Overview
The Institute of Evidence-based Policymaking is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to unbiased, evidence-based research adhering to the highest standards to inform elected executive decision makers.
A huge delta exists between public policy decisions rooted in evidence and credible data, and public policy that is based on incomplete or biased data. But good data and best practices research also must be actionable and timely.
By providing non-partisan, evidence-based research in the right time and manner, the Institute aims to equip decision-makers and the public with the best available information on public policy issues of importance to them, their families and communities.
The Colorado Landscape
Colorado state government is widely seen as a leader in evidence-based policy (EBP) by NCSL, NASBO, Results for America, and others. Governor Polis is strongly dedicated to evidence-based decision-making. The Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) has had an EBP committee for some time and have been among the first state budget offices to deeply integrate EBP analysis into the budget decision items that agencies submit, and our analysis of them. OSPB is also a partner with the University of Denver’s Colorado Evaluation & Action Lab, and previously partnered with a group called the Colorado Evidence-Based Policy Collaborative. All this work helped lead to SB21-284, which combined OSBP and Joint Budget Committee (JBC) staff's understanding of evidence-based policy, and required JBC to consider evidence-based information when determining program funding levels. Finally, Linked Information Network of Colorado (LINC) is a tool that sometimes helps public agencies in Colorado better leverage their data for evidence-based studies and decision making (though Department of Revenue and other state agency data confidentiality guidelines mean their services often go unused).
Still, we see many major budget and policy decisions succumb to hasty decision making or ignored evidence. Sometimes the research cited isn't wholly applicable, e.g. a non-randomized control trial of a slightly different program in a different state two decades prior. And even when there is the opportunity to make a fully evidence-based decision, the long list of items on a Governor's Office analyst’s plate means the search for applicable policy research is often substandard or entirely jettisoned. Sometimes this high-pressure/low-time environment means groupthink takes hold and there's even less openness to different types of research.
There is also a gap in the nonprofit policy institute landscape in Colorado with most major research and analysis organizations established to advance liberal or conservative agendas. This leaves a ripe opportunity for an Institute without ideological bias, exclusively focused on providing the highest-quality data and research to inform decision-making.
The Missing Middle
So there is a “missing middle” — evidence-driven, highly-customized research and data at the point of decision-making.
The good news…
An encouragingly wide (but under-cultivated) terrain of public agreement exists on critical policy and political issues that could help, as Lincoln wrote, in “maintaining the unity…of our common country.”
Polling shows sky-high agreement among Americans (ranging from 85% to 93%), on a range of issues, including on clean air and water, affordable health care, and quality education. Another survey identified nearly 150 major policy positions on which majorities of Democrats and Republicans agree, encompassing subjects such as social security, immigration, poverty programs, energy and the environment, the federal budget, police reform, government reform, and nuclear weapons.
The question of course is how to find currency in these areas of agreement.
This is where credible, evidence-based research and analysis play an essential role.
According to a bipartisan, statewide poll of more than 2,600 Coloradans, 91% view political polarization and lack of compromise between political parties to be a challenge and 87% believe the strong influence of lobbyists and corporate interests over policymaker decisions is a problem. This holds across political affiliation, region of the state and all demographics
77% believe that increasing state policymaker access to nonpartisan information and analysis of issues affecting Colorado would be an effective solution.
But good data and best practices must also be actionable.
And that requires the experience and knowledge to know how, where and when to introduce that data and sound analysis into decision-making. Vital information that can elevate decision-making and drive better policy is too often missed or ignored.
It may be a good data set deep inside a think tank. Or a grain of truth that is overstated or interspersed with less credible data in an advocacy brief. Or it may be based on national or regional data rather than the more localized data necessary to inform decisions.
A critical element of the Institute is bringing an understanding of the critical “touch points” where decision-makers can be brought up to speed on the applicable data and policy research relevant to a time-sensitive decision. Each administration will have different places, methods and timing for those touch-points and the Institute’s team will bring the capacity and experience to customize information-sharing for the unique decision-making processes of each
The point is this -
To effectively drive evidence-based policy you need good data, research and analysis, based on the highest available level of evidence, delivered in a manner that reaches policymakers at the right time, in the right format, and to the right persons. What they need, when they need it and in sync with fiscal, political and administrative (practical) feasibility
The Institute of Evidence-based Policymaking is well-poised to add considerable value to the existing public policy ecosystem. And Colorado is well-situated to be home base for this institute with a record of bipartisanship and evidence- and data-based decision making.
