Leading Examples

Use this template to help embed equity into your agency's evidence framework.

Use this template and sample language to help develop your agency's evidence framework.

Use these templates to embed evaluation requirements in your agency's grants or contracts.

Use these templates and sample language to add active contract management strategies to your agency's grant or contract.

Use these templates and sample language to help develop your agency's performance-based grants and contracts.

These RFA templates and examples can help your agency prioritize evidence in grants and contracts.

The Texas Workforce Commission's 2022 Adult Education and Literacy Employer Engagement program prioritized evidence by providing up to 10 points out of 110 to applicants based on the causal evidence supporting their application. 

In 2022, the Workforce Development Board of Central Ohio (WDBCO) released performance-based RFPs for in-school and out-of-school youth with performance payments for priority outcomes. The contract specifies performance metrics beyond WIOA Common Measures. These additional metrics account for 35% of the total reimbursable costs of the contract in the first and second years. Each performance metric has been assigned a "performance success target,” which is the minimum level of performance the provider must meet in order to be reimbursed up to 100%
of their contract.

The Colorado Workforce Development Council (CWDC) applied their evidence continuum to this RFP for the Reskilling, Upskilling, and Next-skilling (RUN) Workers Grant to facilitate training and industry-recognized credential attainment for up to 1,200 unemployed and underemployed workers in the state. Part of the evaluation and scoring included the level of evidence that exists supporting the program model of the applicant, as based on CWDC's evidence continuum.

The state of Tennessee’s Office of Evidence and Impact evidence framework considers programs evidence-based if they are supported by at least one rigorous evaluation. This framework is used as part of a program inventory to identify how funding is allocated across different programs, the services provided, and any evidence tied to the program’s outcomes. For Tennessee, rigorous evaluations include randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental designs that use comparison groups.

The Results First Initiative within the state of Minnesota’s Management and Budget Office created an evidence framework to rate the state’s programs and services. In this framework, programs and services are considered evidence-based if they fall in the “Proven Effective” or “Promising” categories. Ratings from each program are publicized in the Minnesota Inventory, a state evidence clearinghouse.

The Colorado Workforce Development Council developed an evidence continuum to inform the creation and delivery of technical assistance to build capacity and increase the body of evidence for effective talent initiatives in Colorado.

Pennsylvaniaʼs Department of Labor and Industry developed an evidence continuum and leverages it when awarding grants and providing technical assistance to providers.

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) began using its Evidence Framework to prioritize evidence of effectiveness when awarding $1.5 million in training grants for the 2021 Building and Construction Trades Program, which prepares youth for employment in construction occupations. TWC provided up to 10 points out of 110 to applicants based on the causal evidence supporting each application, and up to 15% of grant payments were tied to specified outputs and outcomes, including participation completion, receipt of industry-based certification, and employment. 

TWC has continued to leverage this framework across other grant programs including the Texas Talent Connection Program, Perkins Equitable Access and Opportunity Program, and additional rounds of Building and Construction Trades grants (2023, 2023 Addendum).

Results for America has identified ten states that have prioritized outcomes by defining and prioritizing evidence of effectiveness in the budget process including: CO, IL, MN, NC, NM, OH, OR, RI, TN, and UT.

The Department’s learning agenda lays out strategies for improving the programs, policies, and regulations of the Department and to identify approaches for developing new credible information to support improved outcomes.

This resource offers instructions for jurisdictions using American Rescue Plan funds to build data and evidence capacity, invest in evidence-based solutions and rigorous evaluation with an eye toward equitable outcomes, and incorporate diverse community feedback.

In 2019, the state of New Mexico passed the Evidence and Research Based Funding Requests Act, which defined four tiers of evidence and required state agencies to categorize sub-programs according to these tiers and report on the amount allocated for each of these evidence tiers. Each year, New Mexico’s Legislative Finance Committee oversees this work, providing budget guidance for agencies, recommendations for evidence-based programs through their Legislating for Results framework, training, and technical assistance.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Reentry Employment Opportunities Program supports reentry into the community for individuals who have been involved in the criminal legal system. The department prioritizes evidence of effectiveness in this program by awarding up to 10 points out of 100 based on the quality of an applicant’s project design, including evidence of effectiveness for the proposed project.

The Texas Workforce Commission's 2021 Building and Construction Trades program prioritized evidence by providing up to 10 points out of 110 to applicants based on the causal evidence supporting their application, and up to 15% of grant payments were tied to specified outputs and outcomes, including participation completion, receipt of industry-based certification, and employment. This work has continued forward through additional rounds of the grant (2023, 2023 Addendum). Similar point systems have been incorporated into the Texas Talent Connection Program, and the Perkins Equitable Access and Opportunity Program as well.