Do What Works
Smarter Government, Better Results
Do What Works
Smarter Government, Better Results
Collectively, the essays make a robust case for the use of data to implement evidence-based policy solutions. . . . The book’s bipartisan lens will help it appeal to readers regardless of their political affiliation.
A must-read book for every leader—and every American—who insists that their government deliver better results
Broken. Ineffective. Dysfunctional. Those are the words Americans often use to describe the government they pay for and depend upon to meet some of their most basic needs.
But what if governments routinely delivered better results? What if government leaders invested in more effective solutions that improved lives and saved taxpayer dollars?
Do What Works shares stories of progress and impact from communities across the country where that’s happening right now. Denver, Colorado, set an ambitious goal of getting one thousand unhoused residents off the streets and achieved it in less than a year. Mississippi followed proven evidence to help students learn to read and saw its test scores rise faster than any other state’s in the country. Birmingham, Alabama, borrowed a promising early literacy program from Providence, Rhode Island, and tripled the chances its youngest kids would be ready for kindergarten.
Written by governors, mayors, legislators, and other leaders of both parties who are testing bold solutions and using data to improve results, these inspiring essays offer a blueprint for how governments everywhere can solve urgent challenges and rebuild public trust. Contributors to the book include:
- Wes Moore (D-Maryland)
- Governor Mike DeWine (R-Ohio)
- Governor Tate Reeves (R-Mississippi)
- Congressman Greg Landsman (D-Ohio)
- Congressman Rudy Yakym (R-Indiana)
- Peter Orszag, former Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (Obama)
- John Bridgeland, former Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council (G. W. Bush)
- Ambassador and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D-Chicago)
- Mayor Mike Johnston (D-Denver)
- Mayor Randall Woodfin (D-Birmingham)
- Mayor Monroe Nichols (D-Tulsa)
- Former Mayor G.T. Bynum (R-Tulsa)
- Mayor Matt Mahan (D-San José)
- Carey Wright, former Mississippi Superintendent of Education
- Tennessee Commissioner of Education Lizzette Reynolds
- Assemblymember Amanda Septimo (D-New York)
- Commissioner Leslie Meyer (R-Audrain County, Missouri)
- Lisa Morrison Butler, former Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services
- Rosanne Haggerty, President and CEO of Community Solutions
- Jennifer Blatz, CEO of StriveTogether
- Alan Cohen, Founder and CEO of the Child Poverty Action Lab
- Todd Williams, Chairman and CEO of the Commit Partnership
- Plinio Ayala, CEO of Per Scholas
Do What Works is edited by Michele Jolin and David Medina, the Co-Founders of Results for America, a national nonprofit whose bestselling book, Moneyball for Government, inspired governments across the country to shift billions of dollars to more effective solutions.
The real work of governing today is not just imagining better ideas—it is delivering them. Do What Works takes you inside the rooms, statehouses, and city halls, red and blue alike, where leaders demonstrate what that takes and how plans become results communities can see and feel. What emerges is a book of practical examples—lessons any public official can lift—of government that performs and earns trust in the currency this moment demands: with impact.”
The stories in this book should inspire all leaders to follow the data, relentlessly measure results, and take risks on promising new ideas that can expand opportunity for all Americans.