Welcome to the Evidence-Based Policy Help Desk, established by the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy in consultation with OMB. Our mission is to provide OMB and the federal agencies – and the researchers and program providers they fund – with practical, easy-to-use resources for developing and using rigorous evidence to improve program performance. More on our main focus...

Help Desk Resources

For OMB/agency staff:

I.       Resources to advance rigorous evaluations of federally-funded programs and projects

For researchers:

II.       Resources to design and carry out rigorous evaluations

For OMB/agency staff and the program providers they fund:

III.     Resources to identify and implement evidence-based practices, so as to improve program performance

The Help Desk makes every effort to ensure that its resources (i) are based on the best scientific evidence about which types of evaluations are most likely to produce valid estimates of a program’s true effect, as discussed in OMB’s guidance on What Constitutes Strong Evidence of a Program’s Effectiveness; and (ii) are consistent with OMB policy Thus, we believe the resources can provide valuable assistance to Users in implementing OMB’s Program Assessment Rating Tool, and advancing evidence-based policy generally. But how the resources are applied to a particular project or program is often a matter of judgment, which may reasonably differ among different individuals. Therefore, a User’s adherence to these resources does not necessarily mean that the User’s submission to OMB or a federal agency will be favorably reviewed. Also, the views expressed in these resources do not necessarily reflect the views of OMB or the federal agencies.