This article describes the development and use of a rapid evaluation approach to meet program accountability and learning requirements in a research for development program operating in five developing countries. The method identifies clusters of outcomes, both expected and unexpected, happening within areas of change. In a workshop, change agents…

Discusses problems that social scientists face when evaluating social programs, including cost, methodological concerns, and the development and application of new analytical techniques. (GC)

This report examines the quality and rigor of evaluation practices at the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), and the extent to which evaluation results have influenced program design and operation. Because of the innovative nature of the programs, and a resulting lack of reliable data, past attempts at comprehensive evaluation have been…

This report provides an overview of the poverty problem and possible solutions. The available statistics and their limitations are summarized. The complementary roles of income-maintenance and employment policies are discussed. Because employment policies are limited to those who can be made employable, the report concludes that liberal changes in…

Assessment of welfare gains from a targeted social program can be seriously biased unless the endogeneity of program participation is addressed. Bias comes from two sources of placement endogeneity: the purposive targeting of geographic areas, and the targeting of individual recipients within selected areas. Partial decentralization of program…

This report critically reviews past benefit-cost studies of manpower programs and offers an alternative methodology for program evaluation. Because of selective admission criteria and a tendency to attribute all income changes to training, previous studies have had an upward bias in measuring the effectiveness of training. This study evaluates a…

Twenty-five years of evaluation research are reviewed. Findings show that evaluations of social programs have been negative. Policymakers often blamed the evaluators when it was not clear why certain programs had failed. There is hope for a better working relationship as evaluators adopt better methods and social policy becomes more rational. (VM)

The main purpose of this project is to evaluate the success of the Los Angeles Women's Job Corps Center in helping girls rise out of poverty by improving their attitudes and economic status. A second objective is to estimate the cost of each service provided to a girl. Based on comparisons of outcomes among girls as individuals rather than groups,…