The Better Government Lab (BGL), a joint research center of Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, today announced a $2,053,870 grant from the Walmart Foundation to help states strengthen the accuracy of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), while supporting access to those eligible for the program.
The Better Government Lab (BGL), a joint research center of Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, today announced a $2,053,870 grant from the Walmart Foundation to help states strengthen the accuracy of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), while supporting access to those eligible for the program.
BGL will help state agencies analyze payment-error patterns and prioritize quality-assurance efforts while supporting timely access for eligible people.
“Our goal is to give States the data analysis tools and evidence they need to ensure payment accuracy without putting up unnecessary barriers for families who qualify for help,” said Jeremy Barofsky, executive director of the Better Government Lab and associate research professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy.
Over the three-year grant period, BGL will pursue three connected workstreams:
- Building state capacity. BGL will expand its data visualization and open source predictive modeling tools that help states pinpoint the cases most likely to contain payment errors.
- Generating evidence on what works. BGL will build a comprehensive database of state SNAP administrative policies, program access, and payment accuracy measures. By analyzing how SNAP has varied over time and across states, the team will assess state administrative approaches and outcomes to generate and share evidence on accuracy and access.
- Convening practical learning on benefits administration. BGL will convene state agency leaders, researchers, civic technology organizations and other practitioners to identify practical approaches to simpler, more accurate, and more accessible public-benefit administration. The work will surface lessons on state capacity, data and technology, and cross-program administration. BGL will publish an independent synthesis of those lessons.
“Some states are already demonstrating that high integrity and high access can go together. This grant lets us learn from them, spread those lessons and help states reduce errors while maintaining food assistance for eligible families,” said Pamela Herd, co-director of the Better Government Lab and the Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.
About the Better Government Lab
The Better Government Lab is a joint research center of Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. BGL transforms credible evidence into real-world solutions through rigorous research with the federal, state, and local governments.
The opinions expressed in this press release and the research to be developed through this grant are made possible through funding from the Walmart Foundation. However, the opinions expressed in this press release and the findings, conclusions, and recommendations to be presented through this grant are and will be those of the Better Government Lab alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Walmart Foundation.