Policy Evaluation PDF

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It explains what policy evaluation is within the larger framework of public policy. ...

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POLICY EVALUATION The final stage of the policy process is evaluation. Simply put, policy evaluation assesses the effectiveness of a public policy in terms of its perceived intentions and results. It is the last major opportunity to bring policy back into the decision-making arena, if it has been mismanaged or has led to undesirable impact. Policy evaluation has become an important element in the policymaking process, as well as a predictor of further action to come. Its main objective is to reduce the problem in the face of policy delivery and is generally used for one or more of the three purposes of assessing: policy efficiency, policy effectiveness and policy impact. Besides these purposes it provides reliable information about policy performance. The aim of evaluation here is to measure the impact of policies on the society. By revealing the extent to which particular goals have been achieved, it helps us to understand the degree to which policy issues have been resolved. METHODS OF EVALUATION Policy evaluation is a tricky business. It is too complex to be evaluated by set universal standards. There are several strands of evaluative methods. Economists propound the age-long cost benefit analysis, whereby profit and loss are calculated purely in economic terms. A systematic enumeration of all benefits and costs is required, quantifiably, which will procure good results. This was the most reliable, simple and clear-cut system of analysis but it was incapable in evaluating policies of the intangibles, for example, impact of free meal policy for children upon their performance, loss of environment due to mining or impact of oil refinery on coastal or marine life. In recent years government agencies have adopted a program-planning and budgeting system, with an exclusive focus on the uses of expenditures and the output provided for. The aim is to specify the output of the program then to minimize its costs and later analyse whether benefits exceed costs or not. Political scientists look at responsiveness of policies while economist look at efficiency. Different criteria exist for policy evaluation which is why arriving at a single method is extremely difficult. TYPRS OF EVALUATION Policy makers and administrators have always made judgements concerning the worth or effects of particular policies, programs and projects. Joseph S. Wholey has identified three types of policy evaluation activities which are as follows:

a) Program Impact Evaluation is an assessment of overall program impact and effectiveness. Emphasis is on determining the extent to which programs are successful in achieving basic objectives. b) Program Strategy Evaluation is an assessment of the relative effectiveness of program strategies and variables. Emphasis is on determining which program strategies are most productive. c) Project Monitoring is an assessment of individual projects through other sites and activities with emphasis on managerial and operational efficiency. Other types of evaluation also exist: a) Administrative evaluation is undertaken within the government, occasionally by specialised agencies. The purpose is to examine the efficiency of delivery of services. However evaluation of effectiveness can be subjective and policy goals are also not clearly defined. These present as limitations to this kind of evaluation. b) Judicial evaluation is done by the judiciary. It is concerned with the legality of policies. c) Political evaluation is done in three ways:  Through legislative processes  Through audit processes (CAG reports etc.)  Through election (citizens judge the policies). EVALUATING AGENCIES Another significant area of study in the field of policy evaluation is the role of various agencies involved in it. Within the government some agencies could be legislatures and their committees, the audit office, commissions of enquiry and the departmental evaluation reports. 1) LEGISLATIVE BODIES- a common practice in democratic countries is the involvement of legislative bodies in policy evaluation. They exercise policy evaluation through the technique of questions and debatesmotions like call attention, no-confidence, committee hearing and investigation-as well as the through the budgetary process. Since the legislature is burdened with routine matters, it is the smaller committees which take up the detailed and investigative work. In India, for instance, we have the Public Accounts Committee, committee on welfare of Scheduled Castes and Schedules Tribes etc. 2) AUDIT PROCESS- in India, the auditor’s office has broad statutory authority to audit the operation and finance of the activities of the

government, evaluate their programs and report their findings to the parliament. These studies are taken up by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on its own initiative, on the basis of directives from the legislature or sometimes at the request of individual MPs. This office has a broad statutory authority to ensure the accountability of the executive to the parliament. 3) ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES- all government departments prepare their internal evaluation reports which provide an opportunity to appraise the working of programs and projects undertaken by the department. While sending its own demand for grants to the finance ministry, every department evaluates in the process its annual plans, programs and performance, the organisation and division of work in ministries indirectly perform the task of evaluation. 4) COMMISSIONS & INDEPENDENT AGENCIES- appointment of certain commissions like the Planning commission (Niti ayog today), the administrative reform commission and other ad-hoc commissions by the government play an important role in public policy evaluation by presenting their detailed research reports on the consequences and impact of particular government policies. Evaluation activity is also carried outside the government. University research scholars, private research institutes, pressure groups and public interest organisations make evaluation of policies that have impact on public officials to some extent. They also provide the masses with information and publicize policy action or inaction. BARRIERS IN POLICY EVALUATION Evaluation is without doubt an important component of policy making process. But a number of barriers stand in the way of those who try to evaluate policies. The first problem is uncertainty over policy goals. When policy goals are unclear or diffused, policy evaluation becomes extremely difficult. In such a case, officials may define goals differently and act accordingly. Second, there is the difficulty of measuring the extent to which these goals have been achieved. Evaluators themselves may not be impartial individuals to take objective view of policy issues. Third, a shortage of accurate and relevant data and statistics may hinder the work of a policy evaluator. Official resistance is another barrier in policy evaluation because agencies and program officials see the possible political consequences of evaluation. Finally, it is a general observation that organisations tend to resist change while evaluation implies it. Organisational inertia may, thus, be an obstacle to evaluation, along with forms of resistance.

CONCLUSION Public policy evaluation is a very complex process. Several participants are involved in it and many factors influence its outcomes. Nevertheless, evaluation has taken its place as a vital element of the public policy process. It is a potentially powerful mechanism that compares promise with performance as well as the linkage between present and future....