Results for America Releases Blueprint for Delivering Better Results in State Government

Washington, DC – As part of an event co-hosted by the National Governors Association later today, Results for America is releasing the Blueprint for Delivering Better Results in State Government, a practical guide for state governments to improve results by doing what works.

The Blueprint was developed collaboratively by staff in governors’ offices from a dozen states across the country as part of the What Works Bootcamp training series, also co-hosted by the National Governors Association, and reflects the collective experience of many of the country’s most effective state government leaders. The Blueprint can help any state increase its capacity to use evidence and data in order to deliver better and more equitable outcomes for residents.

“This Blueprint for Delivering Results in State Government provides state leaders with an important resource to further incorporate evidence and facts into their work, including their responses to COVID-19,” said Timothy Blute, director of the NGA Center for Best Practices at the National Governors Association. “This Blueprint is directly aligned with NGA’s mission to engage governors and their staff in order to be at the forefront of innovative state policy.”

“We know evidence and data are essential tools to help state governments respond to the challenges of COVID-19 and accelerate our economic recovery so that we create thriving communities of opportunity for all,” said Michele Jolin, CEO and Co-Founder of Results for America. “This Blueprint will equip more state governments with the detailed information they need to invest in results.”

The Blueprint is designed for state government leaders in governors’ offices, state budget offices, and within state agencies who are charged with making their state’s most important decisions. It provides these leaders with a detailed plan they can follow in order to improve their ability to use data, evidence, and evaluation to improve their state’s performance.

“Maryland is committed to utilizing the best available data as a powerful tool to make decisions that build better communities, better businesses, and better lives for our residents,” said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Chair of NGA. “This Blueprint highlights the progress our state has made, provides us with an actionable guide to ensure we are delivering the best results for Maryland residents, and stands as another beacon of progress by our hard working governors across the nation.”

“Kentucky is committed to taking a data-driven approach when responding to COVID-19; initiatives like KYSTATS help our state make decisions and measure impact,” said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. “This Blueprint will help us further increase our investments in what works and respond to future crises.”

“When I came into office in 2013, we created Results Washington to strengthen performance management and continuous improvement throughout Washington state government,” said Washington Governor Jay Inslee. “Results Washington has improved our work by championing innovative strategies, fact-based decision-making and collaboration, and connecting with entities like Results for America allows us to leverage a broad knowledge base to support our state efforts.”

The Blueprint serves as an implementation guide for Results for America’s annual Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence, which sets a national standard for how state governments can use evidence and data to achieve better outcomes for their residents. The 2020 Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence, to be released next month, will identify the states that are leading the way in implementing the strategies outlined in the Blueprint. Taken together, the Blueprint and State Standard of Excellence provide state governments with specific implementation strategies and actions for consistently and effectively using evidence and data in budget, policy, and management decisions.

“State leaders told us they wanted their states to accelerate progress towards the goals laid out in the State Standard of Excellence,” said Jed Herrmann, Vice President of State and Federal Policy Implementation at Results for America. “So, along with the National Governors Association, we tapped their collective wisdom to build a detailed set of actions that all state governments can take to continually improve their use of evidence-based policy.”

The development of the Blueprint was led by David Padrino, former Chief Performance Officer for the State of Colorado. The members of the Results for America State Standard of Excellence Advisory Committee also provided invaluable feedback throughout the drafting process. Michael Bonino-Britsch coordinated efforts on behalf of the National Governors Association.

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