What if we could create a national network of senior local government leaders committed to using data and evidence to improve results for their communities? That was the driving question behind the development last year of a local government fellowship programme by Results for America (RFA). The ultimate goal of the programme was to grow the use of data and evidence in policy decisions by helping local leaders demonstrate evidence-based policy ‘wins’ within their city halls.
While more information exists than ever before about what works to address some of America’s greatest social challenges, too often governments continue to do what they have always done without using rigorous evidence to make better policy decisions. Not surprisingly, the results are disappointingly the same.
Inspired by a similar transformation in the federal government’s use of evidence, the first cohort of this new network of local leaders has just completed its initial phase of work–and the impact has been substantial. The results are detailed in a new report, Local Government’s Use of Evidence in Policymaking: A Report of the First Cohort of Results for America’s Local Government Fellowship, which was released at an eventco-sponsored by RFA and the William T. Grant Foundation about the importance of building capacity for evidence-based policies.
Over the course of the past 18 months, the Local Government Fellows participated in five multi-day convenings, learned from national experts, and collaborated with one another about strategies for using data and evidence in decision-making. Fellows also assessed their own city’s progress toward being ‘evidence-based’ and designed a city-specific project plan for how to accelerate their city’s use data and evidence.