Coordinating	to	Use	Data	in	New	Ways:	The	

Opportunity	of	the	Evidence	Act

Erica	Zielewski,	Senior	Evidence	Analyst

OMB	Evidence	Team	

September	21,	2020
What	is	the	Evidence	Act?	

• Introduced	by	Speaker	Paul	Ryan	and	Senator	Patty	Murray	after	the	release	of	

the	Commission	on	Evidence-Based	Policymaking’s	report	in	September	2017	

• Addresses	11	of	the	Commission’s	22	recommendations	

• Signed	by	the	President	and	enacted	into	law	on	January	14,	2019	as	P.L.	

115-435	

• Includes	three	Titles:	

• Title	1—Federal	Evidence-Building	Activities		

• Title	2—Open	Government	Data	Act	

• Title	3—Confidential	Information	Protection	and	Statistical	Efficiency	

(CIPSEA)	Act

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What	is	the	Evidence	Act?	

Background:	3	Big	Ideas	

1. Evidence-Based	Policymaking	Requires	Systematic	Planning	

2. Effective	Federal	Data	Asset	Use	Requires	High-Quality	Data	

Governance	

3. Privacy-Protected	Data	Sharing	Requires	Coordinated	Support

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Why	Does	the	Evidence	Act	Matter?	

• Builds	on	longstanding	principles	underlying	Federal	policies	and	data	

infrastructure	

• Creates	a	new	paradigm	for	agencies	to	rethink	how	they	build	and	use	data	and	

evidence	

• Focuses	on	leadership	with	creation	of	three	new	senior	officials	responsible	for	

meeting	Act’s	requirements		

• Emphasizes	collaboration	and	coordination	across	functions	within	agencies	

• Calls	on	agencies	to	strategically	and	methodically	build	evidence	vs.	ad	hoc	efforts	

• Elevates	program	evaluation	as	a	key	agency	function

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Focus	on	Coordination	and	Collaboration

• Requires	designation	of	three	new	senior-level	positions	to	coordinate	these	activities	

(EO,	SO,	and	CDO)	

• Evidence	Act	and	OMB	implementation	guidance	stress	collaboration	and	

coordination	among	the	designated	officials:	

• Data	Governance	Bodies	are	an	important	tool	to	support	strong	coordination;

• All	three	officials	on	Advisory	Committee	on	Data	for	Evidence	Building;	and

• Specific	support	and	coordination	on	key	deliverables

• Effective	implementation	requires	engagement	across	the	agency,	including	senior	

leadership,	policy	officials,	program	administrators,	strategic	planning,	budget	staff,	

etc.		

• Coordination	across	agencies	through	Councils	for	each	designated	official	and	crossCouncil	collaboration

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Leveraging	the	Moment	

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• Unequivocal	call	to	action	to	better	use	existing	data	to	build	evidence	and	use	

it	to	make	decisions

• Opportunity	to	more	effectively	coordinate	evaluation,	statistics,	and	policy

• Requires	agencies	to	rethink	how	we	do	this	work:

• Leverage	designated	officials	to	better	coordinate	

• Work	across	siloes

• Be	strategic

• Requires	commitment	and	focused	effort!
Tools	to	Rethink	How	We	Use	Data

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• What	are	the	tools	agencies	can	use	to	leverage	this	momentum?	

• Evidence	Act	offers	many:	

• Deliverables	like	multi-year	learning	agenda	and	capacity	assessment

• Comprehensive	data	inventories

• Federal	data	catalog

• Expanding	access	to	data	for	evidence	–

• Presumption	of	accessibility

• Expanding	secure	access	to	CIPSEA	data	assets

• Single	application	to	data	assets	
Roadmap	for	the	Session	

• HUD’s	Experience	Supporting	and	Enhancing	its	Data	Infrastructure	and	Use		

• Calvin	Johnson	–	Deputy	Assistant	Secretary	for	Research,	Evaluation,	and	Monitoring	

(PD&R/HUD)

• Linking	State	Medicaid	Data	and	Child	Welfare	Data	for	Outcomes	Research	

• Valeria	Butler	–	Senior	Social	Science	Research	Analyst	(OPRE/ACF/DHHS)	

• Emily	Madden	–	Program	Analyst	(ASPE/DHHS)

• The	Department	of	Labor’s	Data	Exchange	and	Analysis	Platform	

• Christina	Yancey	–	Chief	Evaluation	Officer	(CEO/DOL)

• Scott	Gibbons	–	Chief	Data	Officer	(CEO/DOL)

• David	Judkins	–	Principal	Associate	(Abt	Associates)

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