June 24, 2021Event Recap

What Works Bootcamp: Using Evidence in Economic Recovery

State/ Economic/What Works Bootcamp/ 2021/

On June 24, 2021, Results for America and the National Governors Association co-hosted a virtual What Works Bootcamp for 27 senior gubernatorial staff from 12 states. At the seventh Bootcamp, state government leaders discussed their state’s efforts to increase their evidence building capacities and how they leverage data and evidence capacity for an equitable economic recovery. The conversations built on past discussions at the March 2020, October 2020 and April 2021 Bootcamps, which focused on applying an equity lens to the use of data for state budgeting, COVID-19 metrics, and COVID-19 recovery. 

In particular, the first half of the session, Julie Chávez Rodriguez, Director of The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, provided remarks focused on opportunities for state governments as it relates to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP).  

Participants also discussed The U.S. Department of Treasury’s recently released ARP State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) Reporting and Compliance Guidance. Nichole Dunn, Vice President of Federal Policy at Results for America, provided an overview of the data and evidence provisions in the guidance and how states can implement these systems to comply with Treasury requirements while improving outcomes for state residents. 

Bootcamp participants also attended breakout sessions. One session focused on increasing states’ evidence building capacity with ARP SLFRF. It was moderated by Tyler Kleykamp, Director of the State Chief Data Officers Network and the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University and Christin Lotz, Director of the Office of Evidence and Impact in Tennessee.

A second breakout session focused on using evidence to make equitable economic recovery investments and was moderated by Kathryn White, Director of Budget Process Studies at the National Association of State Budget Officers and Aaron Ray, Deputy Director for Policy in the Colorado Governor’s Office. These sessions encouraged peer-sharing of best practices and innovative solutions to common challenges that state governments are experiencing.

Speakers included:

  • Julie Chávez Rodriguez, Director, The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
  • Nichole Dunn, Vice President, Federal Policy, Results for America
  • Josh Inaba, Senior Manager, State and Federal Policy, Results for America
  • Tyler Kleykamp, Director of the State Chief Data Officers Network, Beeck Center for Social Impact and innovation, Georgetown University; former Chief Data Officer, State of Connecticut
  • Christin Lotz, Director, Office of Evidence and Impact, State of Tennessee
  • Ryan Martin, Deputy Director, NGA Center for Best Practices, National Governors Association
  • David Medina, COO and Co-Founder, Results for America
  • Aaron Ray, Deputy Director for Policy in the Colorado Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting, State of Colorado
  • Kathryn White, Director of Budget Process Studies, National Association of State Budget Officers

The June 2021 What Works Bootcamp participants included:

  • California: Joy Bonaguro, Chief Data Officer, California Government Operations Agency
  • Colorado: Aaron Ray, Deputy Director for Education, Workforce, and Environment, Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting; Leila Alhamoodah, Operations Advisor, Governor’s Office of Operations
  • Connecticut: Niall Dammando, Chief of Staff, Office of Workforce Strategy; Scott Gaul, Chief Data Officer
  • Massachusetts: Jihae Lee, Government Innovation Fellow at the HKS Government Performance Lab, Executive Office for Administration and Finance
  • Maryland: Allison Cordell, Director, Governor’s Office of Performance Improvement; Nruti Desai, Senior Analyst, Governor’s Office of Performance Improvement; Justin Jung, Analyst, Governor’s Office of Performance Improvement
  • Minnesota: Pete Bernardy, Chief Data and Evaluation Office, Minnesota Management and Budget
  • North Carolina: Jenni Owen, Director, Office of Strategic Partnerships; Kristin Walker, Deputy Director of State Budget, Office of State Budget and Management
  • Ohio: Christina Frass, Assistant Director, Office of Budget and Management; Frank Kohstall, Chief Data Advocate, Innovate Ohio
  • Rhode Island: Joseph Codega, Deputy Budget Officer, Office of Management and Budget
  • Tennessee: Carrie Cowart, Management Fellow, Office of Customer Focused Government; Adam Jarvis, Deputy Director, Customer Focused Government; Christin Lotz, Director of Evidence & Impact, Department of Administration; Dakota Simpson, Management Consultant, Office of Customer Focused Government; Roger Waynick, Management Consultant, Office of Customer Focused Government
  • Utah: Rachel Stone, Chief Data Officer, Governor’s Office of Management and Budget; Michael Allred, Budget and Policy Analyst, Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget; Duncan Evans, Managing Director of Budgets and Operations, Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget
  • Washington: Christine Bezanson, Director, Results Washington; Stephanie Lee, Director, Washington State Institute for Public Policy; Nona Snell, Assistant Director, Office of Financial Management; Jie Tang, Federal Fund Coordinator, Office of Financial Management