The Year of Evidence

Published: April 13, 2022

Federal Market AnalysisAdministration TransitionBig DataPolicy and Legislation

The Biden Administration announced a set of evidence-based policymaking initiatives last week, coinciding with the release of agency Learning Agendas and Evaluation Plans on Evaluation.gov.

It is the year of evidence for action as proclaimed in a fact sheet released by the Biden Administration last week. The announcement commits federal agencies to share leading practices in research-backed knowledge; develop new strategies to promote evidence-based policymaking; and increase collaboration among researchers outside federal walls.

“Making policies based on the best-available research and data, with scientific integrity at the heart of an evidence-based approach, is critical to keeping the American public safe, healthy, informed, and economically prosperous,” according to the White House.

While this recent step by the Administration stems from an executive order in its early days, Presidential Memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking, the vie for evidence-based policies and decisions ultimately stems from the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018. The legislation calls on agencies to achieve governance and policies to incorporate evaluation and evidence-based methodologies to agency missions and priorities.

In conjunction with the recent fact sheet, agency Learning Agendas and recent Annual Evaluation Plans are beginning to appear on Evaluation.gov. Learning Agendas (or evidence-building plans) outline the priority               questions, policies and strategies of agency missions, program goals and operations. Agency Evaluation Plans describe the assessments a department plans to conduct among important programs and funding streams.

It is in the best interest of contractors to poke about Evaluation.gov. Submissions on Evaluation.gov reveal the short- and long-term directions of each agency’s statistical and assessment goals.  Moreover, while a streamlined layout for the agendas and plan does not exist, some agencies are sharing the tools and methodologies needed to carry out the goals of these submissions. Under Commerce’s Learning Agenda, for example, priority questions are based around the department’s strategic plan. In addition to priority questions, each strategy goal within the agenda outlines a background, timing of evidence-based activities and the data, tools and analytical approaches planned for use to achieve answers to the priority questions. Likewise, the HHS plan outlines the upcoming research and evidence-building activities for each of its strategic goals in the next three fiscal years, as well as the data sources, challenges and mitigation strategies the agency will use to achieve answers to priority questions.  

Moreover, the current administration’s fact sheet outlines several evidence-based projects underway across various agencies and that exemplify its goals, including:

  • The VA’s Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) which accelerates evidence into veteran healthcare practice and policy
  • GSA’s pilot, in conjunction with OMB and OPM, of a government-wide pulse survey of federal employees to gain feedback for leaders on navigating the pandemic, return to the workplace, employee engagement and burnout, and equity and inclusion
  • OMB’s development of the Federal Evaluation Toolkit to train evaluation skills among the federal workforce and two-way communication between agency leaders and staff
  • NSF’s Analytics for Equity Pilot which aims to distribute funding to external research teams to help address federal agencies’ learning questions on equity

It is safe to say the federal government’s data and analytical needs for evidence-based policymaking is here to stay. With the mounting requirements presented in individual evidence-based documents, in conjunction with legislation and administrative policies, federal agencies will continue to lean on the services and solutions provided by private industry for success in true evidence-based activities.

Indeed, Biden-Harris fact sheet outlines practical ways in which the public can participate in the Year of Evidence for Action, such as pursuing policy research related to the Administration’s priorities; applying for contracts and grants focused on evidence building; and helping build capacity through idea and resource submissions to the federal space.