Gov Innovator Podcast

How can the United States raise job quality and skills for American workers through more effective education and workforce development within states? In particular: How can we fix the misalignment between the skills of Americans without college degrees and the workforce needs of well-paying industries that do not necessarily require a college degree? And how can […]

Olga Acosta Price of The George Washington University discusses school-based health centers, an innovative strategy to increase access to heath services for youth and their families.

Insights from Diana Epstein and Carla Ganiel of CNCS about how the agency strengthened the role of evidence in one of its key grant programs, AmeriCorps.

Bob Behn of the Harvard Kennedy School discusses one approach to performance leadership.

Matthew Lenard of Wake County, NC, discusses how the school system is using rigorous program evaluation to learn what works in education reform.

Is my program or initiative having a positive impact? It’s a question about which organizational leaders may want hard evidence, either to take stock and help improve program results, or to satisfy their authorizers or funders who may be asking for rigorous evidence of impact. Either way, how can you determine the impact of your program? And […]

Jonathan Guryan of Northwestern University discusses findings from a rigorous evaluation of intensive, two-on-one math tutoring for disadvantaged youth.

A Social Impact Bond (SIB) uses private funds – from philanthropy or other investors — to pay for a social, educational, or health programs. Importantly, the government only repays investors, plus a return, if pre-specified results are achieved. A new report by Gordon Berlin, the president of the nonprofit social policy research firm MDRC (@MDRC_News), reflects on the […]

Russ Whitehurst of the Brookings Institution discusses how the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education has helped the education field to be more evidence focused.

Milwaukee Commissioner of Health Bevan Baker and the United Way's Nicole Angresano discuss the city's successful teen pregnancy reduction initiative.

Evan Weissman of MDRC shares three strategies to strengthen the relevance of program evaluations so that findings get put into action.

Can regular, detailed information sent to parents about their students’ progress lead to improved student achievement? That question was put to the test by in a field experiment in the Los Angeles school system in which parents were given information by text, phone or email about their children’s missing assignments. The results for high school students show surprisingly large […]

Betsy Fretwell, City Manager of Las Vegas, discusses how the city uses data-driven decision making to improve city services and save lives.

The City of New Orleans under Mayor Mitch Landrieu has gained a reputation as being one of the most innovative and data-driven city governments. An important element in those efforts is the Office of Performance and Accountability, launched in 2011. The mission of the office is to use data to set goals, track performance, and drive […]

Mary Naylor, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, discusses the Transitional Care Model, an innovative nursing-led intervention.