Initiatives & Special Projects
NYU Wagner's roster of initiatives and special projects take on pressing issues and address them innovation and creativity.
Initiatives
Innovation Labs
What we do: Promote informed, evidence-based policymaking for a complex world through a series of experimental labs.
Our scope: National
Who we are: Scholars, thinkers, and practitioners.
Lead: Neil Kleiman
Leadership in Action at Wagner
What we do: Advance leadership theory, support effective new practices, and serve as a resource for leaders in all sectors.
Our scope: International
Who we are: NYU Wagner scholars and researchers.
Faculty leads: Sonia M. Ospina and Erica Gabrielle Foldy
Social Innovation & Investment Initiative
What we do: Find innovative entrepreneurial and financial solutions to address pressing social issues.
Our scope: International
Who we are: A consortium of policymakers, philanthropists, finance professionals, researchers, nonprofits, and foundations led by a team of NYU Wagner faculty and graduate students.
Faculty lead: Scott Taitel
The NYU Democracy Project
What we do: Offers two funded fellowships: LEAD Fellowships and Parke Fellowships to connect NYU students with non-partisan organizations working to strengthen our democracy.
Our scope: National
Who we are: Activists promoting democracy, voter engagement, and civil discourse
Leads: Erica Foldy and John Gershman
Special Projects
Impact of the Built Environment on Child Body Mass Index
Faculty Lead: Brian Elbel
NBER Project on the Economics of Food Security, Nutrition, and Health
Faculty Lead: Tatiana Homonoff
NYU University Challenge Research Fund
Faculty Lead: Erica Foldy
The Walter Stafford Project: Inequality in New York City
Advice, Money, Results: Rethinking International Support for Managing Public Finance
Faculty Lead: Paul Smoke