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Database ARPA: Evidence-Based Investments Database

Updated April 10, 2025
Related Topic: Fiscal

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was enacted in 2021 to help mitigate challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The ARPA Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSFRF) program provided $199.8 billion for states, territories, and the District of Columbia to respond to the public health emergency and its economic impacts, and for the provision of government services and infrastructure.  

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s final rule for the CSFRF encourages recipients to use fiscal recovery funds for projects and programs that are supported by evidence. Recipients may also use the funds for program evaluation and evidence resources, which may include developing learning agendas to support evidence-building, using clearinghouses to identify evidence-based interventions and adopting evidence-based programs and policies.  

Treasury defines “evidence-based” as interventions that have strong or moderate evidence, meaning the evidence base supports causal conclusions for the program’s effectiveness. These can be determined through experimental studies, quasi-experimental studies and certain other studies that indicate positive findings on intended outcomes. The CSFRF final rule describes evidence clearinghouses as databases of research in particular program areas. Clearinghouses identify evidence-based programs, the strength of the evidence for those programs and provide contextual or supporting information.

Methodology  

States, territories and the District of Columbia are required to submit Recovery Plan Performance Reports detailing the use of their funds. In those reports, recipients describe the projects and programs they are implementing and how evidence-based practices and program evaluation are incorporated into their plans. The information in the database was collected by reviewing Recovery Plan Performance Reports submitted to Treasury in 2022, 2023 and 2024.  

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Investment Type
  • Direct Funding: Allocation for a project or program directly supported by evidence-based practices, evidence-based research or an evaluation that demonstrates the effectiveness of the investment. While states are required to use the Treasury's definitions when describing evidence use, it is sometimes unclear what supporting evidence states are relying on to make that determination in their reports. For purposes of categorization, projects and programs that claim to use evidence or implement an evidence-based practice have been included in the database.
  • Indirect Funding: Allocation for a project or program that uses existing data and research to justify an investment. The project may express general intent to use evidence or an evidence-based intervention throughout the implementation period. 

Use of Evidence
  • Direct Funding (Evidence-Based)
    • Program Evaluation: Using funds to conduct a program or policy evaluation, a randomized controlled trial, quasi-experimental study or other outcome evaluation.
    • Capacity Building: Using funds to support an office or agency that will build evidence or conduct evaluations, assist agencies with those processes, or enhance evidence-building capacity or data infrastructure capacity.
    • Evidence-Based Intervention: Using funds for a project or program (intervention) that is supported by rigorous evidence and research. Rigorous research would include one or more program evaluations using randomized-controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies, demonstrating causality and program effectiveness. 
    • Lower-Tier Supporting Evidence: Using funds for a project that includes outcomes or outputs that show some benefits of intervention, such as programs that have a logic model or certain program design elements, or program-specific performance metrics or data. 
  • Indirect Funding (Data-Informed)
    • Problem Statement: A justification for project funding by defining the problem through data and research. Problem statement does not provide evidence of program impact or effectiveness. 
    • Intent/Unspecified: Expresses general intent to use evidence or evidence-based intervention for a program or project without additional information about the research supporting the effort.  

Treasury Expenditure Category

Categories reflect the Treasury's 2022 Final Rule and 2023 Interim Final Rule Descriptions of how recipients may use CSFRF Funds.

  • Public Health.
  • Negative Economic Impacts.
  • Public Health - Negative Economic Impact: Public Sector Capacity.
  • Premium Pay.
  • Water, Sewer and Broadband Infrastructure.
  • Revenue Replacement.
  • Administrative.
  • Emergency Relief for Disasters.
  • Surface Transportation Projects.
  • Title I Projects.
The “Total Dollar Amount of CSFRF Investment” database column reflects allocation amounts reported by recipients in Recovery Plan Performance Reports. 

 This database is made possible through the generous support of The Pew Charitable Trusts. 

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