The appearance of the New York  Bureau of Municipal Research in the first decade of the 20th century transformed the way government operated in the United States. By the 1910s there were various other bureaus around the country attempting to duplicate the original model. But what made them a success? We will attempt to answer that in what follows.

When it was formed in 1906, the Bureau was composed of reformers and idealists who wanted to reform the government and the group quickly attracted others of the same mindset. The core of the group was soon made up of a small ensemble  of experts in their respective fields – from educational institutions to police affairs – and a larger group of staff whose task was to assist the experts.

Preaching what they practiced, the Bureau introduced the same type of policies within its institution that it wanted to propagate throughout government departments and made sure that the policies were strictly adhered to.

A project would usually begin with assemblage of all available information on the topic which would be done in a number of ways. If the project involved a single department or was based in New York, a staffer would be sent to that particular entity to observe the way it functioned, collecting as much material as possible before reporting back to the Bureau. In one extant assignment sheet the employee was cautioned:

“Please exercise care in approaching the department officials, arrange to submit constructive and other criticisms to them for their comment, cooperate in every way with the work which they are doing, interfere as little as possible in the regular routine – but bring back information.”

If the department in question would not cooperate, the Bureau would compile its information based on observation, but most were more than ready to assist, resulting in stacks of documentation detailing everything from the way pets were taxed to how residents connected their houses to city sewers.

For larger, multi-city or multi-department projects, the Bureau pioneered the use of questionnaires which would become one of the most common methods of studies even in our day.

After information was collected by questionnaires or other means, it was analyzed and the Bureau would create a thorough report describing the issue in a neutral manner, frequently but not always stating its own unbiased opinion. Frequently charts would be included in the reports. These charts detailed, sometimes for the first time, the complicated relationships within departments and city agencies, allowing for greater efficiency and laying plain the hierarchies of power.

The more popular or important reports would be published for a wider circulation, spreading the Bureau’s message around the country.