November 27, 2023
National Program Evaluation and Reporting System fully launches today
The United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services and K-State Innovation Partners announce the full operational launch of the National Program Evaluation and Reporting System, or N-PEARS, today, Nov. 27.
This milestone follows the initial release of the Annual Plan module on May 22, 2023, and represents a significant advancement in the effort to standardize and enhance the reporting mechanisms for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Nutrition Education, or SNAP-Ed, across the nation.
The roots of N-PEARS can be traced back to a collaborative effort involving K-State Research and Extension, the Kansas SNAP-Ed program, and K-State's Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation. It all began with the creation of the K-State Research and Extension Program Impacts Collection System, which later underwent a name change to PEARS, or Program Evaluation and Reporting System, in 2015.
It was at this time that the PEARS team at the Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation joined forces with K-State Innovation Partners to commercialize the software, expanding its usage beyond Kansas to SNAP-Ed state and implementing agencies nationwide. PEARS has since been adopted by 42 SNAP-Ed and 14 cooperative extension programs across the country and the dedicated team behind PEARS has embarked on a new journey, establishing Canopy, a public benefit company in Manhattan.
Canopy, in collaboration with Food and Nutrition Services and its contractor Westat Insight, and K-State Innovation Partners have been hard at work for the past two years developing N-PEARS. This new system is set to revolutionize the way data is collected and shared, benefiting both SNAP-Ed state and implementing agencies by enabling them to create, review, and submit their annual plans and reports to Food and Nutrition Services through a centralized portal.
Before the introduction of PEARS, states lacked standardized methods of managing program data in alignment with national reporting requirements. With the launch of the full N-PEARS system, SNAP-Ed programs nationwide can look forward to a more streamlined and efficient process for submitting their plans and annual reports. Additionally, the system supports an improved understanding of program effectiveness and accountability.
The success of N-PEARS can be attributed to the unwavering support of the USDA, K-State Innovation Partners, Canopy and Westat Insight. K-State Innovation Partners played a pivotal role in commercializing and advancing the PEARS software to a stage where it could be licensed by states and where the N-PEARS software is now implemented nationally. This collaborative effort serves as an example for other university entities seeking to expand their own technologies and research endeavors, demonstrating the transformative potential of innovative partnerships.