The Evidence Act
The Evidence Act
The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, also known as the Evidence Act, requires federal agencies to develop evidence to support policymaking. Agencies must designate Evaluation Officers; develop evidence-building plans; an agency evaluation policy; and conduct capacity assessments to further support evidence-building activities.
For more information on the Evidence Act and its implementation across federal agencies please reference Evaluation.gov.
What's New
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published its most recent Capacity Assessment Final Summary Report, in accordance with requirements set out in The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act). The Evidence Act requires federal agencies and departments to conduct and provide an assessment of the “coverage, quality, methods, effectiveness, and independence of their statistics, evaluation, research, and analysis efforts of the Agency.” For this Capacity Assessment Summary Report, the EPA reports on agency-wide Capacity Assessment activities in four key areas: Data Use, Program Evaluation, Statistics, and Continuous Improvement. These evidence-building activities offer a powerful set of tools that enable the EPA to deliver on its mission and priorities as a regulatory agency.
The most recent Capacity Assessment Final Summary Report can be downloaded from the section that follows entitled “Capacity Assessment.”
What Is Evidence?
Evidence is viewed as the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid. Evidence can be quantitative or qualitative and may come from a variety of sources, including foundational fact finding (e.g., aggregate indicators, exploratory studies, descriptive statistics, and other research), performance measurement, policy analysis, and program evaluation. Evidence has varying degrees of credibility, and the strongest evidence generally comes from several high-quality, credible sources rather than a single study. For more detail and definitions please reference OMB Guidance M-20-12.
EPA Evidence Act Implementation
The EPA’s ability to pursue its mission to protect human health and the environment depends upon the availability and quality of data and evidence that support environmental policies, decisions, guidance, and regulations. The EPA issues publications as required by the Evidence Act, including Evidence Plans (Learning Agendas) and Capacity Assessments and highlights of completed program evaluations. For more information and highlights of completed program evaluations, please visit our Program Evaluation page.
Evaluation and Evidence Building Policy
EPA's Evaluation and Evidence-Building Policy (pdf) provides a framework to comply with the Evidence Act and OMB guidance and to promote a culture of evaluation and continuous learning that ensures Agency decisions are made on the best available evidence.
Learning Agenda
The Evidence Act requires federal agencies to publish Learning Agendas every four years as part of their Strategic Plan. The EPA's Learning Agenda identifies and sets out the priorities for evidence building, while answering critical questions related to Agency programs and policies. Agency leaders work alongside stakeholders to drive data collection and address data access challenges.
FY 2022-2026 Learning Agendas:
- Learning Agenda: Grants Commitments Met (Year 1) (pdf)
- Learning Agenda: Grants Commitments Met (Year 2) (pdf)
- Learning Agenda: Grants Commitments Met (Year 3/Year 4) (pdf)
FY 2026-2030 Learning Agenda
- EPA is currently in the process of developing its new Learning Agenda as an Evidence Plan to accompany the next Strategic Plan.
Capacity Assessment
The Evidence Act requires agencies to continually assess evidence-building capacity and publish an updated Capacity Assessment every four years. The EPA is committed to strategically conducting required Capacity Assessments to benefit programs and improve outcomes.
March 2022 Capacity Assessment: This first EPA Capacity Assessment, conducted from August 2023 to November 2023, appraised current evidence-building infrastructure (evaluation, research, analysis) and plans for capacity efforts for the future.
April 2026 Capacity Assessment: The EPA has published a summary report of its most recent Capacity Assessment, conducted from April 2021 to August 2024. For this Capacity Assessment Summary Report, the EPA reports on agencywide Capacity Assessment activities in four key areas: Data Use, Program Evaluation, Statistics, and Continuous Improvement. These evidence-building activities offer a powerful set of tools that enable the EPA to deliver on its mission and priorities as a regulatory agency.
