Government Capacity

If We’ve Learned Anything It is that Learning Agendas Bring Evidence into Policymaking

11.17.25 | 9 min read | Text by Cheri Banks

As a public health and policy professional, I often think about how scientific evidence makes its way into policymaking, and how that policy impacts the everyday lives of all Americans. Evidence-based policymaking is not just about policy that draws on science, it’s about how decisions are made, evaluated, and improved over time. For example, peer-reviewed studies showing the benefits of vaccination informed Operation Warp Speed and that the use of fluoride in water promotes public health for Americans because fluoride prevents the spread of diseases. It’s in our best interest that our government makes decisions using an evidence-based approach because of the outsized impacts these policies can have on our lives.

This is one of the main reasons The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policy Making Act of 2018, better known as the Evidence Act, was signed into law on January 14, 2019. This Act aims to increase the government’s capacity to use data and evidence to drive decision-making and policy development. One of its core components is a mandate that the 24 Chief Financial Officer (CFO) federal agencies appoint Evaluation Officers and Chief Data Officers. These officers have the legal standing to implement and enforce participatory data-driven policymaking within the federal government, and one of their key responsibilities is to oversee the development of agency learning agendas. 

Learning agendas are a set of high-priority questions developed by an agency with input from external stakeholders to assess the effectiveness of their programs and policies. These multi-year agendas are intended to be a crucial component of evidence-based policymaking and they require recurring engagement with non-governmental experts as part of the planning and evaluation cycle. These agendas should shape how policies, regulations, and programs impact the communities they serve. Answers to these learning agenda questions are also intended to inform critical budget decisions, allowing agencies to ensure that federal funding is spent appropriately. 

Why use learning agendas? 

There are several integral parts of learning agendas that make them a solid course of action for evidence-based policymaking. This process generates targeted evidence needed for crucial decisions, and in turn, that evidence supports more informed decision-making and strategic resource allocation. Taxpayers benefit from this approach because data illuminates which programs and policies are not efficient and should be eliminated. 

• Learning agendas help facilitate evidence-based policymaking by using  data to identify knowledge gaps. 
• Learning agendas require internal and external stakeholder engagement which ensures the inclusion of diverse perspectives that represent various communities. 
• Learning agendas help agencies prioritize critical questions and areas of concern where research and data are needed, while also allowing them to allocate resources appropriately based on needs. 
• Lastly, learning agendas encourage transparency and accountability to the American public through clearly outlining their research questions and plans, which emboldens the public to “conduct oversight”. This leads to true accountability because the public has access to the information that will be used to make decisions on their behalf.

State and Local Governments Use of Learning Agendas

While learning agendas have primarily been used by the federal government, they are increasingly relevant to state and local governments as well. These governments are responsible for delivering services that directly impact the day-to-day lives of most people when thinking about public health, education, housing, and more. By using learning agendas, state and local governments can test new policies and interventions, make adjustments as needed, and create opportunities for greater innovation. For example, North Carolina’s Office of Strategic Partnerships facilitated the development of a learning agenda for the state’s Department of Public Safety; this in turn allowed department leaders to establish partnerships with universities, receive quick turnaround answers, and determine what adjustments to make to their programming in the near term. Implementing learning agendas at the state and local levels will provide more structure to help identify areas for improvement, gather evidence, and support informed decision-making about what works for their communities. Additionally, insights gained from learning agendas can assist in scaling innovation through small pilot programs, guiding the strategic allocation of funds, and help build credibility and public trust. 

What is the status of learning agendas in the current administration?  

Learning agendas are still in the early stages of implementation across federal agencies, and notably, these efforts have not been supported by dedicated funding. This first set, applicable from FY2022-26, was released in 2022.  As of now, agencies continue to implement these learning agendas, although there have been some challenges in fully realizing their intended impact. The new guidance under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11 requires updates and revisions to these agendas, with a new focus on making them actionable and measurable through evidence plans. To clarify, the initial FY2022-26 learning agendas are evolving as part of an updated strategy to ensure that federal agencies are better equipped to use data and evidence in policymaking. Agencies are required to submit updated evidence plans as part of their annual planning cycle. These revisions provide an opportunity for reflection on the lessons learned and for further integration of evidence-building practices in the decision-making processes. These formative years have generated important momentum, which has established a foundation for using learning agendas as practical tools. To ensure that their impact is lasting, it is critical to sustain and build on this early progress so that learning agendas evolve from what has so far been mostly a compliance exercise into a standard mechanism for guiding investments, policy, and program improvements at all levels of government. The goal is to ensure that learning agendas are meaningful and actionable in a way that informs agencies of how to prioritize and evaluate their work. 

Under the new Administration, changes were made to the guidance that governs the learning agenda process. This updated guidance no longer emphasizes periodic updates for all learning agendas. In recent Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidance from OMB Circular A-11 Section 290, the development of learning agendas and evaluation plans will be consolidated into an annually updated evidence plan. Differing from the previous approach, the new evidence plan requires agencies to be specific when providing information about their sources of data, research methods, timelines, and how the findings will be used by each agency for decision-making. For evaluation purposes, all agencies must clearly define their evaluation questions and specify the information they plan to collect. This change is an effort to create a more streamlined and actionable roadmap for agencies by making them more focused and  transparent. With this new requirement requiring more clarity around methods, data sources, and cases, the new evidence plan approach may have the ability to ensure better accountability. This level of precision moves the process beyond compliance and toward a model that supports continuous learning and data-informed policymaking.

