Paolo Spada received his Ph.D. in political science from Yale University in May 2012. Spada also holds a Ph.D. in economics from Bologna University (2006). His research interests lie in the diffusion and impact evaluation of Democratic Innovations. He is a member of the core development team of Participedia, and a member of the research board of the Participatory Budgeting Project. Most of his research centers on the real politic of Democratic Innovations and how to improve the methodologies currently adopted to evaluate them. Paolo is also a member of the World Bank's Digital Engagement Evaluation Team (DEET).