us at our recent PPL15 conversation on mapping! PPL design director John Payne was joined by Tati Kalainoff, Aaron Landsman, and Natalie Sims to reflect on mapping and meaning-making. Together they explored the importance of visualizing complex systems, the role of co-creation in mapping, and how clarity can act as a catalyst for change.

Check out the full discussion and an amazing list of community-sourced references on our website: https://www.publicpolicylab.org/resources/ppl-15-what-mapping-makes-possibe/

Government communications aren’t neutral—they shape how agencies relate to the public and help or hinder the delivery of...
08/13/2026

Government communications aren’t neutral—they shape how agencies relate to the public and help or hinder the delivery of public value. In our Better Notices for the People zine, you’ll find tips for designing communications that are both clear and compliant, along with real-world examples from our recent projects. Buy the zine on our merch store (https://public-policy-lab-shop.fourthwall.com/products/better-notices-for-the-people), or check out the digital version on our website (https://www.publicpolicylab.org/resources/better-notices/).

Innovation work often remains firmly planted in the now—but to transform systems, we need to design the future. To shift...
08/03/2026

Innovation work often remains firmly planted in the now—but to transform systems, we need to design the future. To shift that mindset, PPL designed an expanded version of our Public Sector Service Design Kit, titled “All Tomorrow’s Policies.” The kit is made up of 40 cards, including project phases and design methods for both the present and the future. Through play, practitioners can simultaneously ideate on current policy delivery challenges and long-term, systems-level challenges—ensuring we’re designing for the now and the not-yet.

Interested in getting a kit for your organization? Purchase one from our merch store (https://public-policy-lab-shop.fourthwall.com/products/public-sector-service-design-kit-all-tomorrows-policies). Or, head to our website to browse the digital version.

Can the act of mapping a system transform how we behave within it? Join us tomorrow for a conversation on mapping and me...
07/29/2026

Can the act of mapping a system transform how we behave within it? Join us tomorrow for a conversation on mapping and meaning-making, led by PPL head of design John Payne, featuring Tati Kalainoff (Parsons School of Design), Aaron Landsman (Princeton University, Perfect City and Natalie Sims (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory).

Drawing on The Case for Mapping, the latest PPL15 essay by Erika Lindsey, the conversation will explore the importance of visualizing complex systems, the role of co-creation in mapping, and how clarity can act as a catalyst for change.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-mapping-makes-possible-tickets-1993840795492?aff=oddtdtcreator

This event is part of PPL15, a series celebrating the Public Policy Lab’s 15th anniversary. You can find past blog posts and virtual events on our website. https://www.publicpolicylab.org/resources/

Meet PPL’s summer 2026 interns! This group of university students is hard at work collaborating with full-time staff to ...
07/27/2026

Meet PPL’s summer 2026 interns! This group of university students is hard at work collaborating with full-time staff to design better services for the people. Working towards degrees in everything from interaction design to international affairs, we’re thrilled to see their diverse skillsets thrive on our teams.

Over the last several weeks, our interns have worked on projects to capture older adults’ stories and inform better policymaking, bolster the economic mobility of NYC families in the child welfare and youth justice systems, and scale an online platform that provides New Yorkers with a secure way to store their vital documents and share them with City agencies.

Scroll to learn more about the cohort and what they’ve been up to this summer!

Government forms and notices are instrumental in connecting everyday Americans with critical public services, such as th...
07/24/2026

Government forms and notices are instrumental in connecting everyday Americans with critical public services, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Those materials can be also be difficult to understand, leading to unintentional errors by clients when reporting changes in their household circumstances. This can drive up states' payment error rate, putting them at risk of shouldering a larger percentage of SNAP program costs.

Using findings from PPL’s recent work with Arizona’s Department of Economic Security (https://www.publicpolicylab.org/projects/a-to-z/) and a review of SNAP forms from across the country, we built two modifiable, plain-language templates for SNAP change reporting. Clearer forms like these make it easier for clients to report information accurately, which can reduce both client burden and payment errors. Download them at https://www.publicpolicylab.org/resources/snap-change-report-templates/ or email [email protected] to find out how they can be used in your state.

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