Evaluation in the Context of Government Reform

Current efforts to reform government have promoted the development of intergovernmental and inter-sectoral partnerships to implement public polices and more effectively deliver services. This paper probes the additional complexities posed for program evaluation by the development of partnerships, drawing on a study of the U.S. Manufacturing Extension Partnership. The highlighted challenges include diverse partner objectives, information deficiencies, variances in partner contributions and outcome effects, and difficulties in tracking a full set of benefits and costs, including learning benefits, institutional improvements, and transaction costs. Contrasting evaluation strategies to address the challenges of evaluating partnerships are considered.