Five Ways to Create a Data-Driven Culture in Government

Image via Maksim Kabakou/Shutterstock.com

How to train your organization to base decision-making on evidence.

OMB’s guidance to agencies on the development of their FY 2015 budgets promises that “OMB will issue a separate memo at a later date that encourages the increased use of evidence and evaluation, including rigorous testing of innovative strategies to build new knowledge of what works.” This encouragement comes on top of a foundation already under development in many agencies.

In addition to programmatic initiatives using evidence and rigorous evaluation to make funding decisions, OMB and agencies are undertaking a series of initiatives to build or expand the skills and capabilities of staff to be more evidence- and evaluation-based in their decision making.  In some cases, this requires money; but in many other cases it is a change in how existing work is done.  In addition, an interagency group focused on youth programs recently posted online a number of initiatives underway or planned that would advance the use of rigorous evaluation to improve the impact of programs serving at-risk youth.

The following are some steps underway to help build a foundation for evidence-based thinking in government: 

Step 1:  Build Agency-Level Capacity for Evaluation and Data Analytics.  Agencies are building the infrastructure to conduct evaluations and analyze data and evidence. For example, they are creating learning networks of evaluators from across the government to share best practices, such as developing common evidence standards and spreading effective procurement practices. There are also multi-agency collaborations around enforcement programs, economic development activities, and financial literacy efforts. In addition, some agencies are creating departmental-level evaluation posts, such as the Department of Labor’s Chief Evaluation Office, and empowering existing evaluation offices. USDA is proposing the creation of a chief evaluation officer in the coming year. The Chief Evaluation Officer at DOL, for example, coordinates an annual learning agenda with policy officials to ensure that dollars are focused on the most relevant questions.

Step 2:  Invest in Increasing the Amount of Evidence and Data.  Funding in existing programs is being set aside to support program evaluations. For example, a reserve fund of up to 0.5 percent would be created at the Department of Education, and the Department of Labor’s reserve fund, overseen by the department’s Chief Evaluation Office, would increase from up to 0.5 percent to up to 1 percent. In addition, the 2014 budget proposes $6 million for a new Evidence-Based Innovation initiative within OMB to help support outcome-focused government. 

Step 3:  Make Greater Use of Existing Administrative Data. Efforts are underway to take administrative data already being collected and link it across agencies to help them better understand cross-agency outcomes. For example, states and localities could link data from early childhood programs to data from juvenile justice systems and K-16 education systems to produce statistical snapshots that previously might only have been available through costly long-term tracking surveys of cohorts of children. States and localities are leading by example in this area by participating in a foundation-funded initiative called “actionable intelligence for social policy” that links “data from across multiple systems so that researchers and government decision-makers can work together to analyze problems” in ways that safeguard privacy.

Step 4:  Create Incentives to Use Evidence. In addition to building technical capabilities, OMB wants to create incentives for agencies to actually use evidence when making program and funding decisions. One approach is to streamline access to waivers of administrative requirements in exchange for grantee commitments to collect data and conduct analyses. 

A second approach is to create performance incentives for states and localities to use monies from existing formula grants to support evidence-based practices. For example, the mental health block grant program at the Department of Health and Human Services would require states to target at least 5 percent of the funding they receive to “the most effective evidence-based prevention and treatment approaches,” according to OMB. 

A third approach is to make matching grants to grant-making intermediaries based on evidence of the effectiveness of the programs to be funded. For example, the $138 million Social Innovation Fund in the Corporation for National and Community Service makes matching grants to grant-making intermediaries, leveraging $350 million in non-federal cash grants.

Step 5:  Create Agency-Level “What Works” RepositoriesAccording to OMB, Agencies are also expanding their “what works” repositories, such as:

The next step, according to OMB, will be to encourage agencies to work together to create “a common framework for judging evidence on the effectiveness of programs and practices.” 

The array of different initiatives underway at the federal level to create common standards and approaches is largely concentrated in social services, housing, education, and workforce programs, but is poised to expand in other policy arenas. Interestingly, with the growing federal interest in the use of evidence and evaluation, there is also increased interest by states, localities, non-profits, foundations, and universities. This will be the subject of a future blog post.

Image via Maksim Kabakou/Shutterstock.com

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.