ACF supports building local and state capacity for program evaluation and data integration. First, it allows grant funds to be used for developing data systems and infrastructure to measure outcomes in funding initiatives like interoperability projects and specific grants. For example, Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Lead Agency Data and Research Capacity Grants will support partnerships between CCDF Lead Agencies and researchers to develop and improve state, territory and tribal data systems. Another example is the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Data Collaborative Equity Analysis Awards, which are intended to support state, territory or county TANF agencies conducting equity-focused data analyses. Second, many ACF programs authorize grant funds for evaluation and capacity-building, including Fatherhood FIRE grants and Tribal Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting grants. CCDF research set-aside funds also require research, evaluation and demonstrations at various administrative levels. Finally, ACF offers technical assistance to grantees to improve data capacity, integrate data systems to measure outcomes, and improve evaluation capacity. For example, its Child Care Technical Assistance Network conducted a data integration webinar series. The agency works to strengthen the data capacity of grantees through technical assistance with management information systems (e.g., nFORM) and by supporting grantees’ ability to monitor data quality and performance (e.g., PREP). ACF also provides technical assistance on evaluation capacity through the Tribal Home Visiting Evaluation Institute.

ACL provides guidance on data quality to improve data capacity. ACL works with states and Tribes to enhance data quality every reporting year and provides weekly “data hours” to Tribes to improve reporting and data quality throughout the year. ACL includes program evaluation in current Notices of Funding Opportunity, such as the FY 2023 Tribal Elder Justice Innovation Grants. States receiving formula-funded state grants for Aging Services are expected to use these funds for performance management and reporting.

ACL provides a range of training and technical assistance to support the populations it serves, such as its Community Care Hubs (CCH). ACL has shifted its focus from improving business practices in individual community-based organizations (CBOs) to building networks led by a CCH that address the holistic health and social needs of people in a region. This shift includes connecting CCHs with healthcare organizations, supported by ACL’s Community Care Hub IT Playbook — a self-guided tool outlining the IT infrastructure needed for collaboration between CCHs, CBO networks and healthcare partners. ACL also funds national resource centers that provide evaluation support. For example, the Nutrition and Aging Resource Center provides tools, presentations and reports for program grantees and the public.

SAMHSA has policy documents and Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) stating that grant funds can be used to improve data system integration and infrastructure. For example, this FY 2023 NOFO (p. 25). The agency allows grantees to allocate funds to enhance data capacity or integrate data systems, in line with award terms and the Negotiated Indirect Costs Rate Agreement.

Program evaluation is explicitly permissible in FY 2023 NOFOs such as the Cooperative Agreement for the Refugee and Migrant Behavioral Health Technical Assistance Center and is a requirement of other NOFOs, such as this. SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) provides Community Mental Health Services Block grant recipients with technical assistance (TA) to support evaluation, data collection and reporting, and the use of evidence-based programs. The agency’s Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center (EBPRC) offers free TA resources that provide guidance on improving data capacity and integrating data systems. Based on internal agency deliberations, informal community feedback and responses to a Request for Information released on September 7, 2023, the EBPRC is adding new features, such as a program review module and implementation and capacity-building resources. SAMHSA also provides TA on evaluation capacity through entities such as the Service Members, Veterans and their Families Technical Assistance (SMVF TA) Center and the Disaster Technical Assistance Center (DTAC).

All the agency’s grant programs have access to TA, including assistance related to data capacity and integrating data systems, and evaluation and performance management for each specific grant program. Depending on the program, TA is provided through a dedicated TA center (an example is here) and/or the grants project officers for that program.

Through Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) and technical assistance, ED seeks to build state and local capacity to evaluate programs. The agency has at least one NOFO explicitly stating that improving the integration of data systems and overall data infrastructure to measure outcomes is a permissible use of grant funds. ED’s State Longitudinal Data Systems grant program is the most notable example of encouraging data integration, including a priority for “infrastructure and interoperability” and “creat[ing] a [data] linkage that did not already exist.”

The agency awards grants to technical assistance centers to improve state data capacity elsewhere. One example is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Data Center, which supports state efforts to collect, report, analyze and use high-quality IDEA data. Current ED NOFOs also name project evaluation and improving data and evaluation as allowable; one example is the award for technical assistance on state data collection. The department also provides technical assistance through its State Support Team. ED also provides evaluation capacity building to grantees in several discretionary grant programs, including the Education Innovation and Research Program and the Postsecondary Student Success Grants Program. The agency’s Regional Educational Laboratories have developed a “self-service” curriculum, or toolkit, for states, districts and other education entities to strengthen their program evaluation capacity.

