Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy

What Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy does

The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 2001 that works to address major U.S. social problems — including educational failure, lack of economic mobility, crime, and homelessness — by promoting the adoption and rigorous evaluation of programs shown to be effective in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). From 2001 to 2015 it focused on federal policy, collaborating with the Bush and Obama administrations to enact tiered evidence initiatives in education, employment, early childhood, and child welfare; in 2023 it relaunched with a state and local policy focus. Its core products are research publications (the No-Spin Evidence Review launched in December 2024, and the archived Evidence-Based Policy Newsletter) and a facilitation service called the Partnership for Proven Programs (PFPP), which coordinates matched funding between philanthropic foundations and state governments to scale proven interventions such as ASAP, Saga Tutoring, Project QUEST, ASSISTments, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Wendy's Wonderful Kids.

The organization does not develop technology products. Its intellectual capital is concentrated in human-led evidence synthesis, RCT methodology, and policy facilitation, supported by the proven programs database at evidencebasedprograms.org. It is led by President Jon Baron, with Brontë Forsgren serving as Director of Evidence-Based Policy, and operates with a small staff of 1–10. The Coalition is unaffiliated with any program or intervention, which it cites as a basis for its credibility as an independent, expert resource.

The Coalition operates a nonprofit revenue model funded primarily through philanthropic grants, with Arnold Ventures as the dominant funder supporting PFPP initiatives in Maryland ($40M partnership), Colorado ($20M), and Oklahoma ($20M), where AV matching dollars are paired dollar-for-dollar with state government funds. It does not sell products or services to end users; rather, it monetizes its policy influence via grants, and its revenue stream is best characterized as philanthropic-grant-funded professional services delivered to state governments and foundations. Its primary customer segments are U.S. state and local government agencies and philanthropic foundations. Distribution runs through facilitation rather than direct delivery — implementing organizations deliver the actual social programs — and the Coalition reaches broader audiences via earned media, op-eds (The Hill, Washington Post), and contributed articles in outlets such as Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Name

Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy

Legal name

Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy

Website

https://evidencebasedpolicy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy is a nonprofit founded in 2001 that promotes evidence-based U.S. social policy through RCT analysis and the Partnership for Proven Programs model, facilitating matched state-and-philanthropy funding to scale rigorously proven programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research and Advocacy Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Other Social Advocacy Organizations (813319)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Policy, Research & Advocacy Organizations (Nonprofit) (BPAGADAN)

Keywords

• Evidence-based policy
• Social program evaluation
• Policy research advocacy
• Nonprofit policy analysis
• Randomized controlled trials

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grants and Partnerships: The Coalition operates as a nonprofit organization funded primarily through philanthropic grants. Major funding has come from Arnold Ventures to support Partnership for Proven Programs initiatives across multiple states.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that synthesizes rigorous randomized controlled trial (RCT) evidence on U.S. social programs and facilitates partnerships between state/local governments and philanthropic foundations to scale proven interventions. Its core offerings include the No-Spin Evidence Review publication, the Evidence-Based Policy Newsletter, and the Partnership for Proven Programs (PFPP) facilitation model that channels matched funding into evidence-based social programs.

Product overview

The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that produces research and publications focused on evidence-based policy reform. Its core offerings include the No-Spin Evidence Review (an online publication that critically analyzes RCT findings and identifies spin in research abstracts), the Evidence-Based Policy Newsletter (which summarizes program evaluations), and facilitation of the Partnership for Proven Programs (a collaborative model to scale proven-effective social programs). The organization does not offer a traditional technology product but provides evidence analysis services to government and philanthropic partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• No-Spin Evidence Review: An online publication that summarizes recent program evaluations and explains what the evidence really shows. Launched in December 2024 to replace the Evidence Newsletter.

