Next Generation Evidence: Strategies for More Equitable Social Impact

Next Generation Evidence is a prequel to Show Me the Evidence: Obama's Fight for Rigor and Results in Social Policy, highlighting the importance of prioritizing funding for programs with evidence. It explores how to build the pipeline of evidence-producing programs, but practitioners face structural and practical hurdles. Innovative thinking from leaders across policy, philanthropy, research, and practice lays out a vision for a stronger, more equitable data and evidence ecosystem that centers on the voices of people and communities most directly impacted by the problems we seek to solve. Case studies feature practitioners at various stages in their evidence-building journey, highlighting concrete illustrations of how continuous evidence building can benefit organizations and outcomes for communities.

Format: Hardback
Length: 500 pages
Publication date: 15 December 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

This open access book serves as a prequel to Show Me the Evidence: Obama's Fight for Rigor and Results in Social Policy by Ron Haskins and Greg Margolis. While Show Me the Evidence highlighted the importance of prioritizing funding for programs with evidence, Next Generation Evidence looks at how we can build the pipeline of evidence-producing programs. Evidence is remarkably powerful; it helps us understand the needs of communities, make decisions in times of change and scarcity, and build and do more of what works. However, practitioners face a number of structural and practical hurdles to building and using evidence. Traditional evaluation and research methods are often not timely, affordable, meaningful, or inclusive for helping practitioners make decisions to increase their impact for people and communities. Too often and for too long, evaluation was a thing done to practitioners and the communities they serve, relegating them to a passive role when they should be regarded as leaders of this work. Worse, their data and evidence have been used against them in disempowering thumbs-up, thumbs-down circumstances, rather than for learning and improvement that leads to impact. Next Generation Evidence features innovative thinking from leaders across policy, philanthropy, research, and practice. Together, these leaders lay out a vision for a stronger, more equitable data and evidence ecosystem that centers on the voices of people and communities most directly impacted by the problems we seek to solve. Throughout the book, case studies featuring practitioners at various stages in their evidence-building journey highlight concrete illustrations of how continuous evidence building can benefit organizations and outcomes for communities. The ebook editions of this book are available for free download at {URL}.

Weight: 871g
Dimension: 237 x 159 x 32 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780815740520