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Colorado Political Climate Survey

Colorado is a key battleground state in presidential campaigns, and the outcome of its elections have important implications for state and national politics and policy making.  The Colorado Political Climate (CPC) survey is an annual nonpartisan poll of Colorado residents that serves as an ongoing record of opinion on public affairs within the state.   Conducted every October, the CPC is intended to gauge “the pulse of Colorado” with respect to state and national issues, elected officials, and a broad spectrum of political characteristics.  The CPC is designed and implemented by students and faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder, and thus serves as a unique teaching tool across a variety of disciplines. The CPC is entirely funded by University of Colorado resources.

Recurring Legislation Project

The lab is currently working on a project that looks at political agendas and recurring legislation in the U.S. Congress.The project helps us to understand Congress’s ability to fulfill its legislative responsibilities by gauging its success in renewing and updating the hundreds of existing programs and laws that are set to expire on a periodic basis. We are identifying and tracking all expiring provisions in legislation enacted by Congress since World War II. The data should provide a more nuanced perspective on Congress’s legislative performance and its ability to meet governing demand over time and across different issue areas. The project is funded by Hewlett Foundation's Madison Intiative.

Congressional Biographies Project

Why do members of Congress collaborate?  How do members of Congress bridge the divides of party and ideology?  Brian Keegan, Scott Adler, Thea Lindquist, and Joe Zamadics are using The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress to map out how shared life experiences lead to collaboration in Congress. Using Wikidata and a team of undergraduate researchers, the team is able to quantify biographical similarities like shared education, military service, similar occupations, and even shared mentors. This project will be used to build important data to test theories of networks, partisan influence in Congress, and a bring about new ways of sharing data in the social sciences.