Bridging the Gap between Evidence and Policy Makers: A Case Study of the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative

Developing ways to bridge the long-recognized gap between researchers and policy makers is increasingly important in this age of constrained public resources. As noted by recent scholarship, progress toward evidence-informed policy making requires both improving the supply of research that is reliable, timely, and relevant to the policy process and promoting demand and support for this information among decision makers. This article presents a case study of the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative, which is working in a growing number of state and local governments to build systems that bring rigorous evidence on "what works" into their budget processes and to support its use in resource allocation decisions. The initiative's experience to date is promising, although creating lasting and dynamic evidence-based policy-making systems requires a long-term commitment by both researchers and policy makers.