Why it Matters
Prioritizing evidence helps ensure that a greater proportion of public dollars are invested in programs that are most likely to improve education outcomes.
There are two broad approaches to prioritizing evidence in procurement processes:
Require that funding be used to support evidence-based programs (Evidence-Requirement).
Allocate points to programs that meet the LEA’s evidence definitions (Evidence Bonus Points).
Evidence Requirement
Local education agencies (LEAs) can require that all or some proportion of funds be invested in programs that are evidence-based. To carry out this approach, the LEA can:
Require external providers to implement programs determined to be evidence-based by existing evidence reviews (e.g., Results for America’s Economic Mobility Catalog, Institute for Education Sciences’ What Works Clearinghouse).
Conduct a systematic evidence review to determine which programs are evidence-based and create a short list of approved evidence-based programs from which external providers must choose.
Require external providers to document the evidence for a program that meets established criteria.
Evidence Bonus Points
A growing number of local, state and federal government competitive funding programs are awarding additional points to applications that include evidence for their proposed programs. LEAs can apply this approach to procurement by having dedicated base points (i.e., 10 of the 100 points are awarded based on evidence) or bonus points (i.e., up to 15 additional points are awarded based on evidence).
When designing your prioritization strategy, you’ll want to consider the:
Leading Example Nominations
If you know an LEA that is implementing evidence-based spending strategies, nominate them to be included in this guide as a leading example!