Evaluation (Public Administration)

The final stage of the policy-making process. In this stage of the policy process, a program or policy is examined to determine whether it is meeting its intended goals and objectives, how well it is working, what is not working, and what modifications should be made to improve performance on overall impact. The evaluation process is conducted by various actors, which can include interest groups, the media, the recipients, legislative oversight committees, the General Accountability Office (GAO; http://www.gao.gov), presidential commissions, or staff within administrative agencies. Evaluations present a number of challenges. Policy goals, objectives, targets, and performance indicators are not always clearly articulated during the policy formulation stage. In many instances, policies are [Page 188]designed with little regard for measuring performance and showing results. More often than not, policy evaluation is not accounted for in program budgets, and in practice, it is overlooked. The GAO conducts policy evaluation of federal policies and programs as well as state-level initiatives and can serve as a useful resource when designing a program evaluation. For more information, see Anderson (1997) and Peters (2007).