The System for Using Evidence to Improve Federal Programs Has Been Gutted
4 hours ago
- Over the past 30 years, research to improve government programs became routine in federal agencies, but much of this infrastructure has been dismantled and needs rebuilding.
- The recent federal reorganization under Trump led to a significant loss of scientific staff (10,000+ PhDs left, up to 40% in some agencies), with research offices like those in Education and HHS hit hard.
- Research politicization included rescinded permissions, manipulated findings, and cancelled projects for political reasons, undermining decades of bipartisan progress.
- The Evidence-based Policymaking Act of 2018 was a step forward but was underfunded and became symbolic; laws lacked clear mandates, using terms like 'may' that allowed administration to gut research.
- To rebuild effectively, statutes should mandate evidence-based policy with percentage-based set-asides, require research-practice partnerships, and protect research from political influence.
- Agencies need career civil servants skilled in translating research for policymakers, and evidence use should be embedded in performance evaluations and budget processes to create resilient evidence-to-policy systems.