Office of InnovationData + Policy
The Data + Policy Team was created to support the State of New Jersey’s use of data, evidence, and performance evaluation to measure and improve digital services, policies, and programs to positively impact residents’ lives.
Challenge
Data, evidence-based research, and performance evaluation serve as powerful tools for addressing complex public challenges, improving policy decision-making, and supporting project improvement strategies. However, teams and projects often lack the capacity and expertise to employ a data-driven approach to make strategic decisions that improve program and service outcomes.
Innovation In Action
The Data + Policy Team employs a variety of tools, strategies, and services to help State partners better serve the public. These services include deploying data visualization and reporting tools, leveraging statistical data modeling and analysis, A/B testing and experimentation, designing surveys to optimize response rates and insights, conducting evidence-based policy reviews, and implementing innovative platforms to better engage with the public.
Impact + Metrics
- To inform how more than $100 million annually in funds earmarked for sustainability funding should be allocated, the Team engaged with the public using an innovative survey tool. By the end of the four-week voting period, 6,370 New Jerseyans engaged with the campaign, made selections 24,414 times and submitted 163 ideas.
- By supporting upgrades to a key data analytics platform, the Business Experience team was better able to understand how current and aspiring business owners are accessing content and services.
- OOI helped the Department of Environmental Protection’s Community Investment and Economic Revitalization program improve the grant and resource application process by conducting a personal development workshop to help them better understand their target audience and designing a survey to reach that audience.
Status
- The Data + Policy Team continues to work on projects that leverage data, evidence, and evaluation to positively impact resident’s lives. Currently, OOI is providing policy research expertise to support efforts to link project activities to resident impacts, developing tools to help teams prioritize project activities, identify performance metrics, and serve the public equitably, launching innovative engagements to bring residents into the policymaking process, and creating data analytics dashboards to drive content development on a variety of State websites.
Partners
- Office of the Governor
- NJ Department of Environmental Protection
- NJ State Office of the Secretary of Higher Education
Last updated on 5/2/24
