Program Evaluation Studies Helped Agencies Measure Or Explain Program Performance PDF Download

Congressional and federal agency decisionmakers need evaluative information about how well federal programs are working, both to manage programs effectively and to help decide how to allocate limited federal resources. The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) requires federal agencies to report annually on their achievement of performance goals, explain why any goals were not met, and summarize the findings of any program evaluations conducted during the year. Program evaluations are objective, systematic studies that answer questions about program performance and results. By examining a broader range of information than is feasible to monitor on an ongoing basis through performance measures, an evaluation study can explore the benefits of a program as well as ways to improve program performance. To assist agencies in identifying how they might use evaluations to improve their performance reporting, the General Accounting Office identified eight concrete examples of diverse ways in which agencies incorporated program evaluations and evaluation methods in their fiscal year 1999 annual performance reports. This report, which GAO prepared at its own initiative, discusses how the agencies used these evaluation studies to report on their achievements. GAO selected the cases to demonstrate varied uses of evaluation on the basis of a review of several departments' fiscal year 1999 annual performance reports and consultations with agency officials. GAO then reviewed agency documents and interviewed agency officials to address two questions: (1) what purposes did these program evaluation studies or methods serve in performance reporting and (2) what circumstances led agencies to conduct these evaluations?