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Tracy Allison Altman

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prison inmate in orange clothing

Randomistas fight poverty, nurses improve youth outcomes, and decision support struggles.

7 April 2017By
1. Jason Zweig tells the story of randomistas, who use randomized, controlled trials to pinpoint what helps people become self-sufficient around the globe. The Anti-Poverty Experiment describes several successful, data-driven programs, ranging from financial counseling to grants of livestock. 2. Can an early childhood program prevent child abuse, crime, drug abuse, and neglect? Yes, says...
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Equity crowdfunding algorithms, decision-making competitions, and statistical wild geese.

16 March 2017By
1. CircleUp uses algorithm to evaluate consumer startups. Recently we wrote about #fintech startups who are challenging traditional consumer lending models. CircleUp is doing something similar to connect investors with non-tech consumer startups (food, cosmetics, recreation). It’s not yet a robo adviser for automated investing, but they do use machine learning to remove drudgery from...
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What counts as good evidence? Alliance for Useful Evidence offers food for thought.

12 March 2017By
“What counts as good evidence?” is a great conversation starter. The UK-based Alliance for Useful Evidence / Nesta offers seminars and publications to “explore what is realistic in terms of standards of evidence for social policy, programmes and practice.” Prompting discussion was a ‘provocation paper’, What Counts as Good Evidence?, by Sandra Nutley, Alison Powell,...
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ROI from evidence-based government, milking data for cows, and flu shot benefits diminishing.

17 February 2017By
1. Evidence standards → Knowing what works → Pay for success Susan Urahn says we’ve reached a Tipping Point on Evidence-Based Policymaking. She explains in @Governing that 24 US governments have directed $152M to programs with an estimated $521M ROI: “an innovative and rigorous approach to policymaking: Create an inventory of currently funded programs; review...
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patient value

Valuing patient perspective, moneyball for tenure, visualizing education impacts.

28 December 2016By
1. Formalized decision process → Conflict about criteria It’s usually a good idea to establish a methodology for making repeatable, complex decisions. But inevitably you’ll have to allow wiggle room for the unquantifiable or the unexpected; leaving this gray area exposes you to criticism that it’s not a rigorous methodology after all. Other sources of...
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Everyone’s decision process, C-Suite judgment, and the Golden Gut.

28 December 2016By
1. SPOTLIGHT: MCDA, a decision process for everyone. ‘Multiple criteria decision analysis’ is a crummy name for a great concept (aren’t all big decisions analyzed using multiple criteria?). MCDA means assessing alternatives while simultaneously considering several objectives. It’s a useful way to look at difficult choices in healthcare, oil production, or real estate. But oftentimes,...
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bad arguments

Choices, policy, and evidence-based investment.

14 December 2016By
1. Bad Arguments → Bad Choices Great news. There will be a follow-on to the excellent Bad Arguments book by @alialmossawi. The book of Bad Choices will be released this April by major publishers. You can preorder now. 2. Evidence-based decisions → Effective policy outcomes The conservative think tank, Heritage Foundation, is advocating for evidence-based...
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Social program RCTs, health guidelines, and evidence-based mentoring.

11 December 2016By
1. Evidence → Social RCTs → Transformational change More progress toward evidence-based social programs. The Laura and John Arnold foundation expanded its funding of low-cost randomized controlled trials. @LJA_Foundation, an advocate for evidence-based, multidisciplinary approaches, has committed $100,000+ for all RCT proposals satisfying its RFP criteria and earning a high rating from its expert review...
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photo of penguin navel-gazing

Inspire people with insights, Part 2.

25 November 2016By
To be inspired, your audience needs to see how findings are reliable and relevant. Part 1 talked about creating practical checklists to ensure data-driven research is reproducible. This post describes how to deliver results that resonate with your audience. It’s nice when people review analytical findings, think “Hmmm, interesting,” and add the link to bitly....
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book cover Data-Driven Organization

Data-driven organizations, machine learning for C-Suite, and healthcare success story.

14 November 2016By
1. Great stuff on data-driven decision making in a new O’Reilly book by Carl Anderson (@LeapingLlamas), Creating the Data-Driven Organization. Very impressive overview of the many things that need to happen, and best practices for making them happen. Runs the gamut from getting & analyzing the data, to creating the right culture, to the psychology...
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Museum musings.

Pondering the places where people interact with artificial intelligence: Collaboration on evidence-based decision-making, automation of data-driven processes, machine learning, things like that.

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