How Might We Strengthen Evaluation Capacity to Manage Evaluation Contracts?

The laudatory goal of evaluation capacity building is quite timely, given the spotlight on the potential use of program evaluation in the current environment which emphasizes performance reporting and evidence-based policy. A question that quickly comes to mind is: Where do you start? A seemingly reasonable starting point is to assess organizational culture and ways of working to tailor a strategy for building both evaluation capacity and a sustainable appreciation of evaluation practice among line managers. The nature and need for evaluation capacity across federal agencies vary greatly, and should be appropriate for the specific missions and activities of each agency. A large proportion of the program evaluations undertaken in many federal agencies are actually performed by contractors. This paper describes the initial scoping and scouting efforts that took place at HHS and AID to inform agency staff trying to forge an agency-wide strategy for strengthening capacity to oversee contract evaluations. The efforts were undertaken to assess organizational culture and “ways of working” to inform efforts to bolster capacity to oversee evaluation contracts. The nature of the efforts undertaken within HHS and AID are first described. Four lessons learned are then offered to inform others who are initiating efforts to strengthen capacity to oversee evaluation contracts in public agencies.