HUD provides guidance and resources to support state and local grantees to evaluate programs and build necessary data systems and capacity. The agency has many Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) and research grants with goals that include improving data and research capacity. One example is the FY 2022 HUDRD Grants for University-Nonprofit Partnerships Supporting Community-Engaged Research Designed to Address Homelessness evaluation and related capacity-building is an explicitly named activity in multiple recent NOFOs. The agency also provides technical assistance (TA) for evaluation and data capacity/integration. Examples include the Community Compass Technical Assistance Capacity Building Program, which provides evaluation TA, and the Homeless Management Informations System, which offers data capacity-building TA through trainings.

DOL provides guidance and resources to support state and local grantees to evaluate programs and build the necessary data systems and capacity. For example, the agency directly supports improving data capacity and integrating data systems through the Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI), which provides grants to states. Technical assistance to improve data capacity and integrate data systems is explicit within the WDQI; guidance names the intent to support evaluation and research.

Additionally, program evaluation is specifically named as a funded activity in Notices of Funding Opportunity, such as the Equitable Transition Models Demonstration Grants. Another example is the Strengthening Community Colleges grants, which require third-party evaluations. As part of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, DOL provides technical assistance to WDQI grantees to strengthen performance reporting and related evaluation activities. The agency’s Chief Evaluation Office is also currently funding the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) Evidence Building Portfolio Project. Through this project, contractors provide evaluation technical assistance to states. The DOL’s Employment and Training Administration also supports evaluation technical assistance to state workforce agencies through the Evaluation Peer Learning Cohort program, which offers state teams an opportunity to engage in peer-to-peer learning and coaching with experts.

DOT provides guidance and resources to support state and local grantees in evaluating programs and building the necessary data systems and capacity. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2022), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provided $1.2 trillion in federal transportation and infrastructure spending to improve public safety and climate resilience, create jobs across the country, and advance more equitable opportunities and outcomes for people in the United States. Understanding the opportunities for data collection, formal evaluation, and evidence use as part of these programs, DOT has doubled down on the importance of these activities. Read more on p. 24 of The Power of Evidence to Drive America’s Progress.

For example, the 2023 Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) NOFO (see p. 68) makes clear that recipients can use grant funds for project evaluation. Likewise, the FY 2023 SMART Stage 1 (see p. 13) enables funds for evaluation. DOT provides technical assistance on a variety of technical areas, including for improving data capacity and integrating data systems to support state and local grantees to evaluate programs and build the necessary data systems and capacity. DOT offers technical assistance to stakeholders through several programs, including the National Highway Institute, the Federal Highway Administration Resource Center, the Local Technical Assistance Program, the Tribal Technical Assistance Program, the Reconnecting Communities Institute, the Transit Cooperative Research Program and through a partnership with the Institute of Transportation Engineers. One example of data-related technical assistance is the Smart Community Resource Center. An example of evaluation-related technical assistance is the Safe Streets and Roads for All Technical Assistance Center which supports more than 1,600 grant recipients by providing resources, including evaluation, and training as they embark on their grant activities.

MCC’s Policy for Monitoring and Evaluation and Evaluation Management Guidance requires that funds be allocated for every program to procure an independent evaluator to measure project outcomes and assess whether the program achieved its stated objective. During program implementation, partner country implementing entities receive technical assistance and other resources to create and run data collection systems to monitor implementation and progress. Additionally, funds are provided to country partners (the grantees), referred to as Accountable Entities (the locally owned units that implement and measure the programs). The data collection system that MCC funds to set up and oversee is called the ITT (Indicator Tracking Table). The ITT is wholly set up, owned and operated by the Accountable Entity in each country. Funding this locally owned and operated data collection system is part of every MCC investment.

In order to strengthen state and local capacity through integrated data systems, USAID allows for data capacity and systems integration through multiple mechanisms including some government-to-government agreements. USAID’s government-to-government agreements include dedicated partner monitoring and evaluation capacity development efforts, such as training, mentoring and technical assistance, when improved partner capacity is needed to achieve development results. Additional information can be found here. USAID requires some form of performance evaluation in all of its projects (see Core Tools for Program Effectiveness). Additionally, USAID funded improving institutional capacities and increasing the sustainability of civil society organizations in Mexico. The program included capacity-building assistance with monitoring, evaluation and learning.

To further support and strengthen local capacity for integrated data systems, USAID is working to support and improve local evaluation in multiple ways, including via a range of technical support and assistance for evaluation. Some examples of USAID’s technical assistance are documented here. USAID also provides training to grantees to use evidence in designing and making implementation decisions. An example can be found here. In addition, USAID recently awarded a four-year Local Evaluation and Evidence Support (LEES) contract that identifies networks of host country research and evaluation entities that USAID, other international organizations, and local governments can engage for evaluation and learning activities, strengthening their technical and organizational capacity; helping them market their services to potential clients; and supporting them as they begin to conduct evaluations and learning activities.