Building on the strong foundation of evidence definitions already in use, Results for America is sharing new definitions of “evidence-based” and “evidence-building” that we believe will help pave the way for governments to more clearly and effectively shift dollars to what works and deliver better results for all.
Results for America gathered feedback from nearly 100 policymakers, researchers, community advocates and others on ways we could strengthen the definitions of evidence to better support government leaders to learn, improve and invest in what works. By evolving and updating these definitions, government decision makers can consider the full track record of impact, take into account the local context and how it affects implementation and results, and focus on why, how and for whom specific programs worked. These definitions can also help governments incorporate valuable input from the community and build a culture of ongoing learning and improvement.
With these definitions, we believe government decision makers can direct public funding to solutions that are most likely to work in their communities. We encourage you to take a look at these definitions and these examples of how governments can use these definitions to increase the impact of their grants, contracts, budgets and more.
If you would like to learn more about how you can use these definitions in your jurisdiction, please contact our team.