The General Service Administration’s (GSA) Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES) completed its 100th collaboration across the Federal government and is using the data gleaned from its collaborations to push Federal digital services forward, GSA announced Nov. 16.
One key area OES reviewed is how the Small Business Association (SBA) and city governments are equitably distributing COVID-19 pandemic recovery funds
“The Federal government is learning extremely rich and impactful lessons from these 100 studies — and we’ve only scratched the surface,” GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said in the release. “Great outcomes start with good data, and the Office of Evaluation Sciences is a prime example of GSA’s commitment to using data and technology to improve service delivery governmentwide. OES is gathering the evidence we need to make recommendations that improve how the government delivers for the American people.”
OES’ analysis of the SBA and Equity portfolio discovered that documentation requirement affects who applies for funding and that prioritization methods affect which businesses are offered funding. Further, OES concluded that data limitations make it impossible for the office to extrapolate how the funding affects business survival.
Beyond OES’ work with the SBA and Equity portfolio, the office’s work has also taught it that text reminders increased visits to family planning clinics and letters mailed to property owners increased requests for on-site inspections for wildfire risk assessments in Montana.
“Innovative academic partnerships have been crucial to establishing the Office of Evaluation Sciences and central to us meeting the important milestone of 100 completed collaborations with agency partners to date,” OES Director Kelly Bidwell said in the release.
