On Nov. 9, the Census Bureau presented at the American Evaluation Association's 2017 Evaluation Conference Session: "Moving Beyond the Barriers 2.0 - Effective Models for Using Administrative Data to Generate Evidence and Enhance Evaluation Capacity"

American Evaluation Association: Evaluation 2017

Recently, the Census Bureau forged a vision for expanding its Data Linkage Infrastructure to support evidence-based research and program evaluation. This presentation discusses the expansion activities, such as increasing the number and breadth of available administrative data, improving data access and timing for evaluation and program research, and developing tools for data management and harmonization.

Pilot studies demonstrate the utility of the Census Bureau’s Data Linkage Infrastructure for filling knowledge gaps and answering new research questions with a quality data source-- integrated data. The presentation also provides an overview of the process for conducting evaluation and program research using linked data within the Census Bureau’s Data Linkage Infrastructure, with a focus on examples using health and human services data.