New GAO Report Supports a Variety of Methodologies for Identifying Effective Program
Dec 03 2009A new report from the Government Accountability Office, Program Evaluation: A Variety of Rigorous Methods Can Help Identify Effective Interventions, was released on November 23, 2009, at a time when the federal government is paying unprecedented attention to the use of evidence in selecting programs and practices to support. The report examines the protocols used by the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, an independent entity that has been helping the federal government determine which available interventions have been proven effective. Of 63 interventions reviewed, the Coalition only found that 6 met their strict criteria. Senate members requested the GAO report to understand whether the Coalition’s methods were transparent and whether it’s standards might be too narrow.
Although the GAO makes no formal recommendations, it draws four conclusions:
- “Requiring evidence from randomized studies as sole proof of effectiveness will likely exclude many potentially effective and worthwhile practices;
- Reliable assessments of evaluation results require research expertise but can be improved with detailed protocols and training;
- Deciding to adopt an intervention involves other considerations in addition to effectiveness, such as cost and sustainability to the local community;and
- Improved evaluation quality would also help identify effective interventions.”
The report also identifies several rigorous evaluation methods that can be used when randomized control trials are not feasible, including quasi-experimental comparison groups, statistical analyses of observational data, and in-depth case studies.
Read summaries and the full report HERE.
