Center for Effective Lawmaking
The Center for Effective Lawmaking seeks to advance the generation, communication, and use of new knowledge about the effectiveness of individual lawmakers and U.S. legislative institutions. We envision American legislatures comprised of effective lawmakers, strong institutional capacity, and the incentive structure needed to address America’s greatest public policy challenges.
Announcing the Release of the 102nd Missouri General Assembly, the 131st Maine Legislature, and
Announcing the Release of the 193rd Massachusetts General Court and the 93rd Minnesota Legislature
Cover Bills Tuesday, April 21, 2026 Legislators sometimes vote on bills that fail but,
The Center for Effective Lawmaking (“CEL”) is a joint partnership between the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Vanderbilt University. It was created in 2017 to advance the generation, communication, and use of new knowledge about the effectiveness of individual lawmakers and U.S. legislative institutions. The Center grew out of the Legislative Effectiveness Project, based on the scholarship of Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman, as featured in the award-winning book Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress: The Lawmakers.
Today, the CEL is directed by Craig Volden of the University of Virginia and Alan E. Wiseman of Vanderbilt University. To advance the goals of the Center, Volden and Wiseman have undertaken numerous research projects, brought together a team of scholars around the country with a diverse portfolio of work surrounding this issue, host an annual research conference, created materials to help lawmakers become more effective, and provide opportunities for public involvement through events with former and current legislators.
We invite you to support our work. Financial support can be tailored to enhance specific Center initiatives of greatest interest to you. If you are interested in hosting an event to increase awareness about our work, please email thelawmakers@virginia.edu.
At a time when cynicism about Congress (both within and outside of the institution) seems both insurmountable and well-founded, the search for effective lawmakers is perhaps as crucial as it has ever been. It is at times when institutions are failing that effective leaders are needed more than ever.