Public Program Evaluation

First Published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an Informa company.

Program Evaluation: Embedding Evaluation into Program Design and Development provides an in-depth examination of the foundations, methods, and relevant issues in the field of evaluation. With an emphasis on an embedded approach, where evaluation is an explicit part of a program that leads to the refinement of the program, students will learn how to conduct effective evaluations that foster continual improvement and enable data-based decision making. This text provides students with both the theoretical understanding and the practical tools to conduct effective evaluations while being rigorous enough for experienced evaluators looking to expand their approach to evaluation.

Evaluation is the process of distinguishing the worthwhile from the worthless, the precious from the useless: evaluation implies looking backward in order to be able to steer forward better. Written from a political science perspective, Public Policy and Program Evaluation provides an overview of the possibilities and limits of public sector evaluation.

Reflecting the latest developments in the field, the Second Edition provides readers with effective methods for evaluating health programs, policies, and health care systems, offering expert guidance for collaborating with stakeholders involved in the process. Author David Grembowski explores evaluation as a three-act play: Act I shows evaluators how to work with decision makers and other groups to identify the questions they want answered; Act II covers selecting appropriate evaluation designs and methods to answer the questions and reveal insights about the program’s impacts, cost-effectiveness, and implementation; and Act III discusses making use of the findings. Packed with relevant examples and detailed explanations, the book offers a step-by-step approach that fully prepares readers to apply research methods in the practice of health program evaluation.

Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement: An Introduction to Practice, Second Edition offers an accessible, practical introduction to program evaluation and performance measurement for public and non-profit organizations, and has been extensively updated since the first edition. Using examples, it covers topics in a detailed fashion, making it a useful guide for students as well as practitioners who are participating in program evaluations or constructing and implementing performance measurement systems. Authors James C. McDavid, Irene Huse, and Laura R. L. Hawthorn guide readers through conducting quantitative and qualitative program evaluations, needs assessments, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses, as well as constructing, implementing and using performance measurement systems. The importance of professional judgment is highlighted throughout the book as an intrinsic feature of evaluation practice.

This book provides a self-contained presentation of the statistical tools required for evaluating public programs, as advocated by many governments, the World Bank, the European Union, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. After introducing the methodological framework of program evaluation, the first chapters are devoted to the collection, elementary description and multivariate analysis of data as well as the estimation of welfare changes. The book then successively presents the tools of ex-ante methods (financial analysis, budget planning, cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness and multi-criteria evaluation) and ex-post methods (benchmarking, experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation). The step-by-step approach and the systematic use of numerical illustrations equip readers to handle the statistics of program evaluation. It not only offers practitioners from public administrations, consultancy firms and nongovernmental organizations the basic tools and advanced techniques used in program assessment, it is also suitable for executive management training, upper undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as for self-study.

This readable and comprehensive text is designed to equip students and practitioners with the statistical skills needed to meet government standards regarding public program evaluation. Even those with little statistical training will find the explanations clear, with many illustrative examples, case studies, and applications. Far more than a cookbook of statistical techniques, the book begins with chapters on the overall context for successful program evaluations, and carefully explains statistical methods--and threats to internal and statistical validity--that correspond to each evaluation design. Laura Langbein then presents a variety of methods for program analysis, and advise readers on how to select the mix of methods most appropriate for the issues they deal with-- always balancing methodology with the need for generality, the size of the evaluator's budget, the availability of data, and the need for quick results.

The second edition of Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation offers managers, analysts, consultants, and educators in government, nonprofit, and private institutions a valuable resource that outlines efficient and economical methods for assessing program results and identifying ways to improve program performance. The Handbook has been thoroughly revised. Many new chapters have been prepared for this edition, including chapters on logic modeling and on evaluation applications for small nonprofit organizations. The Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation is a comprehensive resource on evaluation, covering both in-depth program evaluations and performance monitoring. It presents evaluation methods that will be useful at all levels of government and in nonprofit organizations.