The Colorado model: Leveraging research and data to guide investments and drive outcomes
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COMMENTARY | A new partnership helps lawmakers make data-driven decisions and identify whether initiatives are succeeding. It will ensure value for money for residents and deliver proven outcomes.
Coloradans know that when we work together and innovate, we can raise the bar for what is possible for our state. That has long been the Colorado Way, and is now reflected in a new partnership with Arnold Ventures, a philanthropic foundation providing a $10 million investment in policies and initiatives proven by research to work.
A growing body of research around the real-world outcomes of initiatives and investments has provided the equivalent of GPS for policymakers, charting a clear path to ideas that have been proven to work — ideas ready to scale and implement.
This partnership between the State of Colorado and Arnold Ventures represents a new way of thinking about policymaking. With robust research in hand, state leaders can make data-driven decisions backed by rigorous, causal studies that confirm whether an initiative is achieving its intended aims and, just as importantly, identify when an effort is not working.
That way, leaders can swiftly change course to drive outcomes and best deliver for the people we serve. This is how we maximize each dollar invested and deliver better, proven outcomes for families, communities, and businesses.
Part of Arnold Ventures' efforts include closely monitoring what’s working all over the country, ready to take steps to scale and replicate what works. It doesn’t matter where a good idea comes from, if it gets results, we want to pursue it.
For example, the City University of New York system’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs has shown significant success in improving graduation rates. What’s more, the initiative provides a real return on investment. Research shows that students who participated in the program earn, on average, 11% more than their peers six years after graduation.
Those are the kinds of numbers worthy of our attention. In fact, right here in Colorado, we’re working to replicate ASAP at Lamar Community College and Colorado Mountain College, providing comprehensive academic, financial, and personal support for low-income students to successfully earn two-year associate degrees.
This may all sound straightforward, but schools nationwide have spent decades trying to figure out the right supports to increase student success, whether it’s tutoring or financial aid, with mixed results. After evaluating schools in Ohio, New York and California, Arnold Ventures found that ASAP stands head and shoulders above the rest. Now we can follow that research to deliver the best return on investment here in Colorado, for both the money and time put into students’ education.
Arnold Ventures is all-in on this data-driven approach. Since its inception in 2008, the foundation has worked to build this body of research so that lawmakers — both Democratic and Republican — can tap into a full menu of proven policy options to best address our most persistent problems from housing costs to criminal justice reform to educational access.
By pairing robust research with Colorado’s investments to expand opportunity and prosperity for all Coloradans, we can unlock evidence-based pathways that make it easier and more affordable for hardworking Coloradans to get the skills needed to fill in-demand jobs and succeed in today's — and tomorrow’s — economy. That’s why we’re starting by focusing on data-driven initiatives to increase higher education completion rates and elevate workforce training.
With data, innovation and collaboration, we can continue to best deliver for Coloradans. We want to lead by example, encouraging more dialogue between state leaders around the most promising investments so that others can replicate them.
As chair of the bipartisan National Governors Association, I am working alongside Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt to focus on how we can better use metrics to drive improved outcomes on a national level with the “Let’s Get Ready: Educating All Americans for Success” initiative, which looks at how we can best prepare our students for real life and our economy for real success.
Here in Colorado, we are showing what is possible when government leaders and philanthropy come together for those we serve. This innovative partnership raises the bar on our ability to make data-driven decisions that help to build a safe, affordable, vibrant future for Colorado — and encourage more states and philanthropic leaders to follow suit.
Jared Polis is the Governor of Colorado. Laura and John Arnold are founders and co-chairs of Arnold Ventures, a philanthropic organization dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through evidence-based policy solutions that maximize opportunity and minimize injustice.