ABSTRACT
The experience in the United States over recent decades to build an ecosystem for evidence and evaluation is situated in a global context, but has also rapidly advanced in the last decade. Transitions from emphasis on effectiveness and outcomes, then to results and evidence in recent years reflect a change in mindset and practice as the capacity for evidence building and evaluation adapted. This chapter provides observations about the US experience including risks for modern evaluation and measurement practice in a shifting political and cultural landscape. The chapter also describes recent efforts ranging from the US Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking to implementation of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (Evidence Act), with implications for the future effectiveness and success of capacity-building efforts. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the opportunities moving forward in advancing agency cultures to engage in evidence-informed policymaking, facilitate knowledge brokering functions as intermediaries between evidence producers and users, and enable learning agendas as instruments that support to the strategic evidence needs of organizational leaders.
