North Carolina

The North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) recommends that state agencies complete a two-year strategic plan each fiscal biennium. The agencies’ strategic plans include agency or department-wide goals, objectives, and strategies; performance and outcome measures and milestones; existing best practices; and areas for collaboration. The strategic plans conform with the statutory requirement to collect performance information as part of the Governor’s Recommended Budget. OSBM provides strategic planning guidance and facilitation services to support this process. Further, FY22-23 short session budget instructions included the Governor’s five budget priorities to create new jobs and foster economic growth and recovery; to strengthen education and workforce development systems; to promote healthier and safer communities; to advance equity; and to ensure an effective, accountable government.

The North Carolina Governor promotes a culture of data and evidence in a variety of ways. The 2018 Executive Order 43 created the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Performance Management, which advises the Governor on rules and policies related to performance management and strategies for advancing evidence-based policy statewide. The Governor also appointed a Director of Strategic Partnerships who leads the North Carolina Office of Strategic Partnerships (OSP), which enhances partnerships between state government and North Carolina’s research and philanthropic sectors. This includes elevating the state government’s internal capacity to generate and use evidence through efforts such as:

• The Monthly Connect, a series of panel discussions on cross-sector partnerships, a Government Research Partnerships Learning Forum, and creation of a position.
• OSP and the North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office are collaborating to communicate widely across state government U.S. Treasury’s information about using evidence resources and program evaluations for American Rescue Plan Act State Fiscal Recovery Funds (SFRF).
• The Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) offers an annual Performance Management Academy training series for state agency staff. Through the Academy, OSBM aims to foster performance management “champions” across state agencies and provide resources for practitioners to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of programs.

The North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) offers an annual Performance Management Academy training series to equip employees with frameworks, guidance, and resources to promote evaluation and evidence-based policymaking across state agencies. OSBM also coordinates a Performance Management Community of Practice, composed of state agency representatives who meet regularly to share experiences and develop knowledge related to evidence-based policymaking.

The Department of Information Technology (DIT) is home to a Process Improvement Team which collaborates with state agencies and managers to use evidence in strategic planning processes. DIT provides monthly training resources for state agencies to learn the Lean Six Sigma process improvement methodology and hosts a Process Improvement Community of Practice.

The Office of Strategic Partnerships (OSP) launched the NC Project Portal, an innovative tool for developing and launching partnerships with government and for bolstering cross-sector collaboration. The portal includes information about opportunities for partnering with state agencies on their research needs and how to express interest in pursuing those opportunities. It includes 25+ projects that are open, in-progress, or completed as well as  project deliverables and information about the planned use of results where applicable.

The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources named a Deputy Secretary of Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion. The Department of Revenue named an Assistant Secretary for Tax Research and Equity, and the Department of Health and Human Services created a new leadership position, the Chief Health Equity Officer, to lead cross-department equity work and oversee an expanded Office of Health Equity/Office of Rural Health. The Governor’s Office also expanded its Office of Public Engagement and Inclusion (OPEI) to include monitoring and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts across state agencies and added two new positions, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Deputy Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.  

In 2021, the Governor created the nation’s first Office of Digital Equity and Literacy to close the digital divide so all residents have equitable access to high-speed internet and digital literacy resources. The Office will carry out the Governor’s plan, which invests nearly $1 billion in federal and state funds to address infrastructure and access, digital literacy, and affordability.

The state’s interim Chief Data Officer also serves as the Deputy State Chief Information Officer and oversees the North Carolina Government Data Analytics Center (GDAC) which serves as the centralized data office for the state, facilitating enterprise data management, sharing, and analytic capabilities to transform data into information to support the State’s business decisions and processes. In this role, the Chief Data Officer leads efforts to support data sharing between state agencies, develop enterprise solutions, identify cost savings through fraud and compliance initiatives, and leverage the state’s data assets to provide information for state leaders to make evidence-based decisions. In addition to the Chief Data Officer, GDAC also has created leadership positions focused on data and analytics, including Director of Analytics and Executive Director of the NC Longitudinal Data System.

