2021 Invest in What Works
State Standard of Excellence
A national benchmark – a “north star” – for how state governments invest in what works.
About the 2021 State Standard of Excellence
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, state government leaders faced immense challenges from managing a public health crisis that was rapidly evolving to investing in an economic recovery that is equitable and lasting. The 2021 Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence demonstrates that data and evidence can support states in building the capacity to make better decisions about how to drive an economic recovery; advance equitable outcomes for residents and governments; and invest in evidence-based programs and services.
2021 State Standard of Excellence Criteria
The 2021 Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence includes 16 criteria that are organized by thematic areas: Managing for Results, Leveraging Data, Building and Using Evidence, and Investing for Results. Read more about the Criteria breakdown here.
1. Strategic Goals
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2. Performance Management
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3. Culture
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4. Innovation
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5. Data Leadership & Governance
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6. Data Policies
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7. Data Infrastructure
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8. Data Use
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9. Evaluation Leadership & Governance
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10. Evaluation Policies
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11. Evaluation Resources
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12. Evaluation Use
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13. Results-Focused Budget Process
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14. Results-Focused Contracting
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15. Evidence-Based Grantmaking
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16. Repurpose for Results
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Leading & Promising Examples by State
Hover or click on a state to learn more about where it excels in State Standard of Excellence criteria.
202
state examples in 2021
36
U.S. states represented in 2021
130%
increase in examples since 2018
Results for America’s analysis is based on data provided under license by The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Results First initiative (which was used to inform its 2017 report on states’ engagement in evidence-based policymaking) and input from more than 150 current and former state government officials and other experts. Results for America thanks all the state government leaders who contributed to the 2021 State Standard of Excellence.