The Center for Effective Lawmaking Attends the 2026 NCSL Summit
Chicago, IL – Last week, thousands of state lawmakers, legislative staff, researchers, and advocates were in Chicago for the 2026 National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Summit, and the Center for Effective Lawmaking was excited to attend for the first time. The Summit provided the opportunity to connect directly with lawmakers and their staff who can apply our research to improve legislative effectiveness in their chamber. We shared information about the CEL’s mission and research and handed out our newly-published guide for state legislators, Becoming An Effective Lawmaker From Day One.
“We were fortunate to connect with hundreds of state lawmakers from across the country at NCSL, many of whom we’ve corresponded with through our State Legislative Effectiveness Initiative. What I enjoyed most was hearing their experiences and learning about the strategies they use to advance their proposals through the legislative process in their respective chambers. The insights we gained will undoubtedly strengthen our work moving forward,” said Caroline Clements, program specialist for the CEL’s states initiative at Vanderbilt University.
Throughout the Summit, the CEL discussed legislative effectiveness with policymakers and explored new collaborations with organizations focused on state governance.
“It was really exciting to meet other groups that are passionate about legislative studies and good governance and to discuss our area of expertise with them. Through these conversations, we identified areas of common interest as well as opportunities where our perspectives differ, leading to valuable discussions and new ideas,” commented Paige Higginson-Rollins, program director for the CEL’s states initiative at Vanderbilt University.
As the CEL continues to expand its work with state legislatures, conversations at the NCSL Summit will help shape future research partnerships and resources for lawmakers across the country.
“We were excited to be able to connect with such a wide group of legislators and organizations at the NCSL meetings, and to explore new ways that we might be able to translate the insights from our academic research on lawmaking effectiveness into real-world action items for legislators and other practitioners who share our mission,” said Alan Wiseman, CEL co-director.
The NCSL Legislative Summit is the largest gathering of state legislators and staff in the country. Next year’s summit will be held in Atlanta, GA.
The Center for Effective Lawmaking’s states initiative is supported by a grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.
