Gov Innovator Podcast

Is my program or initiative having a positive impact? It’s a question about which organizational leaders may want hard evidence, either to take stock and help improve program results, or to satisfy their authorizers or funders who may be asking for rigorous evidence of impact. Either way, how can you determine the impact of your program? And […] The post Determining if your program is having a positive impact (i.e., impact evaluation 101): An interview with David Evans, Senior Economist, The World Bank – Episode #122 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

Improving schooling outcomes of disadvantaged youth is a top policy priority in the United States, but few interventions have produced convincing evidence that they can improve those outcomes, especially for adolescent youth — the age at which socially costly outcomes occur, such as high school dropout. As a result, it may be conventional wisdom that, by adolescence, […] The post Using intensive, individualized math tutoring to boost academic outcomes of disadvantaged youth: An interview with Jonathan Guryan, Professor, Northwestern University – Episode #121 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

A Social Impact Bond (SIB) uses private funds – from philanthropy or other investors — to pay for a social, educational, or health programs. Importantly, the government only repays investors, plus a return, if pre-specified results are achieved. A new report by Gordon Berlin, the president of the nonprofit social policy research firm MDRC (@MDRC_News), reflects on the […] The post Lessons from the nation’s first Social Impact Bond, aimed at reducing recidivism among adolescent offenders at Rikers Island: An interview with Gordon Berlin, President, MDRC – Episode #120 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

Over the last 15 years, the field of education has become considerably more evidence focused, including a growing number of high-quality studies about how to help students succeed in school. An important catalyst has been the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). It is the independent, non-partisan statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department […] The post How the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Dept. of Education is helping the education field to learn and do what works: An interview with Russ Whitehurst, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution – Episode #119 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

Milwaukee’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative, launched in 2008, is a citywide effort led by the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County. It has been recognized as a model of community collaboration, including by the White House Council for Community Solutions. The three main prongs of the strategy are: An aggressive advertising campaign targeted to teens The use of evidence-based sex education The involvement of […] The post Milwaukee’s three-pronged strategy to reduce teen pregnancy: An interview with Bevan Baker, Commissioner of Health, City of Milwaukee, and Nicole Angresano, United Way of Greater Milwaukee – Episode #118 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

In program evaluation, using the most rigorous methods possible is essential for producing credible research findings. But beyond the goal of rigor, relevance is important too. In particular, the more that evaluations are able to address specific research or implementation questions that are of interest to practitioners and policymakers, the more likely that the findings […] The post Three strategies to promote relevance in program evaluations so that findings are useful to policymakers and practitioners: An interview with Evan Weissman, Senior Associate, MDRC – Episode #117 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

Can regular, detailed information sent to parents about their students’ progress lead to improved student achievement? That question was put to the test by in a field experiment in the Los Angeles school system in which parents were given information by text, phone or email about their children’s missing assignments. The results for high school students show surprisingly large […] The post Improving student outcomes by giving parents detailed information about their child’s academic progress: An interview with Peter Bergman, Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University – Episode #116 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

Today, results-focused cities are using data to improve city services, boost the quality of life, and literally save lives. The City of Las Vegas has gained a reputation for its data-focused approach to addressing important city challenges. A good example is its effort to reduce traffic accidents, first by focusing on reducing left turn crashes and […] The post Las Vegas’s data-driven effort to improve traffic safety at its most dangerous intersections: An interview with Betsy Fretwell, City Manager, City of Las Vegas – Episode #115 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

The City of New Orleans under Mayor Mitch Landrieu has gained a reputation as being one of the most innovative and data-driven city governments. An important element in those efforts is the Office of Performance and Accountability, launched in 2011. The mission of the office is to use data to set goals, track performance, and drive […] The post Insights from the City of New Orleans’ analytics unit, NOLAlytics, about using data to improve city services: An interview with Oliver Wise, Director, Office of Performance and Accountability, City of New Orleans – Episode #114 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

In the U.S., more than a third of elderly patients discharged from hospitals are re-admitted within 90 days, often needlessly. An intervention that is helping change that is the nursing-led Transitional Care Model (TCM), pioneered at the University of Pennsylvania. It been the focus of four large scale NIH-funded clinical trials, including three RCTs, all finding […] The post Improving health outcomes of older adults while reducing costs through the nursing-led Transitional Care Model: An interview with Mary Naylor, Professor, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing – Episode #113 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

