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The Boston Mayor\u2019s Office of New Urban Mechanics, a research and development lab for city hall, develops new and creative ways to provide better services for the city\u2019s residents. About a year ago, the office published the first volume of its Civic Research Agenda. In some respects, the document follows the trend of federal agencies publishing learning or evidence-building agendas. But Boston\u2019s Civic Research Agenda doesn\u2019t look like a formal government document: it\u2019s colorful, with large font, photos, and cartoon-like illustrations. The authors also use personal pronouns to make it clear that Boston\u2019s \u201cnew urban mechanics\u201d want to have a conversation with you, the reader. The language is strategic: they want to welcome you in as a participant in deciding what local public policy issues to address, what questions to ask about them, and how to answer them. \n\nIn this episode of On the Evidence, we discuss the Civic Research Agenda\u2019s one year anniversary with three members of the New Urban Mechanics team: Nigel Jacob, the office\u2019s co-chair and cofounder; Sabrina Dorsainvil, the office\u2019s director of civic design; and Kim Lucas, the office\u2019s civic research director. \n\nWe also have a condensed Q&A version of the conversation available here: https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/boston-invites-community-to-set-a-civic-research-agenda