Projects
Evidence Capacity Support for the Administration for Children and Families
2020-2025
Project Overview
Objective
To support OPRE and program offices at ACF with extending and deepening evidence capacity. Evidence capacity is the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and resources that support building and using evidence for decision-making.
Project Motivation
The project builds on OPRE’s existing efforts to strengthen evidence capacity at ACF. It prioritizes the learning needs of agency staff and interested parties for information about the context, reach, implementation, performance, and impact of their programs.
Partners in Progress
- Child Trends, Incorporated
Prepared For
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation
The Mathematica-Child Trends team is bolstering ACF’s capacity to conduct needs assessments to inform learning agendas and to use data to answer high-priority questions.
The project builds on OPRE’s existing efforts to augment evidence capacity at ACF and incorporates the principles of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act). It prioritizes the learning needs of agency staff and stakeholders for information about the context, reach, implementation, performance, and impact of their programs. The project aims to strengthen the capacity for using evidence in five areas:
- Evidence culture: The organization routinely uses evidence to support the organization’s mission, objectives, and program and policy choices.
- Evidence infrastructure: Evidence-related tools, resources, routines, and processes form an infrastructure that enables the organization to build and use evidence timely and efficiently.
- Engagement: Systems and processes promote collaboration among internal and external audiences. This includes communicating and connecting with a variety of audiences.
- Human capital: Staff have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to build evidence and communicate about it, and opportunities exist for staff to develop this expertise.
- Leadership: Leaders foster an evidence culture, identify opportunities to build evidence, allocate staff time and other resources to support evidence activities within existing budget constraints, and make decisions transparently informed by evidence.
Evidence & Insights From This Project
Publication
Evidence Capacity in Organizations: A Literature-Informed Framework
This brief presents a framework based on a literature review and interviews within ACF. The goal is to develop a shared understanding of the dimensions of evidence capacity. Organizations can use this to assess their capacity, highlight strengths, and identify opportunities to build capacity.
Learn MoreRelated Staff
More like this from Mathematica
Efficiency Meets Impact.
That's Progress Together.
Mathematica delivers evidence-based solutions to optimize programs and policies for efficiency, cost savings, and measurable impact. Learn more about becoming a client or partner.
Work With Us