Taking a “Moneyball” Approach to CYFD

By Bruce Krasnow

…Now, the movement even has its own book, Moneyball for Government, written by Peter Orszag and Jim Nussle, two former budget writers for the federal government, and released by the nonprofit Results for America – https://moneyballforgov.com/moneyball-for-government-the-book/

The title comes from the Michael Lewis book and movie about how one small-market baseball team transformed the game when it used data to quantify which players brought the most return on their salary. It was not the big, expensive home-run hitters but the lesser-known players with a solid on-base percentage who had a higher investment return.

An excerpt of the Orszag-Nussle book was recently published on The Daily Beast website. “Can data, evidence, and evaluation similarly revolutionize America’s government? Can we provide better services to millions more Americans while actually saving billions of dollars? Can we make this country a better place for children and families by investing in what works, by testing it and retesting it, and by holding ourselves to a higher standard?

In short, can government play Moneyball?

The answer, we believe, is a resounding yes.”

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