Policy Evaluation Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

A policy evaluation is the last step in the policy-making process, after agenda setting, policy formulation, decision making, and implementation. It refers to the use of empirical social science research methods to assess the success or failure of policies for feedback or termination.

A policy evaluation can be conducted within a government, by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), by think tanks, or by researchers in academia. The purpose of an evaluation is to determine the effectiveness of a policy. In other words, an evaluation must ascertain the extent to which a policy has reached its stated, as well as its unstated, objectives. Conclusions about this can only be reached through the solid understanding of the logic or theory underlying the policy.

The concept of effectiveness must be understood in a broad way to refer both to the policy’s outcomes and its efficiency. To effectively measure outcomes, researchers take into consideration the policy’s outputs as well as its short and medium-term impact. Responsiveness to the policy, or the way it is being received by the targeted audience, are also part of a thorough evaluation. In order to measure efficiency, some form of cost-benefit analysis is most often employed. When considering efficiency, the evaluation may also refer to the efficiency of the policy process itself and focus particularly on implementation.

Policy evaluations can be done using either qualitative or quantitative research methods or a combination of both. Although experimental designs were preferred in earlier years, pluralist and participative approaches have since gained in popularity.

At the very least, two practical issues arise when conducting an evaluation. First, policy objectives, as well as the policy logic, are not always clearly stated or obvious. This lack of clarity is compounded in cases where the policy has been in effect for many years and the policy logic is assumed but not clearly explained. Second, there are difficult methodological issues pertaining especially to the use of quantitative methods that arise when attempting to measure outcomes and efficiency. In particular, it is complicated to control for all relevant intervening variables, which makes it difficult, though not impossible, to determine the long-term impact of a policy.

The most important impediment to proper policy evaluation, however, is political. There are no fixed criteria for defining policy success. The results of evaluations rest with decision makers who decide on the appropriate course of action to follow in responding to them. Ultimately, decision makers also react to current political circumstances. In an age of intense popular and media scrutiny, governments are hard-pressed to acknowledge errors and recommend appropriate changes. Opposition parties believe that it is their role to highlight policy failures. An evaluation is, therefore, and often unavoidably, tainted by partisan considerations. Although evaluations aim to be neutral, the results can also reflect the policy preferences of the researchers. These considerations suggest that it may be better to think of policy evaluation as policy learning—an essential element of policy debates.

Policy evaluations, along with audits and program evaluations, reflect the continued trend towards ever-increasing governmental accountability.

Bibliography:

Reid, William. “Promoting Accountability and Continual Improvement: A Review of the Respective Roles of Performance Measurement, Auditing, Evaluation, and Reporting.” Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation 14, no. 2 (1999): 85–104.
Rossi, Peter H., Mark W. Lipsey, and Howard E. Freeman. Evaluation: A Systematic Approach. 7th ed.Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2004.
Weiss, C. H. Evaluation. Methods for Studying Programs and Policies. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1998.

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