Leveraging Evaluation and Evidence for Equitable Recovery (LEVER)

Training Sprints

Results for America led two ten-week virtual engagements for teams of government leaders interested in embedding evaluation into their decision-making processes. A total of nineteen government jurisdictions learned how to identify and use rigorous evidence, develop or strengthen their agencies’ evaluation policies, and build capacity to develop future evaluations. Access the Evaluation Policy Guide, which was developed using the Training Sprint’s programming.

Evaluation Incubators

The Evaluation Incubator provided in-depth support for government agencies that were interested in rigorously evaluating their programs through randomized evaluations. Led by J-PAL North America,  nine government jurisdictions received training, one-on-one assistance from staff, flexible funding, and connections to academic researchers to develop their evaluations. Learn more about the 2024 Incubator Partners.

Starting Your Evidence and Evaluation Journey Workshops

LEVER Workshops focused on identifying strengths and opportunities around evidence and evaluation capacity. A total of 65 jurisdictions participated in these workshops, which were held in May 2023. Participating state and local leaders learned basic concepts and actionable best practices for building evidence and evaluation capacity, enabling them to develop key foundations for evaluation, like data use and measurement, community engagement, and partnership building. Access the workshop materials.

Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)

Results for America staff presented to over 200 attendees at the GFOA Annual Conference in June 2024. In a “Budgeting for Equity” workshop, government leaders explored examples and strategies for building a budget framework that focuses on using evidence to deliver better and more equitable outcomes in their communities.

Office Hour Consultations

J-PAL North America and Results for America staff conducted consultations with 21 government jurisdictions to review evidence use, evaluations, and LEVER program offerings. Consultations served as a starting place for jurisdictions seeking to learn more about how to use evidence and evaluation in their own programs.

Evaluation Policy Guide - Results for America

The Evaluation Policy Guide, developed from Training Sprint programming, presents the key lessons learned from federal, state, and local government policies that encourage and shape the use of evidence to improve the impact of government spending. The guide contains:

• Resources on how to build support for an evaluation policy
• Free tools such as frameworks, practical exercises, and examples
• Best practices to engage community members and deliver better outcomes for all residents

Starting Your Evidence and Evaluation Journey Workshop Resources

Access the recordings, resources, and tools used during the two-part LEVER workshop series to learn more about the evidence and evaluation framework and how to apply it to your own organization.

• Building your team—Building internal buy-in and capacity for evidence-based decision-making and evaluation is key to creating a sustainable data culture in your jurisdiction. This tool will guide you through stakeholder management, including leveraging supporters and resolving the reservations of your opposition.
• Building a strong foundation—Wherever your government currently stands in its journey to embedding evidence-based decision-making into its processes, this assessment tool will help you to identify what skills you already have in your government and where you need to build more, in order to achieve a sustainable culture of evidence and evaluation.
• Evaluation Policy Practices Checklist—Use this checklist to identify your strategies for ensuring that your evaluation policy shows up in your day to day practices in your jurisdiction