|
Evaluation and Evidence Training Series
Open to federal executive branch employees only. Register on MAX.gov.
Understanding Null Results
Wednesday, February 16, 2022 from 3:00 to 4:30 pm ET
What happens when your evaluation shows that your program has zero impact? These "null results" can sometimes be confusing and hard to interpret. Join us to learn more about what null results can mean and what lessons you can take away from them.
|
Understanding and Improving How Policymakers Respond to Program Impact
OES administered a survey experiment among 192 federal employees across 22 U.S. government agencies in 2021 to better understand whether and when policymakers incorporate evidence-based information about program impact into funding or programmatic decisions. The experiment was designed to test the effectiveness of two decision aids aimed at increasing policymakers’ responsiveness to program impact.
The first decision aid drew on behavioral insights pointing to the benefits of joint evaluations and presented two alternative programs together (“Side-by-Side”). The second decision aid translated total program costs into an annual cost per person impacted based on different features of program impact (“Impact Calculator”).
Further research might explore the generalizability of these results, specifically the extent to which responsiveness to impact depends on the context in which the decisions. Results available here.
|
|
OMB Seeks Input on the Draft PMA Learning Agenda
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is looking for your help in building the first ever Federal Government-wide learning agenda! As an initiative under the Biden-Harris Management Agenda Vision, this Government-wide learning agenda will encourage collaboration and research to close evidence gaps for specific topics within, beyond, and in partnership with the Federal Government. The learning areas of focus include:
- How can the Federal Government strengthen and empower its workforce, so it can best serve the American people?
- How can the Federal Government deliver programs and services effectively and build trust?
- How can the Federal Government advance equity and support underserved communities?
Check out the draft PMA Learning Agenda on Performance.gov, and help refine questions by sharing your ideas through this short survey, open now through January 31, 2022. Your opinions and insights are critical to the development of this important initiative, and OMB looks forward to hearing from you.
|
|
Supporting NOAA’s Equity Assessment Teams
OES partnered with NOAA Equity Assessment Teams to develop several evaluations that could build evidence related to NOAA’s upcoming Equity Action Plans.
 Addressing three overarching themes may support ongoing efforts to improve service equity at NOAA and across the Federal Government.
-
Defining “underserved communities:” Developing a sustainable, flexible definition of “underserved communities” can create a common baseline for programs to work from as they identify and seek to address the barriers to equitable service delivery for the range of communities they serve.
-
Establishing the meaning of “community engagement:” Developing a working definition of and flexible metrics for community engagement could serve as a starting point for programs to understand their current patterns of engagement and engagement strategies.
-
Filling the engagement data gap: Developing a better understanding of engagement with underserved communities requires information about how programs engage with the public and stakeholders. Yet key data, such as demographic data on users or program applicants, is often not available. A challenge for addressing equity needs is identifying appropriate existing data sources and gathering new information when needed.
|
|
|
|
