The federal evidence system runs on data collected by states, territories, and tribes, and their capacity varies widely for reasons federal program design can fix. The system can only move as fast as its partners can.
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Shared minimum standards, tied to existing funding and structured as incentives, raise the floor without punishing under-resourced states.
A federal technical assistance corps and a single state-facing point of contact make federal support usable instead of scattered.
Floor-level grants for under-resourced jurisdictions, including territories and with tribal data sovereignty built in, help the smallest partners meet the standards.