This post originally appeared on the America Forward blog and is authored by Nicole Truhe, Government Affairs Director, America Forward. Third Sector Capital Partners is a proud member of the America Forward coalition.

Last year, a federal commission began studying how data that the government already collect can be used to improve government programs and policies. The Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking was the creation of Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), who are long-time champions of data and the use of evidence to drive federal policymaking. After over a year

The current public workforce system has left out some of our country’s most vulnerable people. With federal funding spread across 11 agencies and 47 programs, much of the system relies on cost-reimbursement contracts that stifle innovation by 1) prescribing services that prohibit providers from adapting programs to needs and 2) not rewarding providers for improving [...]

The following post originally appeared on America Forward’s Blog as a guest post. 

Less than 10 years ago, the phrase Pay for Success was virtually unknown in most circles—particularly government circles. Though a seemingly simple concept, an approach to contracting for services where payments from governments (or other end-payers interested in supporting the achievement of measurable outcomes related to public programs) are linked to positive outcomes that have been measured and evaluated—Pay for Success is being tested, applied, and replicated at a rapid pace.

Contributing to the interest and uptake of Pay

The prevalence of data in the social sector means that government agencies and nonprofit providers, in theory, have a wealth of information at their disposal to understand what works and more effectively deploy resources to achieve better outcomes. Administrative data (data collected by governments or nonprofits as part of administering a specific program) in particular provides a cost-effective and accurate way to understand participant outcomes and break the silos between agencies serving similar populations who operate in different policy domains.

The practical reality is that providers and government agencies cannot easily

This article originally appeared on America Forward’s blog as a part of their Evidence in Action series. Follow along on Twitter with #EvidenceinAction and catch up on the series here.

Thanks to the persistence of social entrepreneurs across the country, every day we see strategies that are working and delivering results in a rapidly changing world. This Evidence in Action blog series highlights the voices of the more than 70 social innovation organizations that make up the America Forward Coalition, the results-driven solutions our community has for our country’s most pressing social

By Celeste Richie

Along with other critical support services, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and its embedded Pay-for-Performance (P4P) provisions are critical to advancing performance-based contracting and improving long-term outcomes for those served by the workforce system. Despite the appetite for a better life for all individuals, many workforce programs today are unable to deliver similar high-quality results across all of their participants. Recent analysis has demonstrated the need to increase equity of outcomes, not just increased access to services, and WIOA P4P could be an active tool in