Colorado

The Colorado Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) and its Chief of Staff lead the use of data and evidence in the state’s budget process. The joint OSPB/Operations Office Evidence-Based Policymaking (EBP) team comprises ten members who provide guidance to state agencies and budget analysts on assessing the evidence level of programs.

Additionally, the Colorado Governor’s Office of Operations and its Director of Operations and Cabinet Affairs require agencies to develop theories of change and focus on measurable outcome metrics during annual goal setting.

In 2017, the Governor’s Office launched a government-research partnership with the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab, housed at the University of Denver. The Lab is an entity that partners with dozens of agencies and researchers to conduct evaluations and promote evidence-based decision-making. The Lab also houses the Linked Information Network of Colorado (LINC), which integrates multiple state databases across domains.

The State of Colorado’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) includes a Chief Data Officer. The Chief Data Officer is responsible for developing and directing the state’s data strategy, data governance, and data management. The position establishes enterprise data policies, standards, and procedures to maximize the state’s investment in data management systems.

OIT’s Government Data Advisory Board (GDAB), created by a 2009 law, advises the Chief Data Officer on activities necessary to develop the interdepartmental data protocol, made up of members from all state agencies. The board works to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of state government and policymaking by providing guidance and recommendations on how the state should manage data management systems. GDAB produces an annual report discussing the progress made over the past year and key recommendations for the following year. In 2022, GDAB created a data governance subcommittee, which meets bimonthly to advance the mission of the GDAB.

Since FY 2017-18, Colorado’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) administers a $0.50M annual fund for program evaluation and implementation grants, which provides competitive funding to support program implementation and/or evaluations. The $0.50M annual fund is 2.5% of the Office’s total discretionary fund. Through this grant, the Governor’s Office has invested approximately $3.7M in grants to support evidence-based policy.

H.B. 22-1295 created the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) and established the new universal preschool program (UPK). The bill appropriated $10.31M, $0.15M, and $0.45M for evaluations of early intervention needs throughout the state, the newly established state agency, UPK respectively. The $11.41M this bill appropriated for evidence building made up 14% of the state agency’s total discretionary funding for SFY 2022-23.

The Colorado Department of Labor & Employment (CDLE) Office of Labor Market Information (LMI) conducts a majority of the data collection and evidence building throughout the state agency. The Office receives $3.6M annually to collect and analyze information about labor market trends throughout Colorado. In addition to other evidence building activities CDLE spends 6% of its total discretionary funding of $66.5M on evaluation.

The Colorado Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) publishes annual guidance to state departments requiring the use of data and evidence in the state’s budget process. It also provides definitions for key research and evaluation terms and “encourages agencies to use the evidence continuum outside the budget process as a means to evaluate programming internally, and to guide discussions with OSPB analysts and internal and external stakeholders.”

The Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab was “created in 2017 under the leadership of the Governor’s Office to work “with a broad range of government and community partners…to obtain the best available evidence to address” key policy priorities. This collaboration continues to this day, as the Lab is an active partner with OSPB and legislative staff to create best practices for building evidence. The Lab also supports the design and implementation of the state’s performance management system.

The Colorado Government Data Advisory Board was created in 2009 to advise the State Chief Information Officer on activities and policies necessary for developing an interdepartmental data protocol. The GDAB is composed of representatives from all the state’s agencies who directly oversee data functions at their respective agencies. The board established ethical use of data as a statewide data strategy principle serving as a guide for ongoing, consistent effort by state agencies.

A 2021 Colorado law codified the “share first” expectation (CO Code § 24-37.5-703 (2022)) for data sharing statewide, specifically that, except where prohibited by state or federal law, agencies are preemptively authorized to share data with other state agencies.

The Colorado Information Marketplace is the state’s open data repository. Beyond state open data, the Colorado Governor’s Office and the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab co-designed the Linked Information Network of Colorado (LINC), has a three-tier legal structure, to facilitate data sharing for research and analytics in 2019. The network is designed to share data across state agencies and provide de-identified data to perform robust, academically rigorous research to inform policy.

