ANNAPOLIS, MD— Governor Wes Moore this week announced a new partnership with Arnold Ventures – the Maryland Partnership for Proven Programs. Over the next four years, the Maryland Partnership for Proven Programs will make available up to $20 million in evidence-based philanthropic funding to scale and expand programs across the state that have proven their ability to make progress on economic mobility and cradle-to-career outcomes for Marylanders.

“Our administration believes in data, partnership, and strategic investments that help us drive growth,” said Governor Moore. “This new collaboration with Arnold Ventures will help us support evidence-based programs that lift Maryland families. By working together, we will ensure access to high-quality programs for our children.”

Arnold Ventures is a philanthropy that is working to improve the lives of all Americans by pursuing evidence-based solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems. Founded in 2010 by Laura and John Arnold, Arnold Ventures supports research to better understand the root causes of broken systems that limit opportunity and create injustice. The philanthropy’s focus areas include criminal justice, higher education, health, infrastructure, and public finance, advocating for bipartisan policy reforms that will lead to lasting, scalable change.

Through their new partnership with the State of Maryland, Arnold Ventures will provide up to $20 million over the next four years in matching funds to select programs engaged with governmental entities—such as state and local agencies, county and municipal governments, school districts, and public colleges and universities—to scale and expand proven effective social programs in workforce training, education, and crime prevention. Arnold Ventures will provide matching funds directly to the selected programs.

“In today’s world, where challenges are complex and resources are limited, it’s imperative to back strategies that give us the greatest chance to achieve real impact for kids, families, and communities,” said Arnold Ventures Executive Vice President of Evidence and Evaluation Justin Milner. “By driving matching funds for research-proven programs, this partnership marks a significant step in that direction.”

The nonprofit, nonpartisan Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy will support the State of Maryland and Arnold Ventures with their efforts to identify promising programmatic opportunities, implement and expand programs, and sustain public funding. The Coalition is an expert resource on policy reform, and will work with state and local government agencies to implement this effort. With the help of Arnold Ventures and the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, the state will find sustainable ways to use government funding for programs that are proven to work in local communities.

“This initiative is a major leap forward in evidence-based policymaking,” said Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy President Jon Baron. “Recent years have seen real progress in building a body of programs shown to produce important, lasting improvements in people’s lives. Gov. Moore and Arnold Ventures are now taking the critical next step—scaling these proven programs to make statewide gains in education and economic mobility.”