The Washington Legislature created the Washington State Institute for Public Policy in 1983. The Institute is governed by a Board of Directors that represents the legislature, governor, and public universities.  The Board guides the development of all Institute activities.

The Institute’s mission is to carry out practical, non-partisan research—at legislative direction—on issues of importance to Washington State. The Institute conducts research using its own policy analysts and economists, specialists from universities, and consultants. Institute staff work closely with legislators, legislative and state agency staff, and experts in the field to ensure that studies answer relevant policy questions. Fiscal and administrative services for the Institute are provided by The Evergreen State College.

Current areas of staff expertise include: education, criminal justice, welfare, children and adult services, health, utilities, and general government. The Institute also collaborates with faculty in public and private universities and contracts with other experts to extend our capacity for studies on diverse topics. For several projects, we have successfully merged administrative data from two or more agencies, significantly reducing the cost of outcome research.