09/14/2025
In 2020, a small group of students with supportive faculty launched the Commonwealth Policy Institute to do something new: connect the research of Kentucky’s public universities directly back to policymaking in a nonpartisan way. While state research universities are tasked with solving challenges that affect the public, their findings are rarely routed back into government decision-making to guide solutions for constituents. CPI was created to fill that gap.
With little funding, CPI leveraged Kentucky-proud research, engaged stakeholders and industry, and built new solutions to assist public servants. This work led to multiple bills introduced in the general assembly, drew interest from Kentucky’s congressional delegation, and built a university-backed repository to showcase solutions.
Perhaps the most impactful, CPI also ran a Fellows certificate program as an external partner to the Department of Political Science - training undergraduates and graduate students as analysts and advocates. Alumni of the program have gone on to roles in the state cabinet, congressional fellowships, PhD programs, successful lobbyists in DC, and prestigious judicial clerkships. All of them credit CPI as being a formative experience placing innovative research and due diligence behind public policy, and many have a desire to return to Kentucky.
As internal financial support from the University of Louisville did not materialize and CPI has continued as a voluntary tart effort, we are now dissolving most operations.
However, with no funding, this pilot project has ultimately proved what can be achieved through our model - both supporting better policy solutions, and placing involved students on incredible career trajectories. A forthcoming report will lay out CPI’s lessons and its promise as a scalable national model and we hope to find interests in building a larger organization from philanthropic donors and interstate groups.
Thank you to all those who have worked with CPI!
