Minnesota has been identified by several good-government organizations as one of the leaders in the nation on evidence-based policymaking. The Pew Charitable Trusts, for example, has noted that “Using evidence-based policymaking has enabled Minnesota…to provide better outcomes for residents, [and] improve the way research and evidence inform the budget and policymaking processes….”
One important piece of that story is how the state launched an Impact Evaluation Unit within Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB). The Impact Evaluation Unit helps lead the development of program inventories used for evidence-based budgeting and also conducts rigorous program evaluations to help the state learn what works.
To learn more, we are joined by Dr. Weston Merrick (@WestonMerrick). He is a senior manager at MMB and leads the Impact Evaluation Unit.