UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

The U.S. Department of Labor announced the award of $1.97 million for nine Labor Research and Evaluation Grants to support university-based research of workforce policies and programs. These grants will help to increase awareness and build the capacity of the American people to understand critical issues related to Labor Department programs, the labor force and the American worker. The grants, administered by the department’s Chief Evaluation Office, will fund research and evaluation on a variety of important topics that will provide insight into labor policies and programs for the benefit of the general public and program administrators. More information can be found here.

On November 14, 2016, U.S. Department of Labor announced the selection of Dr. Molly Irwin to lead the Chief Evaluation Office. As the Chief Evaluation Officer, Dr. Irwin is responsible for coordinating the Department's evaluation agenda, working with agencies to design and implement evaluations, and overseeing the data analytics unit. Dr. Irwin, as a career leader, will work to institutionalize the incredible progress the Office has experienced since its inception in 2010. Read more on Dr. Irwin.

On September 7, 2017, the Congressionally-established Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking released their final report. The Commission was charged with examining all aspects of how to increase the availability and use of government data to build evidence and inform program design, while protecting privacy and confidentiality of those data. The final report includes a number of recommendations on (1) how the Federal government can provide the infrastructure for secure access to data, (2) the mechanisms to improve privacy protections and transparency about the uses of data for evidence building, and (3) the institutional capacity to support evidence building. To read the full report, click here.