Addressing the nation’s — and the world’s — biggest challenges will require learning and doing what works. A powerful tool for doing that is the randomized evaluation, also known as a randomized control trial (RCT). It is a tool that is increasingly being used in the U.S. and around the world. Well-designed and well-implemented RCTs can […] The post Using randomized evaluations to address global poverty and other social policy challenges: An interview with Dean Karlan, Professor, Yale University, and President, Innovations for Poverty Action – Episode #112 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

The Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is at the forefront of efforts to increase diversity among future leaders in the sciences. It was launched in 1988 to provide financial assistance, mentoring, advising, and research experience to African American undergraduate students committed to obtaining Ph.D. degrees in science, engineering and related […] The post Increasing diversity in the sciences through the Meyerhoff Scholars Program: An interview with Freeman Hrabowski, President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County – Episode #111 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, is recognized as a leader in using data to improve the results of its human services programs. In particular, the county’s Department of Human Services (DHS) created its Data Warehouse in 1999. The initiative stated by consolidating its own internal human services data relating to topics such as behavioral health, child […] The post How Allegheny County’s Data Warehouse is improving human services through integrated data: An interview with Erin Dalton, Allegheny County Department of Human Services – Episode #110 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

Michael Nutter served as Mayor of Philadelphia from 2008 to 2016. During his eight years in office, the city became a leader in the use of data, evidence and evaluation to improve outcomes for city residents. In 2014, Governing Magazine named the Mayor one of the Public Officials of the Year, noting, “Philadelphia isn’t an easy place to govern. But Mayor Michael […] The post How Philadelphia became a leader in the use of data and evidence: An interview with Maia Jachimowicz, V.P. for Evidence-Based Policy, Results for America, and former policy director to Mayor Michael Nutter – Episode #109 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

Can a tax on sugary drinks reduce consumption and therefore fight obesity? The nation of Mexico, which has similarly high rates of obesity as the United States, is putting that question to the test. In 2013, Mexican lawmakers passed an excise tax on sugary drinks of 1 peso (about 8 cents) per liter, which is about a 10 […] The post The first-year effects of Mexico’s soda tax: An interview with Barry Popkin, Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health – Episode #108 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

How can schools use low-cost solutions to help children make healthier food choices? David Just is an expert on that topic. An economist by training, he is a professor at Cornell University and co-director, with Brian Wansink, of the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs (BEN Center). His research has included dozens of field and lab experiments that identify the subtle […] The post Using behavioral insights to design smarter school lunchrooms: An interview with David Just, Co-Director, Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs – Episode #107 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

Mexico consumes a lot of soda and its soda industry (particularly Coca-Cola) is very powerful. Even so, in 2013, Mexico’s congress was able to successfully pass a nationwide one-peso-per-litre (about 10%) tax on sugary drinks, over the opposition of the soda industry. How did it happen? To gain insights, we’re joined by Tina Rosenberg (@tirosenberg), a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Her […] The post How Mexico took on the soda industry and won, passing a soda tax: An interview with Tina Rosenberg, New York Times and Solutions Journalism Network – Episode #106 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation, through its juvenile justice initiative, has documented widespread maltreatment of youth in state-funded juvenile corrections facilities, including high rates of sexual victimization and the heavy-handed use of disciplinary isolation. The results include high levels of recidivism and annual costs that often exceed $100,000 per young person. The findings have led […] The post Calling on states to close their youth prisons: An interview with Patrick McCarthy, President, Annie E. Casey Foundation – Episode #105 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

Increasing the graduation rates at community colleges is an important national challenge. Nationally, less than 40 percent of community college students attain a degree or certificate — and students who come to campus underprepared for college-level work (those needing developmental or remedial classes) have graduation rates below 30 percent. The City University of New York (CUNY) launched […] The post Doubling community college graduation rates through CUNY’s ASAP program: An interview with Donna Linderman, Dean for Student Success Initiatives, City University of New York – Episode #104 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.

To quote social policy expert Isabel Sawhill, “If we want to reduce poverty [in the U.S.], one of the simplest, fastest and cheapest things we could do would be to make sure that as few people as possible become parents before they actually want to.” An important state initiative to do that is Colorado’s Family Planning […] The post Colorado’s Family Planning Initiative: An interview with Larry Wolk, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment – Episode #103 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.