Evidence-based Innovation in the state of Utah

1. Evidence-based
InnovationA presentation to the Utah Governor’s Office of Management and Budget
Eva Witesman, Ph.D.
Romney Institute of Public Management
Brigham Young University

2. The challenge
 Create a culture of innovation in government
 Protect the public from risky and expensive ventures that fail to add value

3. Agenda

4. Agenda
 What is evidence-based practice, and how can we apply the principles of
evidence-based practice to innovation across all state agencies?
Evidence-
based
Incentive to
innovate Discussion

5. Agenda
 What is evidence-based practice, and how can we apply the principles of
evidence-based practice to innovation across all state agencies?
 What are some of the major barriers to public sector innovation, and how can
they be overcome by aligning political, administrative, and public incentives?
Evidence-
based
Incentive to
innovate
Opportunity
to lead
Plan for state
action Discussion

6. Agenda
 What is evidence-based practice, and how can we apply the principles of
evidence-based practice to innovation across all state agencies?
 What are some of the major barriers to public sector innovation, and how can
they be overcome by aligning political, administrative, and public incentives?
 What strategic advantages and opportunities can support our effort to
become a national leader in innovative government reform?
Evidence-
based
Incentive to
innovate
Opportunity
to lead

7. Agenda
 What is evidence-based practice, and how can we apply the principles of
evidence-based practice to innovation across all state agencies?
 What are some of the major barriers to public sector innovation, and how can
they be overcome by aligning political, administrative, and public incentives?
 What strategic advantages and opportunities can support our effort to
become a national leader in innovative government reform?
 What are the cornerstones of a state-level evidence-based innovation plan?
Evidence-
based
Incentive to
innovate
Opportunity
to lead
Plan for state
action Discussion

8. Agenda
 What is evidence-based practice, and how can we apply the principles of
evidence-based practice to innovation across all state agencies?
 What are some of the major barriers to public sector innovation, and how can
they be overcome by aligning political, administrative, and public incentives?
 What strategic advantages and opportunities can support our effort to
become a national leader in innovative government reform?
 What are the cornerstones of a state-level evidence-based innovation plan?
 How can we improve upon these ideas to create lasting and effective change?
Evidence-
based
Incentive to
innovate
Opportunity
to lead
Plan for state
action Discussion

9. Evidence-based practice
 Evidence-based practice applies the rigorous proving ground of the scientific
process to identify demonstrable effects of programs or practices
 Evidence-based practice is common in some disciplines and is becoming more
common (generally under the rubric of program evaluation) in the culture of
public and nonprofit funders
 The essential principles of evidence-based practice are:
 Identify the core objectives of a program or practice
 Gather the best available evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of the program or
practice in achieving the core objectives
 Subject the evidence to rigorous peer review
 Employ and promote practices that are most effective at achieving core objectives
Evidence-
based

10. Evidence-based innovation
 By definition, innovation is new and untested
 The public sector does not naturally promote innovation
 No profit motive
 Costly to implement significant changes
 Risky to the public and the taxpayer
 Politically challenging in case of failure
 A culture of evaluation can mitigate the challenges of public sector change
 Evaluation provides hard evidence about the impacts of program changes
 Evaluation decreases the cost and risks associated with potential failure
Evidence-
based

11. Incentive to innovate
 A culture of evaluation is a culture of innovation
 When agencies are evaluated based on outcomes, they have incentive to improve
those outcomes
 Pilot study programs can mitigate the cost and risk of innovation by providing hard
evidence about the potential impacts of proposed program changes
 Agencies need incentive to innovate
 Funding motives (decrease cost of innovation and evaluation, increase future funding)
 Political motives (increase long-term viability, utility, and visibility of state programs)
 Public service motives (improve the lives of citizens in ways that really matter)
Evidence-
based
Incentive to
innovate Discussion

12. Opportunity to lead
 Evidence-based innovation in the public sector has the potential to
significantly improve the practice of public administration
 Evidence-based practice, public program evaluation, and performance
measurement are public management concepts with significant traction and
momentum
 No state has yet systematically incorporated principles of evidence-based
innovation across all agencies
 Utah has significant program evaluation resources housed in its public and
private universities as well as in private practice
 Utah’s current focus on performance measurement is compatible with a focus
on evidence-based innovation
Evidence-
based
Incentive to
innovate
Opportunity
to lead

13. Cornerstones of an evidence-based
innovation plan
 An independent and apolitical committee for the review and certification of:
 Proposed needs assessments
 Proposed pilot studies and other evaluation plans
 Summative evidence regarding program effectiveness
 State funding for implementation of:
 Approved needs assessments
 Approved pilot studies and other evaluation plans
 Transition plans for implementation of effective innovations
 Official annotations regarding the evidence basis of programs for use in fiscal
planning
Evidence-
based
Incentive to
innovate
Opportunity
to lead
Plan for state
action Discussion

14. Evidence-
based
Incentive to
innovate
Opportunity
to lead
Plan for state
action Discussion