The emphasis on evidence-based decisionmaking has increased over the past 10 years at all levels of government. At the federal level, the number of proven practices that have been adopted—such as developing learning agendas and integrating performance management with program evaluation—varies between agencies. Administrators and policymakers have a strong interest in expanding their capacity to better use evidence to inform decisions and improve program results.
The Urban Institute’s Federal Evaluation Forum consists of (1) facilitated federal evaluation workshops for federal staff and administrators and (2) public seminars and conferences on issues related to evidence-based policymaking. The forum is coordinated with the Evidence-Based Policymaking Collaborative, the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Forum for Youth Investment, and other organizations. The federal evaluation workshops are held four times a year and are designed to advance professional development and skills. The Federal Evaluation Forum is funded by grants from the Annie E. Casey, Laura and John Arnold, and W.T. Grant Foundations.
Evidence Policy and Practice Update Newsletter
Publications
Dos and Don’ts: Tips for Strengthening Your Performance Management Systems
January 12, 2022
What Is Evidence?: Basics of Evidence Brief #1
October 26, 2021
Federal Evaluation Forum Past Events
Evidence Capacity Assessments: Opportunities to Strengthen Agency Evidence Strategies
May 15, 2020
Delivering on the Evidence Act: How Agencies Can Engage Stakeholders in the Learning Agenda Process
January 23, 2020
Using Evidence for Improvement in the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act
April 2, 2019
A New Era for Federal Evaluation: Implementing the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act
March 15, 2019
Building Evidence and Learning Agendas in Federal Agencies
October 18, 2018
Establishing Effective Evaluation Policies and Practices for Government
August 20, 2018
How Can Federal Policymakers Encourage the Use of Evidence at the Local Level?
July 24, 2018
Using Evidence in Policy and Program Decisions
April 24, 2018
Federal Evaluation Workshop Materials and Presentations
The following PowerPoint presentations were presented at the Urban Institute’s Federal Evaluation Forum workshops.
Evidence Capacity Assessments: Opportunities to Strengthen Agency Evidence Strategies
Demetra Nightingale
Learning Agendas & Evidence to Inform Programs and Policies (August 2019)
Demetra Nightingale
Learning Agendas & Evidence to Inform Programs and Policies (June 2019)
Demetra Nightingale
Mixed Method Evaluations: Opportunities and Challenges
Demetra Nightingale
Using Evidence for Program and Policy Decisions
Demetra Nightingale
Building Evidence Culture and Capacity
Demetra Nightingale
Clearinghouses, Registries, Directories
Demetra Nightingale
Evidence Reviews
Jacob Klerman
Logic Modeling
Mary Hyde
Integrated Planning for Performance, Evaluation, and Research
Barry Steffen
Evidence and Evaluation at the US Department of Health and Human Services
Amanda Cash
Benefit-Cost Analysis to Inform Policymaking
Bethanne Barnes
Building Evidence into Agency Management Processes
Susan Jenkins
Using a Learning Agenda Approach to Develop an Evidence Portfolio
Molly Irwin
Evaluation in Planning and Performance Activities
Dennis Johnson