Products and services

• No-Spin Evidence Review An online publication that summarizes recent program evaluations from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and explains what the evidence really shows. It addresses the problem of research spin in study abstracts and serves policymakers, philanthropies, journalists, and program operators seeking unvarnished RCT summaries.
• Evidence-Based Policy Newsletter (archived) Periodic newsletter summarizing RCT findings on social programs in education, workforce development, housing, and other areas. Issues are archived on the Coalition's website and remain a reference resource.
• Partnership for Proven Programs (PFPP) A collaboration model between state/local governments and philanthropic foundations that the Coalition facilitates to expand social programs rigorously shown to produce important improvements in people's lives. The Coalition identifies proven programs, secures philanthropic matching funds (notably from Arnold Ventures), coordinates state/local government matching commitments, and arranges independent RCT evaluations of scaled or replicated programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Programs like Year Up and Per Scholas shown in RCTs to increase long-term earnings by 20-40%
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• CrossPurposeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 November 2025Denver-based nonprofit receiving $4.5M under Colorado Partnership to replicate Project QUEST (called 'Ascent') workforce development program for low-income adults. Replication will be rigorously evaluated via RCT to determine if hoped-for effects are achieved in Colorado.
• Oklahoma (Gov. Kevin Stitt)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2025Oklahoma Partnership with Arnold Ventures: Up to $20M total investment ($10M AV matching funds). Coalition collaborates with Oklahoma DHS to identify promising programs, scale impactful initiatives, and ensure sustainability of public funding. Initial focus on Saga Tutoring and Wendy's Wonderful Kids.
• Colorado (Gov. Jared Polis)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2025Colorado Partnership for Proven Initiatives: $20M total partnership with Arnold Ventures. Coalition facilitates implementation. Initial funding recipients include Colorado Mountain College and Lamar Community College implementing ASAP, with additional expansions to Adams State University and University of Northern Colorado.
• Maryland (Gov. Wes Moore)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 February 2024Maryland Partnership for Proven Programs: $40M total investment ($20M from Arnold Ventures matched by $20M government funds). Coalition facilitates the initiative to scale programs including ASAP, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Saga tutoring, and ASSISTments. Programs include large RCT evaluations to build new evidence.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Arnold Ventures: Arnold Ventures is a major philanthropy that funds evidence-based policy research and program evaluation across many domains and is the Coalition's primary matching-fund partner. It is a funder/backer rather than a true competitor but is structurally closest in the evidence-based-policy ecosystem.
• RAND Corporation: RAND is a large, broad-based policy research institution producing rigorous analysis on social, education, and economic-policy issues. It is a broader incumbent operating in many of the same policy domains the Coalition targets.
• Urban Institute: Urban Institute is a nonprofit research organization that produces evidence on social and economic policy including education, health, and housing. It is a broad incumbent operating in overlapping domains with deeper resource base but less narrow advocacy on evidence-for-funding-decisions.
• Brookings Institution: Brookings is a major policy research institution covering economic, education, and social programs with a strong record of policy influence. Comparable as a broad policy-incumbent whose work overlaps the Coalition's evidence-to-policy translation niche.

Direct peers

• MDRC: MDRC is a nonprofit social policy research organization that runs rigorous randomized controlled trials on workforce, education, and family-income programs. It is the most direct methodological peer to the Coalition's RCT-evidence-and-scale-facilitation model.
• Westat: Westat is a research firm that evaluates social programs using rigorous methods including RCTs for federal, state, and foundation clients. Comparable methodology and program domains even though it operates more as a contract evaluator.
• Results for America: Results for America is a nonprofit that advocates for evidence-based and outcomes-driven decision-making in U.S. state and local government, very similar adoption-by-government thesis to the Coalition's Partnership for Proven Programs.
• Abt Associates: Abt Associates is a research and consulting firm that runs large-scale evaluations of social programs across health, education, housing, and workforce, closely paralleling the Coalition's RCT-driven evidence work.
• Mathematica Policy Research: Mathematica conducts rigorous social program evaluations, including randomized trials, for federal, state, and foundation clients. It is a comparable research-and-evaluation peer operating in many of the same social-policy domains.
• J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab): J-PAL funds and conducts randomized evaluations of anti-poverty programs globally and, increasingly, in the U.S. It is a direct methodological peer that shares the Coalition's RCT-first approach to building evidence on what works.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/JonBaronforMD
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coalition-for-evidencebased-policy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy