Legislative Services Office introduces impact‑review team and research fellows to JFAC

Paul Headley, deputy at the Legislative Services Office, introduced committee members to a newly assembled impact‑review team and research fellows who will support JFAC with research, evidence review and data analysis.

Headley said the team will produce short deliverables ranging from single‑page answers to deeper research products and that staff can assist the committee in locating evidence on whether specific programs work in Idaho or other states. He named members of the impact team and their general assignments: Casey Hartwig (performance and policy research focused on public schools, higher education and natural resources), Alex Penny (audits and evaluations background), and Alex Hatfield (IT analysis and GIS support, focusing on transportation and public safety).

Headley also introduced two research fellows on loan from the McClure Center for Public Policy who will work with LSO on science and technical policy questions. He said the fellows have backgrounds in biomedical and mechanical engineering research and will support evaluations, mapping and evidence reviews.

Why it matters: The new LSO resources are intended to increase the legislature’s capacity to review program performance, look for evidence of effectiveness across jurisdictions and analyze geographically specific data that can inform budgeting and policy decisions. Committee leaders urged members to take advantage of the team during work groups and agency hearings.

Headley emphasized “evidence” as the central criterion for evaluating requests: staff can help determine whether similar programs have worked elsewhere and how strong the evidence is for expected outcomes. He encouraged members to use the team for questions that require data, mapping or performance analysis.

The committee thanked Headley and the staff; members were told the analysts and impact reviewers will attend work‑group meetings and be available for follow‑up research requests.