Outsmarting poverty starts with working smarter
All across America, service providers are doing great work to take on poverty in all its complexity. But we still know too little about what’s working and why.
Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) helps service providers apply scientific evaluation methods to better understand and share effective poverty interventions.
At LEO, we believe rigorous research is a powerful means to an end. An end to injustice. An end to poverty. And a new beginning for millions of families who are ready to thrive.
Creating Evidence
by partnering with poverty's fiercest adversaries to learn what works.
Researchers at Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) Respond to HUD’s FY 2026 Continuum of Care Funding Changes
Following the September decision by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals allowing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to proceed with its FY 2026 Continuum of Care (CoC) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)—and HUD’s subsequent Sept. 18 reopening of the grant program with a Sept. 30 deadline—Researchers at the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) at the University of Notre Dame issued the following statement regarding the dismantling of evidence-based homelessness policies.
Rising prices may be here to stay, but poverty doesn’t have to be
For millions of Americans living in poverty, rising prices are a threat to their wellbeing and the wellbeing of our communities. These prices often result in painful choices — like rationing groceries, skipping meals, or not sending your children to extracurricular activities. Those choices are everywhere these days, with one recent poll showing that half of all Americans are struggling to afford gas and groceries.
Latest Edition of Illuminate: Those Closest
Keeping dignity at the heart of our work. “We are keeping dignity in the design. Dignity in our research. Dignity in our services. Dignity at the heart of our community.” — Dignity in the design, page 4
What Would You Fight For
Fighting to Improve Education Policies
Goodwill wants high school education accessible for all ages—LEO economists are providing the data to get there.
Fighting to Prevent Homelessness
Catholic Charities Chicago runs the city's Homelessness Prevention Call Center and has helped thousands of families stay off the streets. But Catholic Charities knows funding for public programs is never guaranteed, so it wanted to prove its method was cost-effective and impactful.