Since 1975, ETA has maintained a rigorous research and evaluation approach to informing policy, currently carried out by the Division of Research and Evaluation (DRE) under Section 169 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
DRE collaborates with the U.S. Department of Labor's Chief Evaluation Officer, committed to high-quality independent evaluations and institutionalizing an evidence-based culture at the Department. DRE is committed to compliance with the U.S. Department of Labor Evaluation Policy, which presents key principles that govern DOL's planning, conduct, and use of program evaluations. The policy represents a commitment to conducting rigorous, relevant evaluations in an independent and transparent way, and to using evidence from evaluations to inform policy and practice.