Making the Case for Program Evaluation Chapter 1 CSUMB Public Administration 432 Spring, 2015

Key Principles  Vital for program:  Effectiveness  Quality  Efficiency  Reach  Equity  Ethical practice

Key Principles  Tension between:  Needs and resources  Helping few, helping many  Self examination & business as usual  Innovation and entrenched bureaucracy  Program goals & environmental conditions  Courage and fear  Poor past experiences

Caution:  Best Practices aren’t always best:  Culture  Socio-economic status  Resource differential  Delivery differential  Skill level / training  External events  Recent events

Evaluation Perspectives  Client / Consumer / Patient  Family members  Focus population  Funders & other stakeholders  Agency / Organization  Community of Practice

Essential Ingredients  Commitment to ethics  Commitment to quality & continuous improvement  Time, funds, attitude  Quest for knowledge  Ability for logic  Ability to focus – separate wheat from chaff

Valuable Tool for Improvement  Purpose: assess content and delivery for effectiveness, efficiency, quality, reach, and/or equity  Critical to program success, and should not be treated as an after-thought  Need to engage stakeholders to influence agency decision-making  Program staff & managers, focus population, funders