Clearly defining “evidence of effectiveness” is a key step in including evidence standards in government contract and grant applications. By determining what counts as evidence, workforce development practitioners can evaluate and score proposals against those standards and set clear expectations for applicants.
In a broad sense, evidence of effectiveness refers to all the evaluations, analyses, and other work showing how well a program or policy worked in achieving its goals. To make procurement and grant-making more evidence-based, workforce agencies will need a specific evidence framework, with corresponding equity considerations, that fits their unique contexts.
The Role of Evidence Definitions
Evidence definitions allow governments to more clearly and effectively shift dollars to what works and deliver better results for all through their grants, contracts, budgets and purchasing. RFA’s updated evidence framework encourages government decision-makers to consider the full body of evidence for a policy, program, or practice. This includes taking into account the local context and how it affects implementation and results, and focusing on why, how and for whom specific programs work. These definitions can also help governments incorporate valuable input from the community and build a culture of ongoing learning and improvement. By using evidence definitions, government decision-makers can direct public funding to solutions that are most likely to work in their communities.
Overview
An evidence framework or continuum is a tool to categorize practices, policies, and programs based on the number and types of rigorous evaluations that demonstrate policy-relevant results. These frameworks are not only useful for steering funds toward programs that are effective but can also help identify programs where more information is needed and where to invest funds in new evaluations.
Evidence frameworks generally contain the following:
A set of categories to reflect the rigor, quantity, and outcomes of an evaluation. Categories may be designated numerically or with descriptive titles such as high, medium, low or promising, theory-based, and mixed effects.
A definition for each category, usually including some quantitative indicators such as the number of evaluations, studies, or peer-reviewed reports. May also include timelines such as 1 year or 5 years of outcomes, as well as considerations for data disaggregation to understand equity within subpopulations.
A designation for new or emerging programs that may not yet have evidence but are important to the work of the agency.
Frameworks may also include supplementary documents such as instructions for category selection to be used by respondents or outcomes requirements that direct applicants as to what data to collect, track, and report and the specific methodology to use.
Evidence-Based Program
A program with either impact or implementation evidence that is relevant, credible, and has an informed rationale
Evidence-Building Program
A program that has an informed rationale and is undergoing an impact evaluation or implementation evaluation that is relevant and credible
RFA's Evidence Definitions
Building on the strong foundation of evidence definitions already in use, Results for America is sharing new definitions of “evidence-based” and “evidence-building” that help pave the way for governments to more clearly and effectively shift dollars to what works and deliver better results for all.