Two other North Carolina departments and agencies have their own chief data officers: Office of State Budget and Management and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). For example, Chief Data Officer for DHHS coordinates the agency’s efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of North Carolina residents through data-informed strategic planning and policy evaluation. In total, nine data analytics positions were added to five state agencies in North Carolina’s FY 2021-23 budget, strengthening the state’s data analytics capacity.     

Through Executive Order 143 (2020), the North Carolina governor directed the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to update reporting processes to increase the inclusion of racial and ethnic demographic data; to review data to determine impacts on communities of color; and to use collected data to allocate resources to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The processes focus on reducing the adverse health impacts on racial and ethnic minorities.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) regularly shares data across divisions and offices, as well as with other local, state, and federal government agencies and research partners. DHHS released a Data Sharing Guidebook which outlines policies for data sharing and integration between internal and external partners. The Data Sharing Guidebook includes links to publicly available data, information about the request process, and considerations for data owners and stewards, such as how racial equity and racial bias should be considered in the request.  

The North Carolina Government Data Analytics Center (GDAC) operates as a division of the state’s department of information technology, which works to transform data into information that facilitates decision support, increases operational efficiencies, and improves outcomes for North Carolina residents by integrating and sharing data assets. GDAC has deployed a statewide Enterprise Entity Resolution (pp. 24-27) infrastructure and processes that were developed to match entities or cluster individual record data across disparate data sources to a common entity (i.e., single person, single business). As such, the platform enabled extensive records matching that improved the state’s public health response to COVID-19 and analysis of identity theft associated with unemployment benefit recipients.

• The North Carolina Early Childhood Integrated Data System (NC ECIDS) is a single source for integrated early childhood data for selected education, health, and social services programs to help answer key policy and program questions, produce reports, and fulfill research requests that support state priorities for young children and families.
• The North Carolina Longitudinal Data System (NCLDS) links early childhood, education, and workforce data—from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, North Carolina Community College System, University of North Carolina System, North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, and North Carolina Department of Commerce —together to enable cross-sector, longitudinal research, and evaluation. The Executive Director of the NCLDS directs this work to provide knowledge that can inform decision-making around the state’s P-20 education systems, improve educational attainment, and support workforce objectives.
• The North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management operates Log Into North Carolina (LINC), an interactive data retrieval service containing over 900 data items and a subdomain for the State Demographer platform, which houses the latest data produced by the North Carolina Demographer.
• The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) operates DHHS Open Window, a website which captures information about agency services, programs, and the contracts that support those services. DHHS Open Window also contains key planning and performance information for the agency as well as its divisions and offices.

North Carolina was recognized for taking a data-driven approach to equitable vaccine distribution in 2021, removing systemic barriers to vaccine access, such as transportation, increasing vaccine allotments for counties with larger populations from historically marginalized communities, and prioritizing community-based vaccination approaches. In March 2022, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released its plan for the current state of the pandemic, Moving Forward Together, and re-designed its COVID-19 Dashboard, elevating different metrics to reflect North Carolina’s current state and guide future decision-making.

By signing the following executive orders, Governor Roy Cooper has demonstrated North Carolina’s commitment to improving equity outcomes through data use:

• Executive Order No. 143, Addressing the Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Communities of Color, created of the Andrea Harris Social, Economic, Environmental, and Health Equity Task Force (see 2020 Policy Recommendations and December 2021 Biannual Report) and directed the state Department of Health and Human Services to update reporting processes to increase the inclusion of racial and ethnic demographic data; to review data to determine the impacts on communities of color; and to use collected data to allocate resources to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
• Executive Order No. 245, North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, created a task force to collect data and develop solutions to eliminate disparate outcomes in the criminal justice system for communities of color. (See 2020 Policy Recommendations and December 2021 Interim Report).

