Evidence-Based Decision Making: SMART Act Cue Card for Legislators

The Colorado Lab is working with Governor Polis’s Office of Operations to build agency capacity to achieve the administration’s Wildly Important Goals (WIGs). The WIGs, identified through an annual strategic planning process, help state leaders focus on and track progress toward selected priority efforts. Drs. Kristin Klopfenstein and Courtney Everson are partnering with state agencies […]

The Colorado Lab is working with Philanthropy Colorado and state philanthropic leaders to determine how funders can best support their nonprofit grantee partners in collecting and learning from data. Foundation leaders have been invited to participate in monthly Community of Practice learning sessions through early 2025.  Natalie Portman-Marsh of NPM Consulting, LLC will facilitate the […]

New terms have been added to the Evidence-Based Decision Making (EBDM) Glossary. This resource provides terms that promote a shared understanding of key EBDM concepts.  EBDM is the intersection of the best available research evidence, decision-makers’ expertise, and community needs and implementation context. EBDM recognizes that research evidence is not the only contributing factor to […]

Colorado policymakers have two new resources for use during the legislative session. “Cue cards”’ were developed by the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab, providing legislators with an easy to use set of questions to promote dialogue and advance evidence-based decision making (EBDM). During the first two weeks of the legislative session, the SMART Act Hearing […]

Each January, SMART Act hearings provide a key opportunity to demonstrate the high value Colorado places on EBDM in state government. The tenets of EBDM become readily apparent when legislators ask agency leadership targeted questions about their performance management and process improvement efforts and how evidence informs their ongoing work. To support this process, the […]

We’re pleased to share the new report, Promoting Evidence-Based Decision-Making in Colorado State Government: From Vision to Implementation and an Executive Summary. The report outlines four strategic goals (image below) to guide implementation of the EBDM vision over a span of five years. The strategy for EBDM is organized around both the culture we are […]

A newly created evidence portfolio process supports the consistent application of Evidence-Based Decision-Making (EBDM) by state agencies during budget and policy decision-making. State agencies can use this tool to apply evidence to drive outcomes, leverage data to inform learning and action, and build evidence on what works and for whom, while promoting innovation. As described […]

With a clear, shared understanding of what Evidence-Based Decision-Making (EBDM) is (see previous blog post), the next step in creating an EBDM culture is for decision-makers, agency leadership, and staff to commit to routinely using the EBDM approach, consistent with each of their roles. What is Evidence-Based Decision-Making? EBDM is the intersection of the best […]

The Colorado Lab has developed a new Evidence-Based Decision-Making (EBDM) Glossary of Terms to support decision-makers, agency leadership, and staff in gaining a common understanding of EBDM in policymaking. EBDM is recognized as an important means to align roles and responsibilities across branches of government and drive smart state investments and meaningful outcomes. This tool […]

Colorado’s five-year vision for Evidence-Based Decision-Making (EBDM) in policymaking was created collaboratively by members of the executive and legislative branches, non-governmental partners, and the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab (Colorado Lab). EBDM is recognized as an important means to drive smart state investments, continuous quality improvement, innovation, and meaningful outcomes. “Realizing this vision depends on […]

Colorado is a recognized leader nationally in evidence-based policymaking. Consistent use of data and research is increasingly understood to be key to achieving policies that are equitable, efficient, and effective. The Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab received philanthropic support to facilitate the development of a commonly accepted vision for Colorado’s approach to evidence-based decision-making (EBDM). […]