In 2020, the Montana Office of Public Instruction utilized evidence-based resources to inform Montana’s Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) Grant program. The State prioritized evidence by allocating up to 60 points (out of 200) for project selection criteria which includes using evidence-based practices. The Montana Office of Public Instruction released a process for selecting relevant, evidence-based interventions qualifying as Strong or Moderate, and provided resources to several research clearinghouses such as The U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), the Institute of Education Science Resource Guides, and the Pew Results First Clearinghouse (Results First).
In 2022, the Montana Governor’s Office of Community Service used a tiered evidence framework from the AmeriCorps Evidence Exchange to both define and prioritize evidence, as well as allocate funds through its AmeriCorps Serve Montana State Grant Program. Criteria from the Evidence Exchange assigned preference to evidence-based interventions assessed as ‘Moderate’ or ‘Strong’. To do this, the grant attributed points within Program Design (worth 50% of total points) towards evidence-based criteria, including Evidence Tier (worth 12%) and Evidence Quality (worth 8%). Evidence Base was subsequently awarded up to 20 points and Evidence Tier was allotted 12 points. The RFP asserted that “many of these interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in improving outcomes for individuals living in underserved communities and that the agency has committed resources to supporting grantees seeking to replicate and evaluate these interventions in similar communities;” thus, evidence was prioritized by stating that “all applicants must propose program designs that are either evidence-based or evidence-informed. Applicants assessed as lower than the Preliminary evidence tier (i.e., Pre-Preliminary) must provide adequate responses to the Evidence Quality review criteria in order to be considered for funding.” Applicants were encouraged to consider interventions through the AmeriCorps Mandatory Supplemental Guidance that further defined evidence. Montana’s State Service Plan was also provided to give applicants more support towards defining and prioritizing evidence.