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)

Certain expectations that federal officials have about evaluation researchers are discussed. Included are: (1) presence of a clear understanding of what evaluation means; (2) procedure for carrying out an evaluation; and (3) understanding by the evaluator of how the research relates to the decision-making process. (Author/GK)

Six papers discuss the increasing role of federal Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs) in program evaluation. This issue presents an overview of such inspections, case studies from three federal agencies, and a review of questions and concerns about inspections by OIGs. (SLD)

An overview of how program evaluation is organized within the federal government is presented. Using examples from three federal agencies, the author shows how evaluation units are formed, defines their functions, and discusses the barriers that must be overcome to manage a federal program evaluation office effectively. (Author)

Four functions of federal project officers in managing program evaluations with support from contract research firms are described: (1) articulating evaluation requirements; (2) providing for fairness in contract awards; (3) monitoring ongoing studies; and (4) transmitting evaluation results to decision makers. (Author/PN)

Using examples from government program evaluation studies, six areas where research synthesis is more effective than individual studies are presented. Research synthesis can: (1) help match treatment type with recipient type; (2) explain which treatment features matter; (3) explain conflicting results; (4) determine critical outcomes; (5) assess…

To enable decision makers to become more aware of the levels of confidence that can be placed in the results of particular computerized decision models, methods for establishing confidence levels are discussed. The U.S. General Accounting Office has developed criteria and review procedures for evaluating computerized policy analysis models.…

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)

Critiquing the stakeholder idea, the author states: if government chooses to take account of competing views in social program evaluation, it can get a better result if it encourages the competing views to find a voice of their own, not to speak through the government's chosen instrument. (Author/PN)

Stakeholder evaluation was designed to address widely recognized problems in the conduct of evaluation. However, global propositions about the problems and prospects of program evaluation obscure the circumstances in which social science can contribute to social problem solving. (Author/PN)

This sourcebook presents information about three types of federal decision makers who are frequent clients of evaluation: career government executives; political appointees; and congressional staff members. Differences among these decision makers are highlighted in seven articles, with emphasis on meeting client needs and process dimensions of…

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)

Sixteen articles describe the status of program evaluation in the federal government by showing how evaluation is organized in the government. A review of evaluation in the legislative and executive branches is followed by a review of the major organizations producing evaluation work. (SLD)