Results for America

09/29/2026

🗣️ Results for America’s new book, "Do What Works: Smarter Government, Better Results", is out TODAY, and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you!

Edited by our co-founders, Michele Jolin and David Medina, "Do What Works" tells powerful, bipartisan stories of government leaders across the country who are delivering results and improving lives right now.

At a time when trust in government is near the lowest levels in seven decades, these stories show how governments everywhere can solve urgent challenges, deliver for residents and rebuild public trust.

We are honored to bring together over two dozen leaders—including Wes Moore, Governor Mike DeWine, Gov. Tate Reeves, Rahm Emanuel, and mayors from Denver, San José, Tulsa and Birmingham—sharing firsthand accounts of testing bold ideas and scaling proven solutions.

Inside, you will find inspiring examples of what happens when governments focus on impact, including:

✅ Denver reducing unsheltered homelessness by 64% in just three years.
✅ Mississippi following proven evidence to raise student test scores faster than any other state.
✅ Birmingham investing in an early literacy program that triples the chances kids are ready for kindergarten.
✅ New York backing a workforce program that raises lifetime earnings by an average of $1.8 million per graduate.

If you are looking for concrete steps and real-world proof that government can work better for everyone, we hope you’ll read "Do What Works" and share it with others.

Get your copy today: https://results4america.org/do-what-works/

09/28/2026

Results for America is seeking a dynamic professional with a passion for improving the performance of city government with strong research, analytical, and interpersonal skills to join the What Works Cities City Experience team.

Learn more about this exciting role and apply here:
https://grnh.se/0uoakn127us

09/18/2026

JUST LAUNCHED: Our 2026 State Standard of Excellence is here!

We're celebrating 15 leading states that are using data and evidence to produce better, more meaningful results for their residents. Whether by expanding early childhood education, or improving mental health outcomes, or reducing recidivism rates, states are increasingly investing in evidence-based solutions that address some of the most urgent challenges facing their communities.

For the first time since the State Standard launched in 2018, more than a third of all Americans now live in a certified state. See how yours performed – and what other states are doing to find, fund and implement solutions that work.

🔗 Visit the State Standard:

Results for America's 2026 State Standard of Excellence sets a national standard for how state governments can effectively use evidence and data.

09/01/2026

Today in The Department of What Works, Brittany Miller, PhD, executive director for the Center for Outcomes Based Contracting, shares a story from Duval County Public Schools in Florida, about how an outcomes-based contract helped keep a new literacy tutoring program on track, despite a hurricane and staff transition, ultimately helping 1,200 students achieve reading fluency.

📰 Read the full story:
https://thedepartmentofwhatworks.substack.com/p/despite-a-hurricane-and-staff-departure

09/01/2026

08/07/2026

🆕 Our latest from The Department of What Works is live!

In this week’s post, Michigan State Senator John Cherry shares how Democrats and Republicans came together to help fund Rx Kids, an evidence-based program that provides flexible cash transfers to families during pregnancy and a baby’s first months of life.

Senator Cherry represents Flint, where Rx Kids was piloted and is already delivering remarkable results:

➤ 18% decrease in preterm births
➤ 27% decrease in the proportion of infants born with low birth weights
➤ 29% reduction in admissions to neonatal intensive care, generating an estimated $6.2 million in healthcare savings
➤ 32% decrease in the rate of allegations of infant maltreatment
➤ 91% decrease in evictions for participants

Learn more about the bipartisan support behind Rx Kids and how the program is expanding across and beyond Michigan:
https://thedepartmentofwhatworks.substack.com/p/rx-kids-started-in-flint-now-its

This evidence-based, bipartisan program gives families support during pregnancy and a baby’s first year. It is already delivering strong results — and expanding across and beyond Michigan.

08/04/2026

A 2026 analysis from The Pew Charitable Trusts found that federal grants make up 36% of state revenue. Yet applying for and managing them is often so complex that the money is difficult to capture and harder to keep. In our latest post in The Department of What Works, learn how Grant Ready Kentucky helped the small town of Campton tap into critical federal funding to bring clean drinking water and much more to its residents.

Some of the results from Kentucky’s GRANT Match Program include:

🔑 Each dollar disbursed has unlocked more than seven in total project value across the state.

🏗️ More than $1 billion in total project value has been approved through the program for over 400 projects delivering clean water, safer bridges, working infrastructure, and much more, in places that couldn’t have broken ground otherwise.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Lives changed: families in Eastern Kentucky pouring clean water from their own taps for the first time, and thousands of other lives improved in myriad small but mighty ways across the Commonwealth.

Explore the story today!
https://thedepartmentofwhatworks.substack.com/p/kentuckys-solution-for-communities

08/03/2026

🏆 Congratulations to City of San Antonio - Municipal Government’s Department of Communications & Engagement for winning the 2026 Sharman Stein Award for Storytelling Changemakers!

The award recognizes local government teams that build trust between government and residents through collaboration and public communication.

“At the City of San Antonio, we believe great communication builds trust, removes barriers to participation, and gives every resident a voice in shaping our community,” said Alanna Reed, Director of Communications & Engagement.

Learn more at the link in our bio.

07/30/2026

Small towns across the country often struggle to make badly needed infrastructure improvements, even when federal funding is available. The problem is that federal grants usually require a local “match,” often hundreds of thousands of dollars that communities simply do not have.

Today in The Department of What Works, Grant Ready Kentucky 's Hannah Conover and Zach Matheson show how Kentucky is helping solve that problem through a story from Campton, where families who have relied on failing wells for generations will soon receive long-awaited city water.

🔗 Read the full story here:
https://thedepartmentofwhatworks.substack.com/p/kentuckys-solution-for-communities

How a tiny Kentucky town broke out of the "match trap" — and how Grant Ready Kentucky is helping the rest of the state, and the country, do the same.

07/29/2026

“As housing affordability becomes an increasingly urgent national challenge, New Jersey’s experience shows that state governments can play a meaningful role in expanding housing opportunity — and that with clear rules, accountability, and persistence, even longstanding political resistance can begin to shift,” write Fair Share Housing Center’s Jag Davies and Results for America’s Brittany Giroux Lane in the most recent post from The Department of What Works.

Learn more and read their post here. ⬇️
https://thedepartmentofwhatworks.substack.com/p/with-new-clear-statewide-rules-new