Increasing Government Effectiveness Through Rigorous Evidence About “What Works”

MISSION: A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, the Coalition seeks to increase government effectiveness through the use of rigorous evidence about what works. In the field of medicine, public policies based on scientifically-rigorous evidence have produced extraordinary advances in health over the past 50 years. By contrast, in most areas of social policy – such as education, poverty reduction, and crime prevention – government programs often are implemented with little regard to evidence, costing billions of dollars yet failing to address critical social problems. However, rigorous studies have identified a few highly-effective program models and strategies ( “interventions” ), suggesting that a concerted government effort to build the number of these proven interventions, and spur their widespread use, could bring rapid progress to social policy similar to that which transformed medicine.

The Coalition advocates many types of research to identify the most promising social interventions.  However, a central theme of our advocacy, consistent with a recent National Academies recommendation, is that evidence of effectiveness generally cannot be considered definitive without ultimate confirmation in well-conducted randomized controlled trials.

POLICY IMPACT: The Coalition’s work with key Executive Branch and Congressional officials has helped inform and/or shape major new policy initiatives enacted into law, such as –

  • Evidence-Based Home Visitation Program for at-risk families with young children (Department of Health and Human Services – HHS, $1.5 billion over 2010-2014);
  • Evidence-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention program (HHS, $105 million in FY12);
  • Investing in Innovation Fund, to fund development and scale-up of evidence-based K-12 educational strategies (Department of Education, $150 million in FY12);
  • Social Innovation Fund, to support public/private investment in evidence-based programs in low-income communities (Corporation for National and Community Service, $50 million in FY12);
  • Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grants Program, to fund development and scale-up of evidence-based education and career training programs for dislocated workers (Department of Labor – DOL, $2 billion over 2011-2014); and
  • Workforce Innovation Fund, to fund development and scale-up of evidence-based strategies to improve education/employment outcomes for U.S. workers (DOL, $50 million in FY12).

Some of the key initiatives are summarized here on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website by then-Director Peter Orszag (his second paragraph links to our website).

ASSESSMENTS OF OUR WORK:

  • An independent assessment of the Coalition over 2004-2009, conducted under our grant agreement with the William T. Grant Foundation, found that: “The Coalition has successfully influenced legislative language, increased funding for evidence-based evaluations and programs, … and raised the level of debate in the policy process regarding standards of evidence. The Coalition has established a generally positive reputation as a rigorous, responsive, honest, and impartial advocate for evidence-based approaches, primarily at the federal level.” (The report is linked here.)
  • In a March 2011 external review based on not-for-attribution interviews with federal policy officials: “The Coalition … was given credit by multiple interviewees for OMB’s establishment of a requirement that many discretionary domestic programs be subject to rigorous evaluation … [and] for certain pieces of legislation carrying similar requirements. As one interviewee stated, ‘The Coalition played a central role in securing this Administration’s commitment to high standards of evidence.’ And another interviewee stated, ‘The push for strong evidence would not have happened as quickly and widely and with so relatively little controversy without the Coalition.’” (The report is linked here.)

 


Visit our sister sites: Social Programs That Work, Top Tier Evidence Initiative, and Evidence-Based Policy Help Desk


The Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, and has no affiliation with any programs or program models.  Our work has been primarily funded by philanthopic foundations, including the MacArthur Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.


Copyright © 2012 The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy. All Rights Reserved.
No computers were harmed in the 0.528 seconds it took to produce this page.

Designed/Developed by Lloyd Armbrust & hot, fresh, coffee.