Our Research
Commonwealth conducts original qualitative and quantitative research with financially vulnerable people—including Black, Latinx, and women-led households who disproportionately experience financial insecurity. We also interview industry experts and academics. We take what we learn and translate findings into actionable insights and practical solutions designed to change systems to work better for financially vulnerable people. We work with community groups, employers, financial services firms, fintechs, policymakers, and workplace solution providers to design and test real-world, practical solutions that not only work for individuals and families, but are also scalable and address the business needs of our partners.
We share the results of our work to provide you with innovative ideas, practical insights, and the tools you need to act. Explore our publications below.
Increasing Access to U.S. Savings Bonds: Recommendations for Bond Innovation
U.S. Savings Bonds fill a market gap for safe, no-fee, general purpose savings products with low minimum balances and a trusted brand. The Treasury Department can not only preserve bonds as they are currently available—including through the Tax Time Saving…
Bite Club Trailer
In Bite Club, users manage a vampire nightclub to learn how to plan for retirement, understand the value of paying off debt, and manage spending patterns. Watch the trailer below, and check out the Financial Entertainment site to learn more…
Ramp it Up Trailer
Ramp It Up is a gamified college readiness mobile app that seeks to empower high school students to make positive financial decisions related to paying for college. Watch the trailer below, or learn more about Ramp it Up. Want to try…
Gamification: Making Financial Security Fun
Gamification provides a way to turn tasks into fun and engaging activities that lead to real world action. Commonwealth collaborates with employers, non-profits, financial services firms, and more to design, create, pilot, and scale gamified apps.
Commonwealth Brand Story
Watch this video about the CommonWealth brand.
Rules of Thumb Toolkit
This toolkit focuses on the design of rules of thumb (ROTs), simple, actionable guidelines that can help consumers with financial decision-making. If designed well, they are easy for consumers to remember and clearly communicate the action required. This toolkit will…
Consumer Engagement: Helping People Want What They Need
In partnership with the Asset Funders Network (AFN), Commonwealth wrote this brief to explain the importance of consumer-centric design. The brief includes an actionable framework and examples of how it can be implemented to create a product that consumers want…
SavingsQuest: How it Works
SavingsQuest, an award-winning app by Commonwealth, uses gamification to drive greater account engagement and saving. This short video demonstrates the key features of the app. Click here to learn more about SavingsQuest. “Even a small amount of savings can help manage…
A History of Prize-Linked Savings
Commonwealth's innovation process has proven effective over the last 15 years in building solutions to help over a million Americans build more than $200MM in savings. As one of Commonwealth's most notable ideas to go through the innovation process, Prize-Linked Savings (PLS)…
Four Years of SaveYourRefund
SaveYourRefund (SYR) completed its fourth successful year in 2016. Learn about how it has grown and the impact it has made on tax filers across the country. “[SaveYourRefund saw] successful integration with Volunteer Income Tax Assistant programs.” “29% of savers…