2022 Invest in What Works
State Standard of Excellence
A national benchmark – a “north star” – for how state governments invest in what works.
About the 2022 State Standard of Excellence
The 2022 Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence demonstrates that states are increasingly using data and evidence to produce better, more equitable results for their residents.
2022 State Standard of Excellence Criteria
The 2022 Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence includes 16 criteria that are organized by thematic areas: Managing for Results, Leveraging Data, Building and Using Evidence, and Investing for Results. Read more about the Criteria breakdown here.
1. Strategic Goals
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2. Performance Management
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3. Culture
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4. Innovation
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5. Data Leadership & Governance
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6. Data Policies
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7. Data Infrastructure
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8. Data Use
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9. Evaluation Leadership & Governance
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10. Evaluation Policies
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11. Evaluation Resources
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12. Evaluation Use
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13. Results-Focused Budget Process
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14. Results-Focused Contracting
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15. Evidence-Based Grantmaking
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16. Repurpose for Results
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Leading & Promising Examples by State
Hover or click on a state to learn more about where it excels in State Standard of Excellence criteria.
263
state examples in 2022
41
U.S. states represented in 2022
199%
increase in examples since 2018
Results for America’s analysis is based on data provided under license by The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Results First initiative (which was used to inform its 2017 report on states’ engagement in evidence-based policymaking) and input from more than 150 current and former state government officials and other experts. Results for America thanks all the state government leaders who contributed to the 2022 State Standard of Excellence.