Workshop on Tracking and Evaluation of RD&D Programs at DOE

This half-day workshop highlighted the current practices and suggested improvements needed for the tracking and evaluation of DOE’s RDD programs. The event featured government evaluation experts, academics, non-profits, and DOE staff and decision-makers.

A Concept Paper introducing the topics covered in the three sessions of the workshop is already available below. A White Paper will be released a few weeks after the workshop. It will incorporate information and ideas offered by workshop participants, and by our own research.

Previously RFF held a Decisionmaking for Demonstration Funding Workshop exploring how the US Department of Energy (DOE) can make good decisions in funding demonstration projects from the many programs spawned by passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act

8:30 a.m. | Welcome

• Adria Wilson, Breakthrough Energy

8:35 a.m. | Overview

• Alan Krupnick, Resources for the Future

8:45 a.m. | Session 1: Motivation for and Current Landscape of Program Tracking and Evaluation

• Danielle Berman, US Office of Management and Budget
• Susan Jenkins, US Department of Health and Human Services
• Jeff Dowd, US Department of Energy

9:50 a.m. | Session 2: Evaluation Methods and Innovation Metrics

• Adam Jaffe, Brandeis University
• Jacquelyn Pless, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Kyle Myers, Harvard University

10:50 a.m. | Break

11:00 a.m. | Session 3: Data, Institutionalization and Evaluation Culture

• Joseph Aldy, Harvard University and Resources for the Future
• Katherine Dawes, US Environmental Protection Agency

12:00 p.m. | Concluding Remarks and Next Steps