Release of 2017 Federal Invest in What Works Index and Final Report of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking
Each year, the federal government collects huge amounts of data: how many parents have access to childcare, how many college students graduate with debt, and how many unemployed workers find jobs. These types of administrative data are crucial to determining how well public programs are working and for testing innovative ways to improve outcomes. But they also include information that is personal and that should remain confidential.
How should federal leaders balance protecting privacy with encouraging innovation to improve outcomes in the age of big data?
On October 18th, Results for America convened senior leaders from federal agencies featured in RFA’s sixth annual Invest in What Works Index to discuss their cutting-edge efforts to collect, share, and protect data.
Attendees heard from leaders of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking championed by U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA). They discussed their recently-released report which includes bipartisan policy recommendations for sharing and protecting government data in the 21st century.
Featured panelists included:
- Katharine Abraham, Chair, Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking
- Ron Haskins, Co-Chair, Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking
- Jenn Bell-Ellwanger, Director, Policy and Program Studies Service, U.S. Department of Education
- Naomi Goldstein, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children & Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
- Molly Irwin, Chief Evaluation Officer, U.S. Department of Labor
- Matthew Klein, Executive Director, New York City Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity
- John Bridgeland, former Director, White House Domestic Policy Council (President G.W. Bush) (moderator)
- Bruce Reed, former Director, White House Domestic Policy Council (President Clinton) (moderator)
- David Medina, Co-Founder and COO, Results for America