Colorado has launched a variety of grant programs across multiple agencies that define and prioritize evidence. These programs, focusing on areas such as community health, literacy, workforce development, and opioid response require applicants to spend funds on programs that are evidence-based. The total current funding amount for these initiatives is over $74 million, with Request for Proposals (RFP) published between July 29, 2021 and March 6, 2024. These grants aim to enhance the well-being of Colorado residents by supporting education improvements, health services, and preventive measures for youth and vulnerable populations.

From the Colorado Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act, prioritizing early literacy proficiency, to the Nurse-Family Partnership providing vital support for first-time parents, Colorado has invested $1.7B since January 2021 across 20 evidence-based direct services that address specific community needs with targeted interventions. Bolstered by legislative mandates and evidence-based approaches, such as the Colorado Works Subsidized Training and Employment Program, designed to empower TANF recipients, these programs collectively reflect Colorado’s commitment to evidence-based interventions.

The Colorado Governor’s Office of State Planning & Budgeting (OSPB) has required evidence-related information in budget proposals since FY 2017-18. These requirements have changed over time to reflect improved practices and statutory requirements in S.B. 21-284 and the recently passed H.B. 24-1428. OSPB and legislative staff collaborated for more than a year to refine new statutory requirements embodied in H.B. 24-1428, with the help of experts from the University of Denver’s Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab.

The new statutory requirements include a revised process for state agencies to characterize the evidence related to budget proposals and encourage agencies to continually build evidence to better inform the decision making process. In addition to considering evidence in budget-related decisions, state agencies are instructed to evaluate requests through a lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Departments must identify all stakeholder groups who may be impacted and explain how, identify groups who may be disproportionately impacted and determine whether the request will have negative, positive, or mixed equity impacts.

The 2013 SMART Act required all state agencies to submit annual performance reports to the state legislature. Reports must include: (1) performance measures for the major functions of the department; (2) performance goals for at least the subsequent three years; (3) a description of the strategies necessary to achieve those goals; and (4) a summary of the department’s most recent performance evaluation. The Governor’s Director of Operations and Cabinet Affairs oversees the development and execution of statewide performance goals. The Governor’s Office of Operations maintains the statewide performance management system required, by law, to be published on an annual basis. Providing guidance on developing annual strategic goals and annual performance plans and identifies opportunities for process improvement (CRS 2-7-204). Executive branch agencies continue to identify annual Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) that align with their agency’s mission, the statewide strategic goals, working group goals, and the Reimagine State Government Initiative.

The Statewide Equity Office (SEO) is dedicated to fostering equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility through active engagement with both State of Colorado employees and community members. To further this commitment, the SEO launched five distinct Statewide Communities of Practice in June 2024: Accessibility, External Strategy, Internal Strategy, Supplier Diversity: Construction, and Supplier Diversity: Goods & Services. These groups, composed of individuals with professional and lived experience in overcoming disparities, guide the SEO’s strategic directions to ensure that our initiatives resonate effectively with the diverse communities we serve.

The Statewide Equity Office is committed to leading engagement with populations experiencing disparities. The Statewide Equity Office distributes resources and efforts across various initiatives. Among these, a key aspect of our work involves actively collaborating with both internal and external stakeholders to address and engage with communities experiencing disparate outcomes.

The Colorado Governor’s Dashboard, established in 2019, outlines high-priority statewide, interagency strategic goals: energy and renewables, health, crime prevention, and land use. Progress towards these goals, set by cabinet working groups led by the Governor’s Office of Operations and the Policy Office, is displayed on the publicly available Governor’s Dashboard, with updates multiple times each year. The goals are designed to supplement and contribute to agency performance plans, providing clarity on which agency is responsible for delivering on each component of interagency efforts. The Governor’s annual budget request links these strategic goals to specific agency activities and outcomes. Agencies are asked to consider equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts when developing performance metrics.