Next Generation Evidence: Strategies for More Equitable Social Impact

Next Generation Evidence builds on Show Me the Evidence to explore how to build a pipeline of evidence-producing programs, highlighting the importance of evidence in decision-making and the challenges practitioners face. It features innovative thinking from leaders across policy, philanthropy, research, and practice and showcases case studies of organizations that have benefited from continuous evidence building.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 500 pages
Publication date: 15 December 2023
Publisher: Brookings Institution

Next Generation Evidence, a book by Ron Haskins and Greg Margolis, serves as a prequel to Show Me the Evidence: Obama's Fight for Rigor and Results in Social Policy. While Show Me the Evidence emphasized the importance of prioritizing funding for programs with evidence, Next Generation Evidence explores how we can build a pipeline of evidence-producing programs. Evidence is incredibly powerful, helping 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 numerous 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, 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.

Weight: 756g
Dimension: 151 x 230 x 34 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780815740537