Forthcoming Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, January 2018 Using Data to Make More Rapid Progress in Addressing Difficult U.S. Social Problems

This paper argues that the evidence-based policy movement needs to supplement its current evaluation-based approach with an approach that uses data at a much higher frequency to improve the administration and impact of government-funded social service programs. Doing so offers the best chance of making significant progress in ameliorating challenging social problems. The paper describes how an idealized government social service agency could use data and data analysis to improve the results it achieves. It also describes the barriers that prevent agencies from operating in this way today and outlines how targeted resources and technical assistance can help overcome these barriers. Finally, it discusses the need to move beyond effective administration of siloed social service programs so as to focus on achieving improved population-wide outcomes, especially among individuals and families who are in need of multiple types of services.