Ryan Cooper is the Director of Government Innovation at the Development Innovation Lab (DIL) at the University of Chicago. His work focuses on building institutional frameworks that enable governments to generate and use causal evidence for policy innovation. Before joining DIL, Ryan was the Director of the Weiss Fund for Research in Development Economics, where he led and coordinated RFPs and co-designed the Kabir Banerjee Predoctoral Fellowship.
Ryan has been involved in developing Government Innovation Units using the Experimental Policy model, designed to facilitate the incubation of RCTs for large-scale, high-budget government interventions, programs, and policies. His current projects include supporting government innovation initiatives in Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Fortaleza, Brazil. An economist by training, Ryan has a deep interest in applying AI and experimental methods to improve public policy. He has lived in Chile and the United States, enjoys sports, and is always exploring new ways to bridge research and policy.
Contact: ryancooperb@uchicago.edu