Build Evidence Through Evaluations: Examples

• The 2023 Supplemental Workforce Development Training Opportunity Grant RFP includes the following language: “In the event an evaluation of subaward outcomes is conducted, the subrecipient will be required to participate in the evaluation by providing requested data and information.”

• The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) awarded a $200,000 contract to the Ray Marshall Center to conduct the evaluations in partnership with Building and Construction Trades program awardees. This initiative worked to build evidence by funding evaluations that assess participant outcomes, program implementation, and participant and employer feedback on the programs. TWC's approach improves equity by providing access to evaluations that vendors otherwise may not be able to afford, leads to more opportunities for programs to show and improve their effectiveness, and creates pathways for evidence-building and advancing vendors up the evidence framework’s evidence tiers.

• The Colorado Department of Human Services’ (CDHS) 2018 ReHire Colorado RFP required all applicants to cooperate with the randomized controlled trial the department was using to evaluate the transitional jobs program:
  
  “In accordance with the Colorado Careers Act, the ReHire Colorado program will be subject to evaluation. This evaluation has taken the form of a randomized control trial. All selected vendors must agree to cooperate with this trial, at the discretion of the State, and ensure sufficient controls related to the evaluation model to protect the fidelity of the findings (see Exhibit F for an overview of the random control trial evaluation and anticipated responsibilities). Explicit guidance for the execution of the evaluation will be provided by the State.”

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

How to Incorporate What Works in Future Procurement Cycles

Once an evaluation has been completed, an agency will need to determine how to incorporate those findings into future grants and contracts. If an evaluation shows a program to be effective for a service delivery population, for example, an agency might require or encourage providers to use that approach in the future. They might gather providers, frontline staff, community groups, program participants, and other stakeholders in an agency and community to review the evaluation’s findings and determine a path forward. Urban Institute’s Data Walks guide can help to share evaluation findings with program participants, community members, agency staff, and providers.