Policymakers are increasingly interested in using data and evaluations to improve the results of federal programs. In 2016, Congress created the bipartisan Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking, charged with developing recommendations to support analysis, research, and evaluation of government programs. The Commission’s 2017 report included recommendations in three areas: improving access to data, strengthening privacy protections, and improving agency evidence-building capacity in federal agencies.This brief focuses on the third priority: building evidence capacity that aligns with the commission’s recommendations. Suggestions are presented for how federal agencies can establish, strengthen, and sustain evidence-building strategies for program evaluations and other types of evidence.