How Federal Agencies and Departments are Using Research and Evaluation in Innovative Ways
2020 Invest in What Works Federal Standard of Excellence
Research and evaluation are key tools that governments can leverage to challenge assumptions made in policy. They allow policymakers to make well-informed decisions. The research and evaluation criteria in Results for America’s Invest in What Works Federal Standards of Excellence (Federal Standard of Excellence) assesses federal agencies’ research and evaluation capacities in areas such as the quality of the policies governing their evaluation activities (2.1) and their plans for investing and conducting evaluations (2.2) by building evidence (of what works and for whom) through learning agendas (2.3). These activities support and serve as the foundation for the agencies’ implementation of The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act. Results for America’s Evidence Act Summary offers guidance to help agencies meet these required research and evaluation activities.
Of the nine agencies participating in Results for America’s Federal Standard of Excellence, all but one had a public evaluation policy. These evaluation policies covered five core evaluation principles to promote rigor, relevance, transparency, independence, and ethics. Having a comprehensive evaluation policy confirms an agency’s commitment to conducting, funding and utilizing high-quality evaluations (and thereby producing quality evidence) to inform policy, budget, program, and management decisions. While the White House Office of Management and Budget recently released guidance to agencies for implementing an evaluation policy, Results for America commends the agencies that currently have an evaluation policy including U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), AmeriCorps, U.S. Department of Education (ED), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Administration for Children and Families (HHS), Administration for Community Living (HHS), and Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
Agencies and departments publish comprehensive evaluation plans to publicly communicate their upcoming and planned evaluations and priorities. Agencies take different approaches to their evaluation plans including a one year plan, such as the DOL plan, or a multi-year plan, like the AmeriCorps and HUD plans. Some agencies contribute to a department evaluation plan, as demonstrated by the ACF and ACL (HHS), non-CFO Act agencies. Another use-case of an evaluation plan is the MCC evaluation plans for each of its investments made in a foreign country. HUD’s Research Roadmap’s participatory process makes their approach to learning more inclusive. The agency actively solicits internal and external stakeholders to identify research questions and other evidence-building activities to support effective policy-making. As agencies and departments implement the Presidential Memorandum on Data and Equity, they should consider boosting their participatory and engagement strategies (similar to HUD’s approach).
In addition to an evaluation plan, a learning agenda is also a critical component for building evidence. Many agencies are developing their learning agendas following the Evidence Act. Beyond identifying key research questions, learning agendas are a systematic process for identifying the information and knowledge agencies will collect to use in their policymaking. For example, in January 2021, ACF released a learning agenda that covers their nine relevant program areas and included an area for public comment that will inform future iterations. In 2020, ACL released an interim learning agenda, which includes a section for potential problems that might arise in their evidence-building quest and mitigation strategies for these issues. USAID’s Self Reliance Learning Agenda is built around the premise of helping countries move towards sustainable governance. AmeriCorps’ CNCS Strategic Evidence Plan provides insight into the agency’s evidence building roadmap with the goal of improving the effectiveness of national service programs. Lastly, MCC’s Women’s Economic Empowerment Learning Agenda takes a gender equity approach to building evidence internationally.
While the Evidence Act paves the foundational work for federal agencies to advance their research and evaluation capacities through evaluation policies, plans and learning agendas, there is a tremendous opportunity for these agencies to further their practices through a multi-agency or sectoral approaches to research, evaluation, and learning. The recent Memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking provides guidance on how the current Administration expects research and evaluation to play a key role in its policymaking efforts to support its four priorities. In sum, the new Administration signals to agencies that research and evaluation activities can lead to more effective public services and goods. A key element to carrying out these research and evaluation activities is sufficient funding: agencies should dedicate funding to conduct and support evaluations, technical assistance, data collection, and other activities to support implementation of their learning agendas and evaluations plans.
Read Results for America’s 2020 Invest in What Works Federal Standard of Excellence here. And read more about the Research and Evaluation Criteria here.
