U.S. Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking

The U.S. Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking was a 15-member agency in the federal government charged by the US Congress and the President with examining how government could better use its existing data to provide evidence for future government decisions.

The Commission was created in March 2016 by the Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Act (P.L. 114-140), legislation jointly filed by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA).[1][2][3][4][5] Over the subsequent 18 months after the law's enactment, the Commission engaged in fact-finding and deliberations that involved consideration of evidence from a survey of more than 200 federal agencies, testimony from more than 50 individuals, and additional written comments from 350 individuals.[6][7][8][9][10] The commission also received feedback from President Barack Obama's administration.[11]

On September 7, 2017, the Commission issued its final report, "The Promise of Evidence-Based Policymaking" which outlined a vision for "a future in which rigorous evidence is created efficiently, as a routine part of government operations, and used to construct effective public policy."[6][12][13] The final report includes findings and 22 recommendations for the President and Congress that were unanimously agreed to by the members of the Commission.[6][14][15][16] The Commission outlined three overarching themes about improving access to data, strengthening privacy protections, and ensuring the capacity to generate and use evidence is present in government.[6] In line with each of the three themes, the commission's recommendations include strategies for modifying federal laws affecting data use, establishing a National Secure Data Service to engage in data linkage activities, instituting processes to improve data access and transparency, and designating leadership positions to support evidence generation and use in government.[17][18]

Implementing the Commission Recommendations

On September 28, 2017, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the U.S. House of Representatives heard testimony from four commissioners: Chair Katharine G. Abraham, Co-Chair Ron Haskins, Commissioner Robert Shea, and Commissioner Latanya Sweeney.[19][20][21]

Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (Evidence Act)

In October 2017, Speaker Ryan and Senator Murray jointly filed the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, intended to implement half of the Commission's recommendations.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] The House bill was marked up by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on November 2, 2017,[30] and voted out of the House under suspension on November 15, 2017.[22][31][32] While waiting for Senate action on the legislation, in 2018, the administration of President Donald Trump indicated its support for the commission's vision and indicated steps that were being taken to implement some of the Commission recommendations.[33]

In September 2018, the Bipartisan Policy Center hosted a one-year anniversary event called "Evidence: A Time to Act" that featured keynote remarks from Margaret Weichert, the deputy director for management at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.[34][35] In conjunction with the event, the co-chairs of the commission called on Congress to advance legislation implementing their recommendations.[36]

In December 2018, the Senate passed a modified version of the legislation and the House of Representatives subsequently concurred in the amendments.[37] On January 14, 2019, President Donald Trump signed the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act ("Evidence Act") into law as Public Law 115-435.[38] The new law was described as the most comprehensive data reforms in a generation[39] and an "enormous step" for evidence-based policymaking.[40] The Evidence Act takes steps to promote data accessibility and enable responsible data use, including by creating chief data officers, evaluation officers, and statistics officials at agencies across the federal government.[41]

Federal Data Strategy

On June 4, 2019, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued the Federal Data Strategy, outlining a set of principles and practices federal agencies are expected to adhere to over the next decade.[42][43] The Federal Data Strategy is considered one of the implementation vehicles for the Evidence Act and the Evidence Commission's recommendations. An earlier draft version of the strategy received extensive public comments from federal agencies and non-governmental organizations like the Data Coalition and the Bipartisan Policy Center.[44]

In June 2019, the Trump Administration also released a draft action plan, describing a set of 16 actions agencies are expected to undertake in 2019-2020.[45] The plan was referred to by one expert as "a promising start to recognizing government data as a strategic asset."[46] A public forum was held on July 8, 2019, co-hosted by the White House's Office of Management and Budget and the Data Coalition, to solicit additional feedback on the draft action plan from more than 50 commenters.[47] [48] A final action plan is expected in fall 2019.

Two-Year Progress Report

On September 7, 2019, the Data Coalition issued a two-year update summarizing the achievements made in law and policy for addressing the Commission's recommendations, indicating "substantial progress" had been made on the recommendations.[49]

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan is anticipated to describe next steps in addressing the Commission's recommendations during keynote remarks at the Data Coalition's GovDATAx Summit on October 30, 2019.[50]

