Center for Effective Lawmaking

The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is a non-profit organization based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 2017, the CEL is a joint partnership between the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Vanderbilt University. With a team of six employees, the center focuses on promoting legislative effectiveness among lawmakers in the United States Congress and, eventually, in state legislatures and international institutions. The CEL's primary mission is to advance research and understanding of how effective lawmakers operate within legislative bodies. They aim to quantify and analyze legislative effectiveness, shedding light on the factors that contribute to successful lawmaking. The CEL develops tools like the Legislative Effectiveness Score (LES), which measures the progress of bills sponsored by members of Congress, their policy impact, and the overall legislative influence of individual lawmakers. A key differentiator for the CEL is its data-driven approach to understanding legislative effectiveness. By combining quantitative metrics with qualitative analysis, the CEL seeks to provide actionable insights that can improve the lawmaking process. Their research findings are disseminated through publications, workshops, and other outreach initiatives, aimed at informing policymakers and the public about best practices in legislative effectiveness. For more information about the Center for Effective Lawmaking and its work, please visit their website at thelawmakers.com.