Introduction

The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act) required the creation of learning agendas for the largest federal agencies. These agendas outline how agencies will identify and answer priority questions through data and evidence-building activities. The Data Foundation undertook an analysis of the agendas to understand how they were developed and plans for implementation as part of the 5-Year milestone of the Evidence Act.

The analysis reveals both progress and areas for improvement in the development and use of learning agendas. All but one large agency produced a publicly-available learning agenda, demonstrating a significant initial effort. However, several challenges were identified:

Limited detail on execution and use: Many learning agendas lacked specifics on how the identified priority questions would be addressed or how the evidence generated would be used.
Variation in quality: Agencies diverged in the comprehensiveness and clarity of their agendas, with some providing more detailed plans than others.
Resource constraints: The analysis suggests that a lack of dedicated resources may be hindering some agencies' capacity to fully implement their learning agendas.

The report offers five key recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of learning agendas:

Practice continual improvement: Learning agendas should be regularly reviewed, updated, and aligned with evolving needs and priorities.
Strengthen analysis of evidence capacity: Agencies should conduct further analysis to identify and address specific capacity needs related to developing and utilizing learning agendas.
Build appropriate capacity: Investing in human resources, processes, and leadership support is crucial to ensure the long-term success of learning agendas.
Facilitate collaboration: Both internal and external collaboration are essential for developing well-informed learning agendas and fostering their use.
Community support for the agendas: Encourage collaborative approaches to learning agenda development and use by engaging with stakeholders such as professional associations, non-profits, and academics.

While there is room for improvement, the initial development of learning agendas represents a positive step towards evidence-based policymaking within federal agencies. Implementing the recommendations outlined in this report can help unlock the full potential of learning agendas to enhance the use of data and evidence in informing critical government decisions.

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Acknowledgments

The Data Foundation thanks the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for its generous support which helped fund this work. The authors thank Tomasz Kupiec and Zuzanna Popis of EGO for their work on the qualitative analysis.

Disclaimer

This paper is a product of the Data Foundation, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The findings and conclusions do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Data Foundation, its funders and sponsors, or its board of directors.

This paper was partially drafted and edited with support from enhanced writing tools. The qualitative assessment was supported by generative AI for selected thematic synthesis.