The Pew Center for the States has released an intriguing issue brief (“Trade-off Time: How Four States Continue to Deliver“) recommending “evidence-based decision making” in the state budget process. The report looks at four states for examples of how to measure the performance of government programs with an eye toward creating sensible budgets. According to the authors, these examples show “how tough economic times can be a crucible forging better decision making and a heightened vigilance to ensure every precious tax dollar delivers maximum value for the public.”

As the excerpts from the Pew report below indicate, this approach can lead to the elimination of underperforming programs, but also to the strengthening of programs with proven results.

Utah:

…the Governor’s Office of Economic Development recently cut a $300,000 program to help businesses recruit employees when it could not show measurable success. Most of the savings were returned to the general fund, but a portion was used to fund an online recruitment program to encourage former Utah residents to move back to the state by matching their resumes with 120 companies in the state.

Indiana:

…a $600,000-a-year program at the Indiana State Library to give grants to local and county libraries was cut because it did not have an explicit, measurable goal. Another $900,000 program for “value-added research” at the Indiana State Department of Agriculture was cut because the statutory language was so broad that funding for practically anything could be justified—thus no specific goals could be identified.

Virginia:

To determine whether the state’s investment in pre-k has led to better school achievement, legislators commissioned an audit to analyze the program’s impact. Among other findings, data showed that at-risk children who had participated in state preschool passed kindergarten literacy tests at rates 4 percent to 5 percent higher than those who had not. The study was an important factor in the approval of additional funding for the program.

Maryland:

StateStat… is monitoring 10 major departments, including corrections, health, housing and transportation. Every two weeks, the StateStat team holds a 90-minute meeting where data are dissected and agency heads are grilled on their performance by the governor’s chief of staff and sometimes, by the governor…. This monitoring of results is making it easier for the state to identify fat to trim and consolidations that achieve savings.