Researching With the American Political Reform & Innovation Lab

Timothy LaPira, PhD, professor of political science at James Madison University, serves as the founding director of the American Political Reform & Innovation Lab (APRILab), housed in the College of Arts and Letters. A newly created nonpartisan, civic- and community-engaged political science and data science research lab, APRILab produces original, evidence-based research on institutional political reform. The lab collaborates with internal and external experts in the national political reform advocacy community.

LaPira studies Congress and its staff, interest groups and the lobbying profession, and political elite behavior. In 2019, he was the American Political Science Association Public Service Fellow at the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. He also received the 2022 College of Arts and Letters Madison Scholar Award for outstanding scholarly achievements.

“I’ve done something like this lab for my entire career at JMU, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to continue doing so, and to offer students the opportunity to experience this work as well,” said LaPira. APRILab’s research is meant to address significant, real-world problems posed by institutional dysfunction, democratic backsliding, and unequal political influence.

Several student assistants are helping LaPira build the foundations of the lab. Riley Miller (‘23) joined the lab because “It seems like it’s research that hasn’t been investigated as much, and it’s cool to be a part of something that will be used to understand the effectiveness of our government for as long as we continue on.”

Another student, Abigail Barden (‘24), is grateful for the opportunity to gain practical experience: “Political Science doesn’t often have research labs and it’s a very interesting thing to be a part of. It’s giving me a lot of really good experience in the field.”