Today we find ourselves at a crossroads of unprecedented technological dominance and profound societal challenges. There is a heightened urgency to steer innovation toward the public good while advocating for better safeguards. New America’s Technology & Democracy issue area is dedicated to shaping a digital ecosystem that is safer, open, and inclusive. We conduct research and advance policy to ensure technology serves the common good; strengthen affordable and universal access to information; and re-envision tech policy to strengthen security and protect fundamental rights.

Better Life Lab Experiments (BLLx) is a project of the Better Life Lab at New America that aims to empower families through education, awareness, and innovative strategies to more fairly and sustainably share the load of household work and care work at home, ultimately reducing their stress and overwhelm.

We believe we must tackle this problem at its root, to move from addressing just the division of labor to the overall amount of labor families must juggle. With your help, we will translate the latest research from academics and other researchers into stories real families can relate to and learn from; communicate the urgency of these issues to decision-makers who have the power to change existing systems and institutions contributing to this problem, including greedy workplaces, corporate culture, and individualistic, and punitive or unsupportive public policies; evaluate emerging solutions from the private and public sector for equity and effectiveness for diverse families; expand, diversify, engage with and harness our audience of beta testers to build a broad and inclusive community of thinkers and doers to learn from each other and to challenge and change policy, workplaces, schools, and other institutions; and work with that community to co-create and co-design our next collection of solution-oriented experiments.

The Center on Education & Labor explores the changing relationship between education, social mobility, and economic security—with the goal of promoting shared prosperity and middle-class renewal.

Our work spans the education-to-career continuum, with special initiatives focused on supporting young adults, strengthening community colleges, expanding access to apprenticeships, navigating the future of work, and advocating for policies that improve the quality of jobs. We work directly with communities to identify barriers to economic mobility and to develop policies and practical solutions that reflect their needs and aspirations.

The Learning Sciences Exchange (LSX) is a problem-solving platform focused on transforming education by applying the science of learning to help children and youth thrive. We work to develop solutions and build a field of talented multidisciplinary leaders through fellowships, design-thinking and networking workshops, convenings, and coalition-building efforts across sectors.