Connecticut

Pursuant to Section 10 of PA 22-118, the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) created a Research and Evaluation unit, within the Data and Policy Analytics division, with support from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF). The unit is responsible for coordinating evaluation and impact for investments through ARPA, working closely with state agencies, subrecipients and applied researchers and evaluators. OPM has developed an Evidence and Evaluation guide and the unit helps to develop learning agendas and evaluation plans and to coordinate access to state data resources and will focus on providing ‘hands-on’ support and guidance to recipients of funds and assist in collecting and synthesizing evidence for reporting and communications. To support future research and evaluation efforts, the unit will develop a research collaborative to improve use of data from the state longitudinal data system to inform state policy questions.

A 2018 Connecticut law formalized the position of Chief Data Officer (CDO) within the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) and created the Connecticut Data Analysis Technology Advisory Board. The law required each state agency to designate an agency data officer to manage high-value data sets and coordinate data-related activities with the state CDO. The CDO, along with individual agency data officers, is required to biannually update the state data plan, which covers open data and creates data standards for agencies.

The Office of Policy and Management Data and Policy Analytics division serves as a resource for data analysis and data-related projects and is responsible for the development and implementation of the State Data Plan, the State’s Open Data Portal, and P20 WIN, the state’s integrated data system, development of the state GIS Office, and establishment of the research and evaluation functions and policies for agencies.

The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) is committed to data transparency and learning from our ongoing initiatives. CSDE used federal coronavirus relief funds to establish the Center for Connecticut Education Research Collaboration (CCERC) and is now institutionalized. This collaborative partners with institutions of higher education in CT to evaluate the effectiveness of public investments in education. Another significant investment is the CSDE’s data portal EdSight which provides public access to a wide array of datasets and dashboards on topics ranging from student enrollment, engagement and outcomes, to educator capacity and diversity, and school and district performance.

The Office of Workforce Strategy is allocating resources for evaluation of the CareerConneCT program, which funds job training at several providers in Connecticut. The Office of Policy and Management has established the Data and Policy Analytics division, which consolidates resources for collection, management and analysis of data for executive branch agencies.

The P20 WIN Operating Group continues to use the P20 WIN Learning Agenda when reviewing data requests to ensure that research conducted using administrative data serves the priorities of the state agency contributors.

Agencies with projects funded by the American Rescue Plan have engaged third party evaluators or have generated analytics related to their work to be able to demonstrate the impact of these investments. These evaluations have ranged from the impact of legal representation for tenants experiencing eviction to the impact of supporting maternal and infant mental health and the findings have been used in budget advocacy.

While there is no statewide policy requiring research to be made public, Public Act 25-93 Section 33 requires agencies that submitted data towards the disconnected youth research project to post the report on the agency’s web site.

Finally, Connecticut’s Chief Data Officer is collaborating with the Tobin Center at Yale University to increase engagement with Connecticut’s higher education institutions and identify ways state agencies can leverage universities’ substantial research and analytic capacities.

Connecticut recognizes that prioritizing interventions with evidence of effectiveness will ensure better allocation of resources and more importantly, lead to better outcomes for people served by the state. As such, state agencies are making progress in requiring that grants and projects be funded with taxpayer dollars, articulate properly potential benefits and offer quantitative evidence of how this will occur. Connecticut grant programs that define and prioritize evidence include grants administered by Serve Connecticut, the Office of Early Childhood, the Department of Social Services, and the Department of Education.

The Connecticut Two-Generational Interagency Plan is a coordinated, cross-agency strategy designed to disrupt intergenerational poverty by aligning services and policies that support both children and adults in a family. Through collaborative efforts among state agencies—including the Office of Early Childhood, Department of Labor, Department of Social Services, and others—the plan promotes data sharing, leverages existing resources, and sets shared goals to advance family economic self-sufficiency and racial and socioeconomic equity

The Connecticut Office of Early Childhood partnered with the Connecticut Department of Housing on a pilot program that provides housing vouchers to Head Start families as a step towards ending homelessness and supporting family success.

The OPM Secretary and Executive Budget Officer include requirements to measure program accomplishments and outcomes as part of the annual process for agencies to request budget changes. The guidance includes the definition for program outcomes rather than input or process measures, and encourages the use measures supported by peer-reviewed research.

CT General Statute 4-74a requires the Governor’s annual budget submission to include the impact of proposed spending and revenue on the economy and how the budget will ensure equity in the state.

Public Act 25-168 Sections 212-241 create a spending allocation program for small contractors or minority business enterprises with annual spending goals for goods and services by industry category and contract spending goals for public works contracts. 

Connecticut’s newly established Office of Opportunity, created by executive order, is tasked with embedding inclusion and access across all state government operations. The office’s mission is to eliminate systemic barriers and ensure that state services are efficiently and effectively delivered and  accessible to all Connecticut residents regardless of socio-economic status. The Chief Opportunity Officer will lead efforts to assess agency policies, develop and publish Opportunity Plans, integrate efficiency and effectiveness into budgeting, and promote inclusive communication and contracting practices. All state agencies are required to collaborate with the office to implement sustainable, opportunity-driven strategies statewide.

In addition, Connecticut’s Office of Early Childhood (OEC) has community engagement initiatives and policies. The CT OEC Parent Cabinet is a diverse, parent-led 15 member statutory statewide advisory committee to OEC (P.A. 23-160, Sec. 40). It meets regularly to help advise the agency on how to make improvements in the lives of children and families across the state. And in 2015, Connecticut state law created a Two-Generational (2Gen) Initiative, which works to put the whole family, both children and their caregivers, on a path to economic stability.  The 2Gen approach works to empower parents as civic leaders and partners in our work.

While Connecticut does not have a single statewide strategic plan with measurable outcome goals, several statewide efforts exist, including the Interagency Council for Ending the Achievement Gap in education, the Interagency Council on Homelessness, and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s 20 by 26 goals.

Another example is GreenerGov CT, a statewide effort to measure progress in environmental sustainability, by reducing energy use, water, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions while lowering operating costs for the state of Connecticut’s government facilities and operations. Connecticut’s state agencies have continued to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% below 2001 levels; reduce waste disposal by 25% from a 2020 baseline; reduce water consumption by 10% from a 2020 baseline; and set additional sub-goals by 2030. The state centralized collection of hundreds of thousands of utility bills from across the state’s operations and facilities to build the public-facing Data Dashboard. GreenerGovCT reports progress in the 2024 Progress Report.