References
  1. "Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Act".
  2. Takala, Rudy (2017-09-17). "Policymaking commission offers a glimmer of hope in hyper-partisan Washington". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  3. "There's New Hope for Proponents of Evidence-Based Policy". Government Executive. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  4. https://www.facebook.com/ejdionne. "In politics, does evidence matter?". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  5. "Editorial: Patty Murray's and Paul Ryan's teamwork is a model for Congress". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  6. The Promise of Evidence-Based Policymaking (PDF). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  7. "Will Trump care about student data privacy?". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  8. "Everything you need to know about the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking". Urban Institute. 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  9. Decker, Paul. "Letter to Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. "Jerry Reiter and Lars Vilhuber speak at Ryan Murray Commission for Evidence Based Policymaking – Triangle Census Research Network". sites.duke.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  11. "Commission on Evidence Based Policymaking". The White House. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  12. Mervis, Jeffrey (2017-09-08). "Panel urges steps to boost evidence-based policy". Science. 357 (6355): 959. doi:10.1126/science.357.6355.959. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 28883056.
  13. "Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking Releases Final Report - Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy". Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy. 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  14. Dudley, Susan E. "Bipartisan Commission Offers Evidence-Based Reform Ideas". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  15. Tan, Anjelica (2017-10-17). "Paul Ryan and Patty Murray get credit for bipartisan policymaking". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  16. "Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking Releases Final Report". COSSA. 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  17. "Evidence-based policy report calls for secure data service - Fedscoop". Fedscoop. 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  18. "A Moment for More and Better Evidence for Government". Bipartisan Policy Center. 2017-10-20. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  19. "Recommendations of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking, Full House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform". September 26, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  20. Rotenberg, Marc. "Let's Use Government Data to Make Better Policy". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  21. Lester, Patrick (2017-09-27). "Evidence Commission Recommendations Generate Pushback in House Hearing". Social Innovation Research Center. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  22. "Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2017 (H.R. 4174)".
  23. "Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2017 (S. 2046)".
  24. "Ryan, Murray team up on evidence-based policy bill -- FCW". FCW. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  25. "Congress Wants to Boost Agency Use of Evidence in Program Evaluation". Government Executive. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  26. "A Real Opportunity for Evidence-Based Policymaking". www.governing.com. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  27. "FACT SHEET: Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act". Bipartisan Policy Center. 2017-11-30. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  28. "Early Progress on Fulfilling the "Promise of Evidence-Based Policymaking"". Bipartisan Policy Center. 2017-11-01. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  29. "Legislation to Implement Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking's Recommendations Passes House – FABBS". fabbs.org. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  30. "FULL COMMITTEE BUSINESS MEETING".
  31. Ayala, Christine (2017-11-28). "Boosting integrity of federal policymaking is an easy win for Congress". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  32. "Update: House Passes Evidence-Based Policymaking Bill". National Skills Coalition. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  33. FY 2019 President's Budget, Analytical Perspectives Volume (PDF). Washington DC: The White House, Office of Management and Budget. 2018.
  34. "Evidence-based Policymaking Commission Marks Report's One-Year Anniversary". Data Coalition. 2018-09-14. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  35. "Evidence: Time to Act". Bipartisan Policy Center. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  36. Tan, Anjelica (2018-09-04). "Time for action to improve government data analysis". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  37. Ryan, Paul (2019-01-02). "Actions - H.R.4174 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2017". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  38. "Congress Provides New Foundation for Evidence-Based Policymaking". Bipartisan Policy Center. 2018-12-22. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  39. Hart, Nick; Hart, Nick (2019-01-14). "Government's data policies enter the 21st century — finally". Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  40. "Evidence Legislation Passed by Congress "Enormous Step" for Effective Policymaking". Bipartisan Policy Center. 2018-12-22. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  41. "Data Coalition: Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018" (PDF). Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  42. Vought, Russ (June 4, 2019). "M-19-08: Federal Data Strategy - A Framework for Consistency" (PDF). White House Office of Management and Budget. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  43. "OMB releases finalized data strategy draft action plan". www.fedscoop.com. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  44. "Welcome - Federal Data Strategy". strategy.data.gov. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  45. "16 Things OMB Wants Agencies to Accomplish in the Data Strategy's First Year". Nextgov.com. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  46. "The Federal Data Strategy is a Trump Plan We Should All Support". Nextgov.com. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  47. "Public Forum: Action Items for Implementing the Federal Data Strategy". Data Coalition. 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  48. "Industry Comments Focus on Data Quality, Standards, and Common Digital Identifiers for Federal Data Strategy". Data Coalition. 2019-08-22. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  49. "Two Years of Progress on Evidence-Based Policymaking in the United States". Data Coalition. 2019-09-06. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  50. "GovDATAx 2019". GovDATAx 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-07.

Further reading
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