About the Romer Institute of Evidence-based Policy

What does the Romer Institute do?

The Romer Institute of Evidence-based Policy provides rigorous, nonpartisan policy research to state and local executive decision-makers - governors, mayors, and county and city managers. Since its founding in 2023, the Institute has provided Colorado's governor and local executive policymakers with independent, nonpartisan policy analysis designed to be accessible, timely, credible, and actionable. An independent evaluation found early evidence that the Institute's model is working, specifically that executive decision-makers in Colorado's governor's office used Institute research to inform the state's public safety policy and budget agenda.

Why does this kind of organization exist? Don't governments already have research staff?

Most Governor, Mayor and City and County Manager offices move at a rapid pace, responding to issues and managing heavy demands on their time. They have limited internal research capacity, and the research they can access is often produced for academic audiences, advocacy organizations, or legislative bodies, not for the people responsible for implementing policy and managing public institutions on a daily basis. The Romer Institute fills that gap. Its work is designed specifically for executive decision makers who need analysis they can act on.

How is the Romer Institute different from a think tank or advocacy organization?

Think tanks and advocacy organizations generally produce research to influence public opinion or legislative debate. The Romer Institute's audience is the executive branch of state and local government, supporting the decisions they are focusing on currently with research that includes national scans of best practices, extensive primary research (such as extensive interviews with practitioners), landscape analyses of current policies and practices, and a deep understanding of public spending and budgeting. The Institute does not take policy positions, does not have a legislative agenda, and does not work for interest groups.

What kinds of issues does the Romer Institute work on?

The Institute's work spans fiscal policy, health care, housing, child care, public safety, and emerging technology. Recent reports include an assessment of Colorado's business climate benchmarked against five peer and competitor states, a comprehensive scan of Colorado's health care system, an overview of housing supply and affordability, an examination of youth detention bed capacity, and analyses of AI policy and data centers in Colorado.

Why does this work matter now?

Research consistently shows that decisions informed by rigorous, independent analysis produce better policy outcomes and more efficient and effective governance, which is a primary motivation of the Institute’s work.

Evidence-based research is also an important tool in building common ground in a starkly partisan era. It is driven by evidence not ideology, often attracting broad support precisely because it’s anchored in evidence, not ideology. Readers of our reports who view them from an ideological lens have found elements that affirm their opinions and beliefs and other elements that might conflict with them. Evidence-based research that is unbiased - rather than presented selectively (e.g., known as confirmation bias) - sidesteps the visceral support or opposition that more partisan or advocacy-based reports typically generate.

Coloradans have expressed their preference for a different approach. The Colorado Health Foundation's 2025 Pulse Poll, a bipartisan survey of 2,333 Coloradans conducted in spring 2025, found that for the first time in the poll's six-year history, Coloradans identified political dysfunction and polarization as their greatest worry, cited by 32 percent of respondents in an open-ended question. This is nearly triple the number from the prior year and ranked above cost of living for the first time. In a poll conducted in March 2026 by the nonpartisan Colorado Polling Institute, 88 percent of Coloradans said they were “extremely concerned” or “very concerned” by political divisions within the country.

Coloradans also have solutions in mind: In a previous Pulse Poll, 77 percent of Coloradans surveyed expressed the opinion that increasing state policymaker access to nonpartisan information and analysis would be an effective solution. And according to a November 2025 survey by the Colorado Polling Institute, 74 percent of Coloradans believe that “we have more in common than what divides us.”

Is there evidence the Romer Institute's work is being used?

Yes. An independent evaluation by Mindful Metrics found meaningful indications that the Institute's model is working. Using the Institute's August 2024 report Evidence-based Strategies to Reduce Violent Crime as a test case, evaluators found that executive decision makers in Colorado's governor's office used the research in two concrete ways: it supported the Governor's Operations Team in developing new strategies to reduce aggravated assault, and it informed the state's public safety policy and budget agenda. Interviewees described the research as accessible, timely, credible, and actionable, and all five executive decision makers interviewed expressed a strong intention to continue working with the Institute. The evaluation characterized these as early signals rather than definitive proof of impact, consistent with the Institute's own view of where it is in building its track record.

