Can the irreducibly human experience of navigating public services ever be quantified? And what would it look like to design policy delivery that respects the fullness of people’s lives? Drawing on Public Policy Lab’s essay, Measuring the Unmeasurable, we hosted a conversation exploring questions such as: What do outcome metrics actually capture—and what do they distort?

PPL executive director Chelsea Mauldin discussed measurement, democracy, and the limits of outcome metrics alongside Megan Stevenson of the University of Virginia Law School and Piyush Tantia of Fifth Third Bank. Together, they examined how we define and measure public value—and what gets lost when we try.

This event is part of PPL15, a series celebrating the Public Policy Lab’s 15th anniversary. You can find past blog posts and virtual events on our website.