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Session Title: Performance Measurement and Evaluation: A Distinction With a Difference
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Panel Session 566 to be held in Versailles Room on Friday, November 9, 10:20 AM to 11:05 AM
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Sponsored by the AEA Conference Committee
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| Chair(s): |
| Thomas Chapel,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
tchapel@cdc.gov
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| Discussant(s):
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| Michael Schooley,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
mschooley@cdc.gov
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| Abstract:
Increasing emphasis on accountability forces high-level decision-makers to think about program performance in a disciplined way. Often in organizations, planners, budgeters, evaluators, and performance monitors work in isolation from each other and use approaches and terms so differently that opportunities to meld insights into a common approach to improving the organization are missed. And the pressure to develop and use performance measures means these efforts can trump rather than complement program evaluation efforts. This panel presents three thoughts on challenges of developing, and especially interpreting, performance measures for public health programs, and the appropriate mutually supportive role to be played by program evaluation and performance measurement in public health organizations. The payoffs for an appropriate relation between performance measurement and evaluation, and the peril of allowing one to supersede the other, will be presented.
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Thinking in an Integrated Way About Performance Measurement and Evaluation
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| Thomas Chapel,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
tchapel@cdc.gov
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The performance measurement process is too often regarded as something entirely new, or at least different from other modes of reflection (e.g., program evaluation and strategic planning).
Performance measurement should be considered part of the iterative cycle of program planning and evaluation. And evaluators should consider, as a major constituency for evaluation results, persons who are charged with meeting performance measurement mandates. Making this link is a win-win for both performance measurement and program evaluation. This presentation will use the CDC Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health as a process for integrating program evaluation and performance measurement. The session will show how both processes draw on the early framework steps of stakeholder engagement and program description, and how each can be viewed as a unique and appropriate response to the challenge of setting an evaluation focus for a program.
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Federal-level Performance Measurement: Challenges in Public Health
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| Amy DeGroff,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
asd1@cdc.gov
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| Michael Schooley,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
mschooley@cdc.gov
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| Goldie MacDonald,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
gmacdonald@cdc.gov
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| Thomas Chapel,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
tchapel@cdc.gov
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Over the past fifteen years or more, performance measurement has gained significant attention as part of 'results-based' government. Policies such as the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and the Bush Administration's Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) have institutionalized the practice of performance measurement. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), performance measurement systems have been developed by many of the public health programs in order to improve accountability, monitor program implementation, and support program improvement. However, there are some important challenges to developing and implementing performance measurement systems at the federal level that must be considered. These include the decentralized nature of public health programs, the complexity of public health problems, and measurement challenges. All three challenges contribute to a fundamental challenge in regard to attributing results to particular public health program efforts. These challenges will each be described and some strategies to address them presented.
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