VALUES AND MONITORING Performance Monitoring and Evaluation College of Public and Community Service University of Massachusetts at Boston ©2006, William Holmes

PRIMARY PURPOSES Assessing merit/worth of staff/program Describing program, personnel, organization Documenting oversight, compliance, accountability Building knowledge Advancing theory

VALUES ISSUES: PART 1 Ranking Problems, Wishes, Needs Prioritizing Services Outcomes emphasized Process versus Results Criteria used: satisfaction, behavior, standard Dualisms versus Continua

VALUES ISSUES: PART 2 Principles/ethics emphasized –Equity –Equality –Empowerment –Satisficing –Optimizing

VALUES ISSUES: PART 3 Balancing competing needs Balancing competing interests Use of Democratic or Hierarchical controls Focus on Total, Average, or Extreme Results Focus on Need versus Benefits

CAUSAL ASSUMPTIONS Causes versus Beliefs Causes as Intervention Points Causes as Ideology Causes as Policy Competition of Causes

CAUSAL ISSUES Choice of Causes Choice of Interventions Connection Between Intervention and Results Expected Results Assessment of Results

ROLE OF VALUES: Part 1 Based on Social Betterment Not Personal or Political Self-Interest Ethical versus Political Correctness Individual versus Social Responsibility

ROLE OF VALUES: PART 2 Value Neutrality versus Advocacy Conservation versus Change Restoration versus Progress Private Matters versus Social Problems Cooptation versus Collaboration

VALUES AND PURPOSE : ASSESSING MERIT Assessing Goal Progress Comparing Net Effects Value Assessment of Results Causal Assessment Comparing Conflicting Values

VALUES AND PURPOSE : PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT Comparing to Standards Comparing Net Effects Value Based Improvement Strengthening vs. Weakening Effectiveness vs. Efficiency

VALUES AND PURPOSE : OVERSIGHT AND COMPLIANCE Implementation Plans Ethical and Professional Standards Laws and Regulations Reasonable Expectations

VALUES AND PURPOSE : KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT Results of Actions Assessing Causal Assumptions Developing Methodology for Social Betterment Theory Testing Interesting Description

THEORY AND SOCIAL BETTERMENT Power Elite Theory—monitoring as justification or criticism Interest Group Theory—competing groups, competing values, competing outcomes Normative Theory—majority rule, public deliberation, open to reconsideration