GSA Blog

GSA to Build Evidence to Advance Equitable Outcomes through the American Rescue Plan

GSA’s Office of Evaluation Sciences will work with federal agencies to support equitable outcomes through American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds and programs. A set of new evaluations will be intentional and strategic in building evidence to understand the role of ARP programs and supported interventions in improving outcomes for historically underserved populations.

The ARP was designed to address immediate needs related to the pandemic, with a specific focus on addressing historically disparate outcomes across race, class and geography that were further exacerbated by the pandemic. As federal programs are innovating and finding new ways to achieve these goals, GSA’s evaluations will measure whether ARP-funded interventions are working as intended and share lessons learned.

“GSA’s role in this area is critical,” said Andrea M. O’Neal, GSA’s Equity Senior Advisor. “Building evidence to mitigate systemic disparities and ensure equitable delivery of ARP resources is integral to rebuilding existing government-wide services and strengthening trust with the public.“

GSA’s efforts have two core elements:

• Rapid and rigorous evaluations: GSA’s Office of Evaluation Sciences will undertake a portfolio of evaluations with agency partners to better understand how to improve awareness, access, and allocation of ARP programs and resources, focusing on ARP programs with equity goals. These evaluations will be led by OES Fellows serving in the government via Intergovernmental Personnel Act Agreements.
• National evaluation: GSA will dedicate resources to fund a multi-year national evaluation of a cross-section of priority ARP-funded programs, using an independent third-party research firm. This evaluation is a partnership with the OMB Evidence Team, agency partners, and the ARP Implementation Team. This effort will support a national evaluation across multiple agencies and geographies, leverage external support to answer questions on where and how ARP programs helped advance equity, and build evidence for future implementation efforts.

These efforts complement GSA’s recent ARP-related announcements to the Technology Modernization Fund’s recently awarded projects and Technology Transformation Services’ first wave of ARP-funded projects.

Get involved: Join OES to Support these Efforts and Follow our Work

Now hiring: If you have technical training in research and evaluation and are passionate about building evidence that identifies effective approaches from within the government, apply by January 3rd to be part of this exciting effort. View solicitations and apply here.

• Fellowships and Federal Details: Due Monday, January 3, 2022.

Following GSA’s commitment to transparency, the findings from all evaluations are shared publicly. Follow @OESatGSA for updates!