General Resources to Support Implementation
- Evidence-Based Grantmaking Checklist: Use this RFA resource in combination with the six strategies detailed in this guide to incorporate evidence regularly and consistently into grant programs.
- RFA's Guide for Clear Outcomes, Evaluation and Evidence Language in Federal Notice of Funding Opportunities is a step-by-step resource on how to define outcomes and integrate evidence and evaluation provisions into Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs).
Clearly Define Evidence
RFA's Evidence Definitions support government leaders to learn, improve and invest in what works. RFA distinguishes between “evidence-based program” and “evidence-building program” and the various types of evidence that might go into each.
RFA’s Federal & State Evidence Definitions resource compiles examples of how evidence is defined in a number of federal and state programs.
Define Desired Outcomes
Logic Models:
- Innovation Network’s Logic Model Workbook and Examples, Templates & Checklist
- Metzenbaum, Shelley H. 2021. Federal Grants Management: Improving Outcomes. IBM Center for the Business of Government
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Logic Model Development Guide
Building Evidence Through Evaluation
- The Federal Evaluation Toolkit from the White House Office of Management and Budget provides resources to promote an understanding of evaluation among federal officials.
Evaluation and capacity building for development and use of evidence were key objectives of AmeriCorps’ Social Innovation Fund. AmeriCorps published a paper called “Lessons from the Social Innovation Fund: A Tested Evaluation Technical Assistance Approach to Strengthening Evaluation Practice and Building A Body of Evidence.” Currently AmeriCorps provides all grantees with evidence readiness resources through a contract that provides help with evaluation plans and reports, facilitated peer learning, one-on-one coaching and a self-paced curriculum.
Community-Based Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a research approach that engages community members as full partners at every stage of the research process. PAR disrupts historical power imbalances between researchers and communities, generating better research and knowledge. The Conservation Law Foundation’s PAR Field Guide includes guidance on setting up a PAR project, developing research questions and tools, and collecting and analyzing data.
Chicago Beyond’s Why Am I Always Being Studied? aims to level the playing field between researchers and communities during evaluations. The guidebook includes questions and considerations for researchers, community-based organizations and funders to ensure evaluations reflect community needs, goals, experience and expertise.
- Urban Institute’s Community Voice and Power Sharing Guidebook offers practical advice on partnership building, community advisory boards, community-engaged survey development and youth engagement. The Institute has also created a guide for holding Data Walks.
Implement Performance Management in Grants
- Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab’s (GPL)data-driven performance management framework
Harvard Kennedy School’s Government Performance Lab. Active Contract Management: How Governments Can Collaborate More Effectively with Social Service Providers to Achieve Better Results
The federal Performance Improvement Council’s (PIC) resource on Performance Measures Basics
GPL’s Five Elements to Include in Every Performance Dashboard includes insights relevant to any strategy for communicating about performance measures.
Additional Resources
Results for America’s Investing in What Works 101. These slides contain examples of how federal and state agencies are investing in what works through grants, contracts, budget systems, and direct services.
Results for America’s What Works Toolkit: A State and Local Government Policymaker's Guide to Improving Human Services Contracting and Outcomes
Data Foundation’s Stakeholder Engagement Toolkit for Evidence Building. This toolkit details how federal agencies can meaningfully engage stakeholders in policy and program decision-making.