2026 EPA Capacity Assessment (pdf)
Planning and Budgeting
Multi-year strategic plans are formulated to set goals and coordinate planning efforts and form the basis for annual plans which report on accomplishments and performance results. The agency's Strategic Plan, Annual Budget, and Performance Reports can be found on EPA’s Planning, Budget, and Results page.
EPA’s Annual Evaluation Plans and Evaluation in the President's Budget
- The EPA issues Annual Performance Plans as required by the Evidence Act
- EPA FY 2026 Annual Evaluation Plan and Other Evidence Building Activities (pdf)
Open Data
Title II of the Evidence Act requires maintenance of an online federal data catalogue to provide a single point of entry for the public to access agency data. Led by the Agency’s Chief Data Officer, EPA’s Data Governance Body oversees the implementation of open data initiatives which aim to increase the availability of data resources to the public and bolster the agency’s commitment to transparency.
Statistics
Title III of the Evidence Act reaffirms and expands Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002. Among other things, it gives members of the Federal statistical system responsibilities and authorities to facilitate more effective evidence building. The Evidence Act also expands the membership of the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP), which aids the Federal statistical system in operating as a more seamless system to support evidence-informed decision-making. EPA’s Statistical Official is a member of the ICSP. For more information on the Federal statistical system please visit statspolicy.gov.
Evidence Act Roles and Responsibilities
Evaluation Officer
The Evaluation Officer is the primary Agency official responsible for implementing the Agency’s Evaluation Policy and promoting the use of evaluation, statistics, research, analysis, and other evidence to achieve our mission. The Evaluation Officer also:
- Promotes Agency compliance with the Agency’s Evaluation Policy, including safeguarding against, and instituting mechanisms to ensure accountability for, any alteration or manipulation of evaluations or other evidence-building activities by Agency managers and leaders.
- Issues additional guidance, standards, procedures, and reporting necessary to implement and assess the effectiveness of this Policy.
- Consults and coordinates with other relevant Agency officials to ensure implementation of this Policy is consistent with and supports implementation of related laws and policies.
- Provides training, seminars, and other opportunities to make Agency staff and management aware of the Policy and its role in guiding the Agency's evaluation and other evidence-building activities.
The Evaluation Officer collaborates with the Statistical Official and Chief Data Officer, as well as program staff; other evaluation, statistics, analysis, data, enterprise risk management, and performance units and personnel in the Agency; policy staff; regulatory staff; privacy and information law and policy personnel; and Agency leadership. For more information on the roles and responsibilities of the Agency’s Evaluation Officer, please refer to the EPA’s Policy for Evaluations and Other Evidence-Building Activities.
Statistical Official
The Statistical Official is the Agency’s senior advisor for statistical policy, techniques, and procedures to support the conduct of credible, accurate, and objective statistical activities used for evaluation and evidence-building. The Statistical Official is responsible for promoting the use of techniques that provide necessary levels of data quality, confidentiality, and rigor, along with procedures that implement those techniques systematically and efficiently. For more information on the roles and responsibilities of the Agency’s Statistical Official, please refer to the EPA’s Policy for Evaluations and Other Evidence-Building Activities.
Chief Data Officer
The Chief Data Officer is responsible for Agency data management throughout the information lifecycle from data collection and creation through records management. The Chief Data Officer further ensures that, to the extent possible, Agency data and data management conforms with data management best practices. The Chief Data Officer strives to ensure that the Agency maximizes the use of data across the Agency, particularly with respect to production of evidence. For more information on the roles and responsibilities of the Agency’s Chief Data Officer, please refer to the EPA’s Policy for Evaluations and Other Evidence-Building Activities.
Evaluation Officer Council
The Evaluation Officer Council (EOC) is the interagency body composed of the Evaluation Officers from the 24 CFO Act agencies and their deputies. The EOC supports agencies in meeting the statutory requirements of Title I of the Evidence Act and identifies and coordinates cross-cutting solutions to increase the quality, efficiency, and use of Federal program evaluation and related evidence-building activities. For more information, please visit evalution.gov.