Colorado will get to study ways to make government more efficient and responsive with $4.5 million from the foundation of a billionaire former hedge fund manager.

The grant from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation will launch the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab at the still new Barton Institute for Philanthropy and Social Enterprise at the University of Denver.

“The lab is the first program of its kind in Colorado,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said in a statement. “We owe it to the citizens of our state to ensure that the programs we undertake deliver on what they set out to do.”

The government research partnership will help state official more fully evaluate policies and come up with ways to improve existing programs, as well as other new ways to benefit Coloradans, according to the governor’s office.

John Arnold is a former Enron trader who Fortune magazine dubbed him “the king of natural gas.”in 2009. The Houston-based foundation says its mission is to strengthen social, governmental and economic systems.

Government efficiency was one of Hickenlooper’s objectives, his office said.

“CEAL will put Colorado at the forefront of a movement to implement an evidence-based approach to governing in order to make progress on key issues,” his office said in an announcement of the grant. “Colorado and other states across the country face significant challenges in promoting the wellbeing of citizens and communities. Public agencies and service providers often do not have the resources or capacity to conduct rigorous data analysis and research studies on their own. As result, we don’t know enough about what works, for whom and why.”

David Miller, executive director of the Barton Institute, will lead the new policy lab. He was president and CEO of the Denver Foundation for 20 years after serving as the executive director of the Colorado Office of State Planning and Budgeting and as chief of staff for Denver Mayor Federico Pena.

“Partnering with the Barton Institute at the University of Denver was a natural fit,” Miller said in statement.

“The University of Denver is thrilled to partner with the Governor’s Office to help improve the lives of all who live and work in Colorado,” CU Chancellor Rebecca Chopp said in a statement. “By drawing on the intellectual capital of the Barton Institute and the University of Denver, this collaboration will allow us to change the world for the better.”

The Barton Institute started last year to take on major social issues with philanthropy, social enterprise and partnerships between the private and public sectors, as well as nonprofit organizations and academia.