The 2026 Expy Awards:
Eligibility Criteria
The Expy Awards recognize outstanding research conducted independently of Analyst Institute that strengthens collective learning and helps inform civic engagement programs and strategies.
We especially encourage submissions that advance priorities in our 2025–26 Community-Informed Research Agenda. Winning projects will receive distinctive Expy awards highlighting their contributions to the field.
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Who and what is eligible?
To qualify, research must meet the following requirements:
Research focus
Research must:
- Advance our understanding of civic engagement, social justice, movement research practices, voter sentiment and motivations, or progressive community program and campaign impact.
- Demonstrate a commitment to learning, transparency, and strengthening collective knowledge.
Research methods
Research must:
- Use a real-world program evaluation (such as a randomized controlled trial, quasi-experimental design, or mixed-methods approach) or another research method (such as qualitative, descriptive, correlational, or participatory research) that produces findings with practical applications in the field.
- Evaluate real-world programs, aim to optimize operations, or measure actual voter or participant attitudes and behaviors, excluding laboratory studies and in-survey panels.
- Use voter file data to measure turnout effects in voter turnout tests.
Timing and completeness
Research must:
- Have been conducted, published, or presented in 2026. Research using 2026 general election data will be eligible for the 2027 Expy Awards.
- Have final results available by the submission deadline.
- Include a final report or equivalent research documentation describing methods, results, context, limitations, and lessons learned.
Independence
Research must have been conducted without direct Analyst Institute involvement.
Sharing permissions
Authors and partner organizations must agree to share the research with the Analyst Group community through our member website and AG Digest.
What research are we especially interested in?
We encourage submissions that contribute to one or more priorities in our 2025–26 Community-Informed Research Agenda:
Conventional Tactics
Reexamining core best practices for canvassing, ad testing, and mail to ensure evidence remains relevant as contexts shift.
Understudied or Emergent Tactics
Testing innovative or less-studied approaches, such as relational organizing beyond voter turnout, influencer programs, organic digital outreach, partisan voter registration, or hybrid persuasion and mobilization tactics.
Foundational Research on Environmental Shifts
Understanding how campaigns and movements can navigate changing political, social, and media contexts, including disengaged voters, messenger credibility, long-term political power-building, and democratic resilience.
Bridging Research and Practice
Improving how research findings are adopted across the ecosystem, strengthening evidence infrastructure, exploring applications of artificial intelligence, and addressing gaps between research and implementation.
Research does not need to fit neatly into one of these categories to qualify.
We also particularly encourage:
- Null or near-zero findings: Understanding what doesn’t work is essential to collective learning.
- Innovative research: Studies using new methods, exploring emerging tactics, or addressing urgent questions and evidence gaps.
How will winners be selected?
Reviewers will consider four priorities:
| Priority | What we’re looking for |
|---|---|
| Methodological rigor | Appropriate methods and transparent documentation of findings and limitations |
| Contribution to community learning | Meaningful new knowledge, important evidence gaps addressed, or existing assumptions challenged |
| Practical relevance | Findings useful to program implementers, strategists, or researchers |
| Research Agenda relevance | Contributions to questions or priorities identified in our Community-Informed Research Agenda |
Awards and recognition
Winning projects will receive Expy Awards that recognize what makes their research particularly noteworthy.
We will determine award names and categories based on the submissions received, rather than establishing them in advance.
Organizations may nominate multiple projects, but each campaign or organization may receive only one Expy per year. Researchers working with multiple organizations may be recognized more than once.
How to submit
Submission deadline: November 13, 2026
Submit each research project separately using the official nomination form:
Please be prepared to provide:
- Research title, authors, and affiliated organizations
- Final report or equivalent research documentation
- Research question, methods, and key findings
- Practical implications and contributions to community learning
- Contact information for permissions and follow-up
Selected researchers and organizations will be contacted to confirm credits, sharing permissions, and final materials before the AG announcement.
Winners will be announced December 18, 2026, through the Analyst Institute website and AG Digest. Winners will also receive social graphics and sample language to help share their recognition and research with their networks, if they choose to do so.