About Evidence

The core work of Strategic Partnerships is centered around using research and evidence to inform policy decisions. One example of this work is Research Partnership Opportunities.

The office is involved in several state-level and national efforts to improve the collection and use of evidence in government decision-making, including but not limited to those listed below. 

Government Research Partnerships Learning Forum

Representatives from more than 20 state agencies, 17 public and private colleges and universities, philanthropy, national partners, and others participated in the 2023 Government Research Partnerships Learning Forum on April 13 in Raleigh. The Learning Forum provided opportunities to learn about existing cross-sector partnerships in North Carolina and to workshop aspects of partnership development, launch, and execution.

Supporting State Agencies with Program Evaluations 

The NC Office of Strategic Partnerships (OSP) and the SERVE Center at UNC Greensboro have hosted two Supporting State Agencies with Program Evaluations workshops. The first workshop (May 2022) was developed following OSP’s January 2022 Monthly Connect on conducting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in state government. Participants expressed interest in additional sessions; OSP and the SERVE Center hosted the second workshop in September 2022 and the third workshop in March 2023. 

These workshops provide state agency staff and researchers the opportunity to discuss the design of potential evaluations for existing or new projects and are particularly relevant to people working in government, research, and philanthropy who are interested in cross-sector partnerships, especially program evaluations and generating evidence to inform decision making. They also include an introduction to the purpose and value of considering impact evaluations.

OSP and the SERVE Center intend to host additional program evaluation workshops periodically. For more information, or if your agency has a program that you are considering evaluating and about which you would like to get feedback in an upcoming session, contact partnerships@osbm.nc.gov.

Government Research Partnerships Learning Forum

Representatives from more than 15 state agencies, 22 colleges and universities (public, private, and HBCU/MSI), philanthropy, national partners, and others participated in the NC Government Research Partnerships Learning Forum on April 14-15, 2021. Developed and hosted by the Office of Strategic Partnerships, the Learning Forum provided opportunities to learn about existing cross-sector partnerships in North Carolina and to share strategies for developing and sustaining successful partnerships across a wide range of agencies, issues, and areas of expertise.

Performance Management Advisory Committee

Governor Cooper in May 2018 issued Executive Order 43, creating the Performance Management Advisory Committee. The committee advises the Governor regarding progress on the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative; new performance management initiatives; proposed or pending state legislation; rules or policies related to performance management and strategies for increasing evidence-based policy efforts.

NC Results First

The NC Results First Initiative is a framework that relies on rigorous program evaluations and benefit-cost analysts to help identify programs that generate positive outcomes and maximize the value of taxpayer dollars for North Carolina. The Results First Initiative was developed in partnership by the MacArthur Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts.

Resources for Evidence-Based Policy

The NC Office of Strategic Partnerships developed this list of resources for evidence-based policy to accompany "Becoming a Performance Management Champion," the final session of the NC Performance Management Academy. The NC Office of State Budget and Management offered the Academy in October/November 2020. This list includes resources based in and outside of North Carolina and in and outside of government. All descriptions come directly from the corresponding website links. This list may be useful to individuals and organizations across a wide range of budget, policy, research, and practice issues. It is not intended to be comprehensive.