Complexity Solutions Lab

The Lab helps researchers and decision-makers diagnose root causes, identify counterproductive dynamics, and test strategies for change. Its work focuses on four complementary activities:

• Diagnose problems. The Lab’s Complexity Clinic helps researchers and decision makers identify the combination of complexity-aware research methods and approaches best suited to their challenges, revealing hidden linkages and dynamics that may be blocking progress.
• Test solutions. In partnership with ICONS Research, the Lab uses the ICONSnet web-enabled simulation platform to test promising strategies in realistic scenarios. These controlled environments allow participants to interact with each other or with synthetic data, simulated social media, other communication channels, chatbots, computational models and AI systems, generating behavioral data on how people respond to interventions, messaging and emerging technologies before real-world implementation.
• Build tools. The Lab leads the development of Socioinformatics, an emerging practice that applies informatics approaches used in fields such as genomics and climate science to social research, building shared tools that allow diverse methods and datasets to be integrated to better understand complex social systems.
• Mentor problem solvers. A Social Complexity Mentorship program pairs students and fellows with experts to explore complex policy challenges and develop new research, strategies or policy-relevant tools.

The Lab’s approach reflects the work of its founding director, Dr. Robert D. Lamb, whose research on social complexity provides the foundation for integrating methods across disciplinary boundaries. Housed within CISSM and connected to partners across the University of Maryland, the Lab draws on expertise from the social sciences, data science, ethics, policy analysis and multiple modeling disciplines. Its associated personnel have a track record of producing applied research on complex topics and methods with external funders such as the U.S. Department of Defense, the UK government and private foundations.