If we want to continue the momentum of increasing public trust, transparency, and delivering results to the American people, it’s abundantly clear that we must continue to rely on evidence for all policy decision making. Despite changes in the approach, the mandate for evidence-based policymaking remains strong, and learning agendas are crucial for maintaining public trust in government actions. Federal agencies now have an opportunity to learn from successes and challenges faced in the implementation of their first set of learning agendas, creating new versions for the upcoming fiscal year that are more useful and actionable for decision-making. However, it’s critical that we no longer view learning agendas as merely compliance exercises, but as tools that inform better policies and programs, ultimately benefiting the American people.     

While it seems that the current political climate can at times present challenges to the use of evidence-based data sources for decision making, those of us who are passionate about ensuring results for the American people will continue to firmly stand on the belief that learning agendas are a crucial component to successfully navigate a changing future. The new Evidence Plans that agencies are developing provide an important opportunity to ensure that evidence-based decision-making continues to evolve. This is a pivotal moment for agencies to build on prior efforts and enhance the strategic value of their plans, ensuring they are more impactful and better aligned with long-term evidence-building priorities. This is a moment for agencies to deliver more robust, data-driven solutions for the American public. 

Call to Action

The purpose of learning agendas is to aid in making better policy decisions. However, we’re now seeing tools that were once used to collect evidence-based and scientific data being dismantled at alarming rates. There have been countless agency firings, extreme funding cuts for programs that support evidence-based work, and attempts to censor those who wish to continue reporting data on systems that are now considered not aligned with the agenda of the current administration. This alone has made it more difficult to continue developing learning agendas which should be used as a tool to build greater efficiency.

Here’s my call to action for you. Learning agendas are statutorily mandated by the Evidence Act of 2018 and are one legal pathway to push the government to not only collect and use evidence, but also engage experts and the public in policy making. Over the next 6 to 12 months, agencies are expected to develop their updated evidence plans to align with fiscal year cycles and new requirements outlined by OMB. This makes the current moment critical for offering support, shaping priorities, and ensuring these plans reflect real evidence needs.  External organizations, academic institutions, and researchers are able and willing to assist the federal government with getting answers to these priority questions that are needed to make policy decisions. Over the past year, FAS embarked on a pilot aimed at assisting federal agencies with learning agenda questions. In partnership with Cornell University’s School of Public Health, we launched an initiative to support the federal government in addressing key questions outlined in their learning agendas. Recognizing that agencies often face resource and capacity constraints in conducting timely, evidence-based research, this effort sought to bridge the gap by tapping into academic expertise. By leveraging the skills and knowledge of graduate students, we created a pathway for rigorous, policy-relevant research to be produced in direct response to agency needs. Graduate students benefit from real-world experience, while agencies receive well-informed insights that can inform policy, program design, and implementation. This mutually beneficial model not only strengthens the pipeline between academia and government, but also accelerates the use of data and evidence in public sector decision-making.

Here are a couple of ways to advance learning agendas outside of government:

• Consider partnering with policy and advocacy organizations that have convening power and a footing in the policy space to advocate for the continued use of learning agendas to  improve how evidence is used in policymaking. By joining forces with organizations already familiar with the benefits of learning agendas, you can start or strengthen similar efforts in your organization. Learning agendas as a tool are still new to many, so finding ways to explore their use will also demonstrate their value. 
• Second, as researchers, academic institutions, and non-profits you can offer your expertise to state/local and federal governments to help design, evaluate, or solve priority questions.
• Third, find ways in which you can educate policymakers through resources such as op-eds, policy memos, and other resources. You can co-create these materials with organizations such as FAS or identify other organizations with similar interests in advancing evidence-based policy ideas. You also have the option of scheduling a meeting with Congressional representatives to share your concerns and provide them with stories that demonstrate how learning agendas have helped the government run more efficiently. 
• Fourth, educate yourself on what individual government agency learning agendas already exist, and the mandate itself. Informed citizens are crucial to democracy at all levels of government. Learning agendas can be applied at all levels, too.
• For example, in the GSA FY 2022-2026 learning agenda, one of the questions asks, “What strategies and technologies are most effective to efficiently operate and maintain Federal facilities and reduce adverse climate impacts?”. These are the kinds of concrete, priority questions that help show where gaps exist.

If you care about transparency and accountability within the federal, state and local government or if increasing public trust with the government is important to you, let’s work together. Here at FAS, we can collaborate through our policy entrepreneurship model on our Day One team to advocate for the continued development of learning agendas that are visible, actionable, and key to informed policymaking. Let’s continue to stay informed, advocate for the use of learning agendas, and support experts and other individuals who are willing to provide their expertise and research knowledge in an effort to lend factual evidence to decision makers. 

For more on how the federal evidence ecosystem has evolved, read our blog post on What’s Next for Federal Evidence-Based Policymaking.