Illinois — Ker-twang, a design and innovation firm focused on public-interest work, has received funding from the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at MIT to launch a major randomized controlled trial testing a fundamentally different approach to delivering energy assistance.
The problem is straightforward but urgent: Over 550,000 low-income households in Illinois qualify for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)—yet only 30% actually receive it. Meanwhile, families are choosing between paying for heat and paying for food. And even when LIHEAP does reach people, the traditional model of a single lump-sum payment often arrives at the wrong time, leaving families vulnerable mid-month or mid-winter.
Ker-twang's solution is equally simple: give families control.
Instead of LIHEAP delivering one large utility payment once a year, the new model allows recipients to access their benefits throughout the year. A family facing an unexpected $300 bill in February can use part of their benefit then. Another household might stretch theirs across the winter months. The program remains cost-neutral—no additional public dollars required—but the timing and flexibility are controlled by the people who know their circumstances best.
"Energy assistance shouldn't feel like something done to you," said Harris Levine, Partner at Ker-twang. "It should feel like a resource you can actually use. This project is about respecting families' judgment about their own needs."
A Proof of Concept That Works
This isn't theoretical. Ker-twang tested the idea at a smaller scale in Flint, Michigan—a place where residents have every reason to be skeptical of energy companies and government programs. The results were striking:
60 percentage point increase in utility bills paid in full
77% of participants went a full year without accumulating energy debt
Energy consumption fell 14% year-over-year, even during one of the coldest winters on record
Those results caught the attention of J-PAL, which funds rigorous testing of interventions to reduce poverty. Now, with support from J-PAL and in collaboration with MIT's Dr. Christopher Knittel, Drs. Sanya Carley and David Konisky of the Energy Justice Lab, the Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies, and state partners, Ker-twang will test the model at scale: 1,000 households across Illinois, with rigorous measurement of what actually changes.
The study will track whether the intervention reduces utility disconnections, improves on-time payments, lowers energy burden, and reduces the financial stress that comes with energy insecurity. Secondary outcomes will measure thermal comfort and whether families experience less anxiety about keeping the lights on.
Why This Matters Now
Energy insecurity—the inability to afford adequate heating or cooling—is linked to worse health outcomes, missed school days, and household financial instability. Low-income families spend an outsized share of income on energy.
"We could design the perfect energy assistance program in theory," said Nate Bernhard, Partner at Ker-twang. "But if people can't actually access it, or if it arrives at the wrong time in their month, it fails. This project asks a simple question: what if we built LIHEAP around how people actually live?"
That question reflects Ker-twang's broader approach: partnering with governments, nonprofits, and researchers to design solutions with low-income communities, not for them. The firm has spent over a decade testing interventions in areas ranging from financial inclusion in Tanzania to reducing license suspensions in Miami-Dade County—work grounded in real-world constraints, real data, and real outcomes.
What Happens Next
The randomized controlled trial will launch in 2026 in Illinois. Half of participating households will receive the new self-managed benefit model; the other half will continue with standard LIHEAP delivery, allowing researchers to isolate the true impact of timing and control.
If successful, the model could be replicated in other states, potentially improving energy assistance delivery for millions of vulnerable households nationwide—without a single additional dollar of federal or state investment.
"We're not interested in solutions that only work on a consultant's laptop, this is about building something real, testing it rigorously, and sharing what we learn so others can do the same."
Ker-twang is a design and innovation firm that works with governments, nonprofits, academic researchers, and mission-driven organizations to develop human-centered solutions to complex problems. Ker-twang combines qualitative research, behavioral insights, design-led implementation, and rigorous evaluation to ensure that solutions work in practice—not just in theory.
For more information, visit ker-twang.com.