The in-house analytic office behind HHS's biggest decisions.
ASPE is HHS's in-house analytic office. It makes sure the evidence behind the department's biggest decisions exists, is rigorous, and reaches decision-makers in time.
ASPE was given department-wide responsibility without the authority or funding to match. Its data office can recommend but not require, its evaluation work rises and falls with the budget, and its analysis can be delayed or shelved when findings are inconvenient.
Give the HHS Chief Data Officer binding data-governance authority, by statute now for a core set of functions and phased in for the rest.
Create a permanent HHS evaluation fund run by ASPE, with the reauthorized AHRQ reviewing the quality of the evaluations it pays for.
Link the department's published research priorities to the budget request it sends to OMB, so what HHS says it needs to learn shapes what it asks to spend.
Establish transparency, publication norms, and workforce protections for ASPE's analysis, then codify them.