This book addresses a critical gap between the nature of contemporary policy challenges and the way most academic research is conducted. Policymakers and practitioners routinely face complex, interconnected problems — ranging from climate resilience and public health crises to social equity and organizational management — that demand interdisciplinary perspectives and computationally informed approaches. Yet, public policy scholarship often remains fragmented, narrowly disciplinary, and slow to integrate the rapidly advancing tools of data science. This book provides a timely intervention by demonstrating how computational approaches can be meaningfully applied to policy analysis, bridging a persistent divide between aspiration and practice in the field. Through exploring cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and examples of how computational tools can address real-world problems, this book provides both inspiration and practical guidance for advancing public policy scholarship and practice.
