Massachusetts

In 2019, the Governor appointed an Assistant Secretary to lead the Office of Program and Performance Management within the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. The role leads the Office of Performance Management and Oversight, which measures the performance of all public and quasi-public entities engaged in economic development, tying its financial and programmatic support to economic outcomes on behalf of the state.

Issue Areas: Child Welfare, COVID-19, Criminal Justice, Economic Mobility, Health, Workforce

The Strategic Innovation team within the Massachusetts Governor’s Office is tasked with implementing cross-agency collaboration, capacity building, and performance improvement for the Governor’s top priorities, such as the COVID-19 Eviction Diversion Initiative, Student Learning Time requirements, and the Future of Work initiative. Members of the Strategic Innovation team are embedded into various agencies to manage data implementations, create greater efficiencies, produce cultural change, and advance innovation and strategic thinking.

Issue Areas: COVID-19, Economic Mobility, Education, Workforce

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Researcher’s Guide to Massachusetts State Education Data contains data-sharing information about “what data is available, how to obtain and interpret it, and, ultimately, [how] to generate better research projects and more accurate and useful results” for improving student outcomes in the state. The guide has links to data sets such as aggregate data at the school and district levels, as well as information on confidential student-level data, non-confidential student-level data, and educator data. The department’s data-sharing memorandum of understanding template and corresponding approval process reiterates the confidentiality of student-level data.

Issue Areas: Economic Mobility, Education

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health maintains a Public Health Data Warehouse that leverages public and private partnerships to provide timely, linked, multi-year data to analyze health priorities through data briefs and data digests. The Department also created a COVID-19 Response Reporting hub that publishes data and cumulative reports on Massachusetts COVID-19 cases, testing, and hospitalizations.​

Issue Areas: COVID-19, Economic Mobility, Education, Health

In 2020, Massachusetts launched the Eviction Diversion Initiative (EDI) led by the Department of Housing and Community Development to support tenants and landlords during the financial challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. EDI was developed and is managed by a cross-agency team that uses data from the state’s shelter services, rental assistance programs, trial courts, regional administering agencies (RAAs), housing consumer and education centers, community mediation services, legal services, and Mass211 call centers to assess rental assistance demand and prevent eviction.

By pulling datasets from across different divisions and organizations, EDI senior staff have been able to better understand the multi-faceted dimensions of eviction diversion and track the success of its programs more holistically. The dedication of these resources necessitated robust data collection, analysis, and visualization. EDI’s internal dashboard is an integrated data tracking tool used daily to monitor program performance and data-driven decision-making. The EDI public dashboard is updated monthly to provide transparency and accountability and share progress with the public, legislature, and other key stakeholders.  

The Massachusetts Economic Research Department is a team within the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) that analyzes economic data and labor market information on Massachusetts, including employment and wage data, unemployment rate, short-term and long-term projections, industry and occupational statistics, and other workforce statistical information by labor market areas. Senior leadership at EOLWD uses this data to proactively respond to Massachusetts’ workforce needs in education, skill development, and industry changes. This data analysis is also accessible to the public through over 20 public economic tools and 25 public dashboards that are updated regularly.

Issue Areas: COVID-19, Workforce

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Planning and Research is led by a Chief Strategy and Research Officer who is responsible for improving the use of data and research findings to influence policy and program decision-making. The Chief Strategy and Research Officer monitors progress toward the department’s goal of preparing all students for success after high school, along with the other five priorities detailed in the department’s strategic plan. The position oversees all activities related to research, performance management, research partnerships, and strategic planning.

Issue Areas: Education

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education published a research agenda in 2018 that outlines five strategies to prepare all students for success after high school. The department also provides an online Reports Library that showcases recent research and evaluation milestones.

Issue Areas: Education

The Social Innovation Financing Trust Fund within the Executive Office for Administration and Finance manages the state’s Pay for Success project portfolios. It also leads initiatives with data-informed decision-making tools, leveraging expertise in economic impact evaluation, performance measurement, and data analysis to advise on funding priorities that deliver a high return on investment of public funds.

Issue Areas: Economic Mobility

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) distributes competitive federal funds through the School Redesign Grant to help districts improve their lowest-performing schools. The school and districts, in partnership with the state, develop a sustainable improvement plan, which guides the approach to rapid school improvement. The state requires that the plan, in order to meet both state and federal requirements, must incorporate at least one strategy backed by evidence that meets the criteria from one of the top three evidence tiers as defined by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The department provides support to potential applicants on using evidence-based practices through its How Do We Know Initiative.

In 2021, DESE used state funds to award almost $900,000 in evidence-based early literacy grants, which required that schools implement evidence-based practices in “culturally responsive and sustaining high-quality literacy instruction.” Also in 2021, DESE adopted a new statewide definition of evidence. DESE included the definition in plans required by the Student Opportunity Act (SOA). As part of the SOA, “districts are required to submit three-year, evidence-based plans aimed at closing persistent disparities in achievement among student subgroups.”

Issue Areas: Education, Equity