North Carolina is deepening efforts and investment in evaluation leadership and governance. In 2021, the North Carolina Office of Strategic Partnerships (OSP) established the state’s first Evidence Advisor position to maximize investment in evidence-based policies and programs (see Q&A with North Carolina’s first Evidence Advisor). OSP is collaborating with state agencies to identify programs that, based on available evidence, could be scaled or adjusted, and to identify and prioritize opportunities to grow the evidence base by initiating randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of promising programs or policies. Examples include projects with the Governor’s Crime Commission to integrate the use of evidence and logic models into its grant application and grantmaking processes, and with the state Department of Commerce and North Carolina Community College System Office to complete a process evaluation of the Finish Line Grant Program (see “Recommended Practices for Local Partnerships Administering Finish Line Grants”).

The North Carolina FY 2021-23 budget set aside $1 million in nonrecurring grant funds for state agency research and evaluation needs. The North Carolina Evaluation Fund supports research partnerships that inform program and policy decisions. OSBM issued the first grant award in July 2022 and will issue a second round of awards in September. Agencies have access to technical assistance to develop their project proposal and find a research partner.

The FY 2021-23 budget also appropriated funds for three program analysts to implement evidence-based program design and management within their respective agencies and to support statewide performance management activities. The budget also allocates $100,000 for the Department of Public Instruction to contract an evaluation with an independent research organization to measure the impacts of the Schools that Lead program on student outcomes.

The North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) and agency partners conduct program inventories, research evidence reviews, and benefit-cost analyses through the Results First Initiative. In 2022, the state published project briefs with findings and next steps in the areas of juvenile justice and adult mental health. The state has also created evidence definitions to categorize programs based on their levels of evidence.    

The Office of Strategic Partnerships (OSP) launched the NC Project Portal, an innovative tool for developing and launching partnerships with government and for bolstering cross-sector collaboration. The portal includes information about opportunities for partnering with state agencies on their research needs and how to express interest in pursuing those opportunities. It includes 25+ projects that are open, in-progress, or completed as well as  project deliverables and information about the planned use of results where applicable.

In 2022, the Governor issued Recommended Budget Adjustments for FY 2022-2023. Several recommendations prioritized shifting dollars towards resources or human power proven to make governmental operations more efficient. The following recommendation was funded in the most recent budget (signed July 11): Establish four State Crime Laboratory positions (within the NC Department of Justice) – two DNA scientists and two drug chemists. Research conducted by the department demonstrated that, on average, each new scientist reduces turnaround time for cases by 5%; thus, four new scientists are expected to reduce turnaround times by 20%.  

North Carolina requires budget requests for new and expanded programs and services to include evidence and research supporting the programs’ goals, as well as the Governor’s strategic priorities. For the FY21-23 budget development process, Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) increased its focus on evidence-based budgeting, data-driven decisions, and strategic management of the state’s resources.  OSBM asks agencies to supply data and evidence demonstrating the expected impact of any requests for new or expanded programs and services. For FY 2022-23 preparation, North Carolina continued to use the two-step budget submission process where agency and budget office staff work collaboratively to develop evidence-based approaches before submitting their final budget requests. Agencies who opted-in were given additional time to work with a diverse set of state stakeholders to develop evidence-based approaches before submitting their final budget requests.    

Both the North Carolina Governor’s FY 22-23 Recommended Budget Adjustments and American Rescue Plan budget recommendations included justification narratives for each of the main budget recommendation categories. Justification narratives include two data and evidence sections: one section to support why the funding was needed and a second section on expected impact that focuses on what program outcomes would be expected and the impact the program would have on the state if requests were funded.

Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils (JCPC) exist in all 100 North Carolina counties in order to direct funding to programs that address the localized risks and needs identified for youth in that community. Reviews of program outcomes and performance (including successful completion of programming) include program monitoring, standardized program evaluation protocol, quality of service scoring through comprehensive review of data and program practices, and quarterly reporting. Egregious issues are addressed with corrective requests (including Program Enhancement Plans) or funding cessation. Trends and non-performance are addressed by informing the JCPC so that they may better be able to make use of state funding by allocating funds to other programming sources. The section is moving toward performance-based contracts for state-contracted services.