How does the Romer Institute handle uncertainty in its research?

The Institute is explicit about what the evidence shows and what it does not. When research findings are strong and consistent, we say so. When the evidence is mixed, contested, or thin, we say that too. Policymakers are not well served by research that overstates their conclusions or conceals its limitations. The Institute's credibility depends on honesty about uncertainty, which means it will sometimes report that the evidence does not support a clear recommendation.

About Governor Roy Romer and the naming

Roy Romer served as Governor of Colorado for three terms from 1987 to 1999. His governing approach throughout his career has included defining problems clearly, gathering evidence directly from the people affected, and acting on what the evidence supports. That approach produced results across a wide range of areas, including economic development, education and the co-founding of Western Governors University, environmental stewardship, and cross-partisan coalition building. After leaving the governorship he led the Los Angeles Unified School District, one of the largest public school systems in the country, from 2000 to 2006. Governor Romer's contributions to Colorado civic life continue to this day.

What is distinctive about Governor Romer's approach to governance?

Several things. His "oatmeal circuit,” which included regular visits to Adams County diners to hear directly from working people about Denver International Airport, was evidence collection as much as politics. He handed his proposal for an open-access college in Denver to a Republican colleague to carry through the legislature because the evidence suggested it had a better path that way. He led efforts to create Great Outdoors Colorado, funded by lottery proceeds and now responsible for investments in conservation projects across all 64 counties. Colorado remains the only state in the nation to direct lottery revenues this way. He brokered a federal grazing rights dispute in 1993 by bringing Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt together with ranchers and environmentalists, reaching agreement within three months in what became known as the Colorado model for collaborative rangeland management. Throughout his career, he operated on the premise that disagreements between people are usually about means, not ends, and that good information helps find those means.

Why name the Institute after him now?

Governor Romer's approach to governance is precisely what the Romer Institute tries to institutionalize. The timing reflects both the Institute's readiness (we have built a record of research and demonstrated impact) and the Romer family's decision to formalize their investment in this model. The affiliation with MSU Denver, the university Romer helped create, adds another valuable dimension for expanding the reach and impact of evidence-based governance and creating valuable learning opportunities and practical insights for MSU Denver’s students.

Does naming the Institute after a former Democratic governor affect its nonpartisan and unbiased approach to research?

No. As board member Bruce Katz says, ultimately the Romer Institute will be judged by its research; and we welcome review of our published reports to date. The most fundamental mandate and commitment of the board and staff leadership of the Romer Institute is to ensure that our research is independent, unbiased and evidence-based. That is the core value and practice of the Romer Institute, and that defines the scope and review of each of our reports. Other organizations occupy the advocacy space; and they serve an important role. That is not the role we are serving. We are focused on supporting executive decisions, often made rapidly by necessity, with actionable, unbiased research and data.

We cannot control of course any perceptions of a partisan leaning. But to that we have two responses: First, look at the research that we have published on our website and draw your own conclusions. If you see anything you think, by commission or omission, can fairly be critiqued as biased, we welcome and invite informed input.

Second, while Governor Romer is of course a member of one political party, his legacy in Colorado transcends partisan affiliation. The Romer name stands for a way of governing that is rooted in evidence and information-gathering.

Who was Bea Romer?

Bea Romer served as Colorado's First Lady throughout her husband's three terms and devoted much of her career to early childhood education and children's health. Her leadership was the driving force behind the Colorado Preschool Project, which became the framework for the state's expanding preschool system and the foundation on which Colorado's universal preschool program was built. She passed away in 2023. Her legacy also reflects an evidence-based approach to governing.

For more information

Where can I learn more about the Romer Institute?

Visit evidence-based.org for information about the Romer Institute's research, its model, and its work with state and local executive decision makers. Media inquiries should be directed to Scott Fisher, Director of Communications, scott.fisher@evidence-based.org, cell 303-434-0411