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Years Serving Alabama
- (205) 278-7115
- info@parcalabama.org
- parca.alabama
PARCA is Alabama’s first and only independent, non–partisan, non-ideological policy research organization, founded in 1988 by former Governor Albert Brewer.
Governments should function well and implement sound policies that improve the lives of all people and strengthen all communities.
A thriving Alabama shaped by facts, not factions.
Every big decision Alabama leaders make, from how to fund schools, to what to tax, how to run its courts and its counties, depends on someone knowing the facts. For most of the state’s history, no one was responsible for that.
Former Governor Albert Brewer saw the cost of it firsthand. In 1988, he and a group of civic leaders founded PARCA so that Alabama would have an institution whose only job is to get the numbers right and make them public, with no party to please or agenda to pursue.
That is still the job. PARCA does not lobby, endorse, or advocate. We provide the evidence; citizens and officials decide what to do with it.
And because that independence is the whole point, PARCA is sustained not by government but by Alabamians who believe the state deserves an honest account of itself.
PARCA produces policy research, data analysis, and program evaluation for the people who run Alabama’s public institutions — and for the citizens those institutions answer to.
We transform complex public data into usable, accessible tools — empowering stakeholders to make informed, timely decisions.
Interactive dashboards· GIS, surveys, and salary studies · custom data analysis and technical assistance.
We conduct rigorous research and translate it into clear, actionable insights that inform policy change.
Long-form, comparative policy research · data journalism that turns findings into story-driven visuals and public understanding.
We assess the effectiveness of programs and public investments to improve outcomes and resource allocation.
Program evaluation that measures what works and why · economic evaluation, fiscal-impact modeling, and ROI analysis.
We don’t start from a conclusion. Most organizations publishing research in Alabama begin with a position and assemble evidence for it. PARCA begins with a question.
We publish regardless of the findings. Every study is released, whether or not the numbers are what anyone hoped for — including our own funders, and including our own prior work. There is no version of a PARCA report that stayed in a drawer because the results disappointed someone.
We show our arithmetic. Sources, methods, and limitations appear in every report. Where the data are weak, we say so.
We don’t lobby, endorse, or take positions on bills. PARCA doesn’t testify for or against legislation, support candidates, or participate in campaigns.
We answer whoever asks. Legislators of both parties, mayors, county commissioners, superintendents, agency staff, reporters, and citizens all get the same answer to the same question.
Nearly forty years on, that’s still the job: PARCA provides the data; citizens and officials decide what to do with it.