Evidence to Action: A Policy Perspective from Three States

The Evidence to Action project (2019–2021), led by MDRC and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) and supported by Arnold Ventures, initiated a body of work designed to disentangle the barriers that exist between research and state-level higher education policy and partnered with state higher education agencies to develop solutions. As the final step in the Evidence to Action project, this brief proposes promising strategies found to address the factors that state-level postsecondary leaders have observed to have the most impact on evidence-based policymaking in higher education. This brief also provides recommendations and resources for state- and system-level decision-makers advocating for greater investment in evidence-based policymaking as well as for researchers and intermediary organizations hoping to produce relevant research that they can translate into policy.