Promoting the Use of Government Evaluations in Policymaking

Public policymaking is a high-stakes business that affects millions of citizens and budgets ranging in the billions of tax dollars in even the smallest of states. Policymakers need timely evaluative information reported in understandable language by unbiased sources. It is this need that evaluators at all levels of government, as well as those in many nonprofit organizations, seek to meet as they conduct evaluations, analyze policy options, and recommend action on the part of policymakers. The authors contributing to this volume examine theoretical and practical approaches to designing evaluation projects in ways that promote the use of evaluation results in high-stakes settings. The volume explores management of the politics of evaluation, which can be accomplished by considering the context in which an evaluation occurs and examining strategies for maximizing both evaluators' independence from and their responsiveness to key stakeholders. Unconventional approaches, such as prospective evaluation and development of analytical tools for use by agency personnel, are examined, as is promotion of evaluation use through a symbiotic relationship with performance measurement. The chapter authors discuss utilization strategies as applied to evaluations of public health, education, and corrections programs. The final chapter provides sage advice to evaluators on how to impact policy development.

ISBN 0787997080   Volumes 1 ISBN13 9780787997083 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 176 Publisher John Wiley & Sons Inc   Published in New York Imprint Jossey-Bass Inc.,U.S.   Series ISSN 112 Format Paperback   Series title J-B PE Single Issue (Program) Evaluation Publication date 25 Sep 2007   Height (mm) 230 Library of Congress JK   Width (mm) 150 DEWEY 320.6   Spine width (mm) 7 DEWEY edition DC21   Academic level Professional / Scholarly Pages 120

1		Managing the politics of evaluation to achieve impact by Rakesh Mohan and Kathleen Sullivan		7
2		A voice crying in the wilderness : legislative oversight agencies' efforts to achieve utilization by Gary R. VanLandingham		25
3		Evaluators' role in facilitating the convergence of factors to create legislative impact by Hal Greer		41
4		The influence of evaluators on state medicaid policies : Florida and South Carolina's experience by Yvonne Bigos and Jennifer Johnson and Rae Hendlin and Steve Harkreader and Andrea Truitt		51
5		A utilization-focused approach to evaluation by a performance audit agency by Ron Perry and Bob Thomas and Elizabeth DuBois and Rob McGowan		67
6		Using a crystal ball instead of a rear-view mirror : helping state legislators assess the future impacts of major federal legislation by Joel Alter and John Patterson		79
7		Increasing evaluation use among policymakers through performance measurement by Rakesh Mohan and Minakshi Tikoo and Stanley Capela and David J. Bernstein		89
8		The evaluator's role in policy development by George F. Grob		99

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