2020 State Standard of Excellence
8. Evaluation Resources
Did the state or any of its agencies invest at least 1% of program funds in evaluations?
Making specific funding commitments to evaluation is critical and ensures that state governments have the necessary funds to evaluate whether state programs are achieving their desired outcomes. At the federal level, several agencies have made commitments to spend 1% of program funds on evaluation, which has allowed them to improve programmatic outcomes and build their knowledge base about what works.
See the Building and Using Evidence theme in the Blueprint to learn how states can make progress in meeting this criteria.
Leading Example
MN
Single agency
A 2017 law created Minnesota’s Opiate Epidemic Response grant program. The FY 2021 budget includes $300,000 for Minnesota Management and Budget to conduct experimental and quasi-experimental design impact evaluations for opiate epidemic response grant activities, which is slightly more than 1.1% of the agency’s $27 million general fund budget.