APDU Conference Session: The Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking

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By Lucas Hitt, Deputy Executive Director, U.S. Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking

Over the last year, the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking has been hearing from thousands of people – parents, business owners, researchers, privacy experts, state and local government officials, and Federal officials – and after several more months of deliberations and writing, the Commission is ready to respond.

Created by the bipartisan Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Act sponsored by U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator Patty Murray, the Commission was charged with determining the how to improve the generation and use of evidence across the policymaking arena. The report is expected be released on September 7 – one week before the APDU Annual Conference.

Evidence-based policy is not a new idea – “public data” was one of the earliest functions of our government, with the Federal Statistical System we know today having roots back to the mid-1800s. Some of the first responsibilities of the various departments of government we know today were their statistical missions. Yet, there is so much more than can be done now than was possible before. The increasing volume of data, the computational power of modern computers, and advancements in statistical and other social sciences creates opportunities to enhance privacy and leverage data that we have not had until now. The data resulting from the administration of government programs – at all levels of government – has the potential to change the way we think about policy development.

The upcoming APDU Annual Conference will be one of the first opportunities to hear from the Commission’s Chair Katharine G. Abraham and Co-Chair Ron Haskins following the September release of the report. In addition, Sandy Davis of the Bipartisan Policy Center and John Thompson of the Council of Professional Association on Federal Statistics, two leading voices in the statistical and evidence community will discuss their thoughts on where we go from here to achieve the Commission’s vision.

On September 13, attend the APDU Annual Conference session “How Data is Used to Build Evidence for Policymaking” to learn more from the authors of the report.

The APDU Conference is fast approaching. Register today.