• Govinfo.gov

GovInfo is a service of the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO), which is a Federal agency in the legislative branch. GovInfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.

Please note:  All of the website descriptions listed below are taken directly from the institutions "About Us" page. 

START WITH: 

• Issue Lab

A comprehensive website that indexes publications from social sector organizations.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: 

(descriptions are from the websites)

• Annenberg Public Policy Center (Penn) 

The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1993 and created FactCheck.org in 2003. By conducting and disseminating research, staging conferences and hosting policy discussions, its scholars have addressed the role of communication in politics, science, adolescent behavior, child development, health care, suicide prevention, civics, and mental health, among other important areas.

• Brookings Institute

The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Our mission is to conduct in-depth research that leads to new ideas for solving problems facing society at the local, national and global level.

• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

We are a nonpartisan research and policy institute. We pursue federal and state policies designed both to reduce poverty and inequality and to restore fiscal responsibility in equitable and effective ways.

• Center for Law and Social Policy

CLASP is a national, nonpartisan, anti-poverty nonprofit advancing policy solutions to improve the lives of people with low incomes. We develop practical yet visionary strategies for reducing poverty, promoting economic opportunity, and addressing institutional and racial barriers faced by people of color.

• Center for Strategic and International Studies

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to advancing practical ideas to address the world’s greatest challenges.

• Institute for Social and Policy Studies (Yale) 

The Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS) at Yale University advances interdisciplinary research in the social sciences that aims to shape public policy and inform democratic deliberation.

• Policy Commons (private company)

Policy Commons (formerly PolicyArchive) is a one-stop community platform for objective, fact-based research from the world’s leading policy experts, nonpartisan think tanks, IGOs and NGOs. Individual sign-in required, but much of the information is free to use.

• Think Tank Search (Harvard) 

Think Tank Search searches the websites of institutions that generate public policy research, analysis, and activity. These sites are affiliated with universities, governments, advocacy groups, foundations, and non-governmental organizations.

• Urban Institute

The Urban Institute is the trusted source for unbiased, authoritative insights that inform consequential choices about the well-being of people and places in the United States.

• Cornell Legal Information Institute

An excellent starting point for legal research. The site publishes an extensive collection of core legal materials, for example, the annotated U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Code, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, and Supreme Court decisions.

• GovInfo

GovInfo is a service of the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO), which is a Federal agency in the legislative branch. GovInfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government. Includes:

• Code of Federal Regulations on GovInfo
• U.S. Code on GovInfo

• Legislative Insight (a UB ONLY database)

This is a great resource to track the development of laws, alongside being able to get historical context about the events and legislation tied to enacted social policies.

• Other Legal Resources

This guide provides links to legal research in other areas, including New York State and Buffalo/Erie County.