Research and Outreach Centers

Our research and outreach centers at the Evans School of Public Affairs provide innovative analysis and solutions for many different issues locally, nationally, and internationally. Our centers include:

  • Benefit-Cost Analysis Center aims to improve the understanding and use of benefit-cost analysis as a decision-making tool through research, outreach, and standardization of benefit-cost analysis methodology.

  • Cascade Center is a nationally recognized education provider for the public and nonprofit sectors. Cascade Center courses are designed to help on-the-job managers and leaders develop their skills, make their programs more effective, and enhance their service to the communities they support.

  • Center for Urban Simulation fosters greater understanding of the relationship between urban growth and public policy. The center has as its centerpiece "UrbanSim," a software-based simulation model that allows metropolitan planning organizations and others to forecast the likely effects of land use and transportation plans and policies.

  • Center on Reinventing Public Education provides research and analysis aimed at developing focused, effective, and accountable schools and systems that support them.

  • Civic Engagement for the 21st Century Project is dedicated to forming a new model for solving complex community challenges by renewing and transforming civic engagement.

  • Human Services Policy Center pairs applied analytic research with the promotion of policies that improve the lives of children, families, and communities.


  • Marc Lindenberg Center for Humanitarian Action, International Development, and Global Citizenship works to expand teaching, research, and service opportunities in the areas of humanitarian action, international development, and global citizenship.

  • Nancy Bell Evans Center on Nonprofits & Philanthropy aims to enhance the understanding and vitality of the nonprofit and philanthropic sector through research, education, and community engagement.

  • West Coast Poverty Center serves as the hub for knowledge and awareness of the causes and consequences of poverty and effective approaches to reduce it in west coast states. The center is a joint project with the University of Washington’s School of Social Work and the College of Arts and Sciences.

  • William D. Ruckelshaus Center provides expertise to improve the quality and availability of voluntary collaborative approaches for policy development and multi-party dispute resolution. The center is a joint venture between the Evans School at the University of Washington and Washington State University Extension.

  • The Water Center brings together experts from a range of disciplines to understand and resolve water problems and water health. The center is joint project with the University of Washington’s College of Forest Resources, the College of Engineering, and the College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences.

Other research and outreach projects at the Evans School include: