Today the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking published a request for comments in the Federal Register.
This is our opportunity to provide feedback to the Commission on the use of government data in support of evidence-building activities related to government programs and policies.
The Commission requests that respondents consider the following questions and indicate which question(s) are addressed in your response. Comments must be received by November 14, 2016.
Overarching Questions
1. Are there successful frameworks, policies, practices, and methods to overcome challenges related to evidence-building from state, local, and/or international governments the Commission should consider when developing findings and recommendations regarding Federal evidence-based policymaking? If so, please describe.
2. Based on identified best practices and existing examples, what factors should be considered in reasonably ensuring the security and privacy of administrative and survey data?
Data Infrastructure and Access
3. Based on identified best practices and existing examples, how should existing government data infrastructure be modified to best facilitate use of and access to administrative and survey data?
4. What data-sharing infrastructure should be used to facilitate data merging, linking, and access for research, evaluation, and analysis purposes?
5. What challenges currently exist in linking state and local data to federal data? Are there successful instances where these challenges have been addressed?
6. Should a single or multiple clearinghouse(s) for administrative and survey data be established to improve evidence-based policymaking? What benefits or limitations are likely to be encountered in either approach?
7. What data should be included in a potential U.S. government data clearinghouse(s)? What are the current legal or administrative barriers to including such data in a clearinghouse or linking the data?
8. What factors or strategies should the Commission consider for how a clearinghouse(s) could be self-funded? What successful examples exist for self-financing related to similar purposes?
9. What specific administrative or legal barriers currently exist for accessing survey and administrative data?
10. How should the Commission define "qualified researchers and institutions?" To what extent should administrative and survey data held by government agencies be made available to "qualified researchers and institutions?"
11. How might integration of administrative and survey data in a clearinghouse affect the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or release of personally-identifiable information, confidential business information, or other identifiable records? How can identifiable information be best protected to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of individual or business data in a clearinghouse?
12. If a clearinghouse were created, what types of restrictions should be placed on the uses of data in the clearinghouse by "qualified researchers and institutions?"
13. What technological solutions from government or the private sector are relevant for facilitating data sharing and management?
14. What incentives may best facilitate interagency sharing of information to improve programmatic effectiveness and enhance data accuracy and comprehensiveness?
Data Use in Program Design, Management, Research, Evaluation, and Analysis
15. What barriers currently exist for using survey and administrative data to support program management and/or evaluation activities?
16. How can data, statistics, results of research, and findings from evaluation, be best used to improve policies and programs?
17. To what extent can or should program and policy evaluation be addressed in program designs?
18. How can or should program evaluation be incorporated into program designs? What specific examples demonstrate where evaluation has been successfully incorporated in program designs?
19. To what extent should evaluations specifically with either experimental (sometimes referred to as "randomized control trials") or quasi-experimental designs be institutionalized in programs? What specific examples demonstrate where such institutionalization has been successful and what best practices exist for doing so?
Please forward this message to interested parties.
Sincerely. Maryann Feldman