Creating research that solves the world's most pressing social issues

Building a RAG-Intelligent Retrieval Policy Analysis Engine for Congressional Legislation

Over the past term, the Policy Insight Lab (PILab) has pushed beyond conventional research workflows to build a new class of policy analysis tools. What began as a simple Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) prototype—intended to extract facts from complex federal documents—has evolved into a dynamic Intelligent Retrieval (IR) engine

PCA Clustering and Topic Modeling of New York City PPRs Demonstrate Typological Differences in Content and Success Rate of DOI Interventions in City Governance

This research investigates policy and procedural recommendations (PPRs) in New York City governance using PCA cluster analysis and natural language processing (NLP).

Closing Gaps in Postpartum Care: Reinvesting in Georgia’s Maternal Mental Health Act

This policy paper explores the urgent issue of maternal mental health in Georgia, with a focus on House Bill 649 and its potential to improve outcomes for mothers experiencing Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs).

A Philosophical Approach to Understanding the Global Debt Crisis

Debt is a foundational aspect of modern society, facilitating economic growth and development initiatives. This paper seeks to understand the issue of the global debt crisis through a philosophical lens, examining its moral dimensions, power dynamics, and implications for global interdependence.

Experiences of the Diaspora in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Artistic Expression

From apartheid-era collages to queer photography, Gavin Jantjes and Rotimi Fani-Kayode illuminate exile, identity, and resistance—showing how art reflects and reshapes the Black diasporic experience

Unsettling The Pulitzer Effect: Investigating Changes to the Columbia Journalism School from its Undergraduate Origins to National Influence

Columbia Journalism School was born of Pulitzer’s vision but reshaped by politics, crises, and New York itself. This essay uncovers how a century of tension between profession and academy forged its identity.

From "Stop the Boats" to "Smash the Gangs:" A Comparative Analysis of UK Public Policy on Immigration from 2022 to the Present

A comparative analysis of UK immigration policy from 2022–2025, this article reveals how both Conservative and Labour governments have embraced punitive, securitized approaches that criminalize asylum seekers under the guise of fairness and security.

Communication is Key: Instituting Reform in New York’s IDNYC-Mayoral Partnership for Immigrant New York

This paper analyzes NYC’s IDNYC-MOIA partnership through a principal-agent lens, revealing inefficiencies and proposing reforms—like increased communication and agency consolidation—to better serve immigrant communities.

Private Paths and Public Space: A Comparative History of Grade-Separated Pedestrian Systems in Minneapolis and Montreal

A comparative history of Minneapolis’s Skyway and Montreal’s RÉSO shows how transit integration, planning priorities, and public-private dynamics shaped two distinct models of climate-controlled pedestrian systems.

Contracting Trust in NYC: MOIA, City Council, and Overseeing Pro-Immigrant Services

In an era where cities shoulder an increasing responsibility for immigrant service provision, local agency funding and monitoring reveals as much about democratic accountability as congressional oversight patterns.

Moving With Water: Environmental Healing Through Somatic Political Ecology

This article explores water's relational intelligence through science, anthropology, and dance, revealing how its movement reflects agency and deep connections with human experience. It proposes embodied, reciprocal relationships with water as pathways to ecological healing and climate justice.

Announcing UEI's City Governance and Policy Practice

The Partners at UEI are excited to announce the creation of our second practice area focusing on City Governance and Policy (CGP), leading the way in studying civil service, public policy, and oversight in New York City and beyond.