An innovative new evaluation unit in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is detailed. This unit, the Office of Service Delivery Assessment (SDA), regularly briefs the Secretary on the services delivered to clients at the local level. The process of the SDA is described and conclusions are offered. (Author/GK)

Evaluation must take into account both executive and legislative politics and their interactions. A five-part continuum evaluation process is suggested for the development of a policy question and its translation into knowledge that is credible, timely, responsive, and usable. Evaluators have a major responsibility in this process. (Author/JAZ)

Evaluation synthesis, a meta-evaluation method developed by the General Accounting Office to improve evaluation utilization by legislators, is described. It is designed to: (1) focus on the information needs and priorities of legislators, and (2) ensure continuous communication between sponsor and evaluator. The strengths and limitations of this…

The substantial differences in program evaluation practices in Canada and the United States are discussed focussing on the historical context and the political and cultural environments. Program evaluation has developed in Canada to address the concerns of accountability of public funds in a context of economic restraint. (Author/BS)

In one federally funded program, the third-party evaluator was under contract with the program evaluated and not the federal funding agency. The social structure of this arrangement has implications for information utilization. (Available from: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 433 California St., San Francisco, CA 94104, single issue, $6.95.) (Author/GDC)