Program Evaluation

Laws like the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 illustrate Congress' desire to get results from government programs. GPRA's businesslike focus on meaningful results, service quality, and customer satisfaction is intended to bolster the confidence of the American people in government. It has called for strategic plans that streamline efforts to achieve general goals and objectives. Now more than ever, programs must justify their existence and continually seek ways to evaluate efforts, refine key business processes, and report progress.

Program managers often need an observant outside eye. It is oftentimes difficult for people implementing programs to divert attention to evaluation. They can be too close to the topic at hand and may benefit from outside experts who are familiar with their program operations and objectives. For government organizations deeply involved with the day-to-day running of programs, we provide the labor and expertise necessary to undertake thorough program evaluations. We not only evaluate programs, we assess the evaluation measures undertaken in the past to see if they are the right tools for the job. Where appropriate, we collect updated data on specific measures so that program managers can examine trends in performance. Ideally, our clients' program evaluation efforts yield telling results and are conducted cost effectively when the right data are being collected during program implementation. Again, it is important to have program goals, measures, and databases strategically aligned so that program evaluation is an ongoing improvement mechanism and not a discrete after-the-fact "initiative."

Our approach is to thoroughly digest our client's program. The people at Indtai get to know your program. We penetrate its deep background, read and absorb its statutes and regulations. Our consultation refocuses our clients on the core values of the program and brings creative thinking to the establishment of performance measures. We help you move away from jargon and "bean-counting" and suggest the kinds of "plain English" measures that all stakeholders can understand and appreciate.