Evidence Act toolkits
The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (“Evidence Act”) requires federal agencies to undertake a number of activities to build and use evidence. These include establishing an Evaluation Officer (EO) position, developing a multi-year learning agenda and an Annual Evaluation Plan, and completing a capacity assessment. Implementation of the Evidence Act offers an opportunity to improve how agencies plan to build and use evidence, and can better align performance, budget, strategic planning, policymaking, data, and evidence-building activities across the federal government.
OES has developed resources to support EOs and their staff as they engage stakeholders, help define priority questions, and plan evaluations and evidence-building activities. These toolkits on learning agendas, Annual Evaluation Plans, and the capacity assessment, published in early 2020, are intended as resources to help agencies learn from leading practices and case studies to build a culture and infrastructure for continuous learning and improvement. We hope these publicly available materials will be helpful as EOs, their staff, and others across government complete this important work.
Additional Toolkit Resources
Evaluation Working Group Case Study
GSA formed an Evaluation Working Group (EWG) in 2020 to provide feedback on the agency's FY22 Annual Evaluation Plan and other Evidence Act deliverables. Meeting three times between April and June, the group helped develop criteria for significant evaluations and drafts of the Annual Evaluation Plan and GSA Evaluation Policy. The case study summary describes the EWG's purpose and how they went about their work, as well as provides materials and agendas for forming similar groups at other agencies.
Evaluation Working Group Case Study (PDF)
Appendix: Planning Materials for an Evaluation Working Group (PDF)