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Why you need program evaluation
Data-driven decision making brings immediate answers and long-term opportunities
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Program evaluationAre employee ideas the hidden key to operational efficiency?
As leaders undertake massive change efforts that may impact every part of their organization, a precise understanding of their programs’ efficacy and efficiency will be paramount to making swift, informed decisions. Program evaluation belongs where budget cuts, program justifications, and workforce reduction intersect with regulatory compliance and—most importantly—the ability to fulfill the mission without disruption.
Done right, a program evaluation provides leaders insights for fast, accurate, data-driven decision-making: insights that illuminate where to allocate limited resources and increase efficiency. And with a focus on the longer term, a deeper dive will help you set your organization on the right road to achieving future goals with less risk and cost.
There’s a reason this informative tool has been a “go-to” in the private sector for years and why public-sector organizations have become increasingly excited about its opportunities. In the private sector, often the question of how to speed enhanced outcomes to the end customers without a break in service is answered by program evaluation. Likewise for agencies, whose constituents are the customers, program evaluation is the highly practical response. Specifically, it helps in three key ways: risk and cost reduction, compliance with internal and external requirements, and business case justification.
Let’s break it down further with a focus on data-driven decision making:
1
Risk and cost reduction
Agencies and businesses looking to reduce costs and increase operational efficiency must resist the temptation of a reactive approach. When organizations responsible for public health and safety make major changes, for example, missing information or cuts in the wrong places could spell disaster for millions of Americans.
Program evaluation provides a structured approach to effectively address and resolve the issue. Because it’s a well-established practice across public- and private-sector organizations, the proven tools and methodologies can make it a quick way as well. Program evaluation identifies duplicative efforts, cumbersome processes, and bottlenecks, to identify areas to streamline operations: making organizations run smoother in less time. The key is to assess current practices against policies, benchmarks, and best practices and bring the best of these into your own program. The result is less cost without increased risks.
2
Compliance
For commercial and government entities alike, regulatory compliance will always be the backstop for any actions they can take to increase efficiency. Making misinformed or unstructured cuts could end up in very painful unintended consequences—such as a Congressional inquiry or the law at your door.
When looking to increase efficiency, intentional, data-driven decision-making is your compliance best friend. This approach clarifies the relationship between actions and outcomes, ensuring that responses to budget cuts are anticipated and that essential elements remain intact. By making informed decisions, you minimize the risk of making detrimental cuts, which can lead to expensive rebuilding and reimplementation.
3
Business case justification
As in the commercial sector, federal leaders tasked with justifying programs or services must demonstrate their essential value in order to protect them. Program evaluation plays a crucial role in crafting robust business case justifications.
A powerful business case outlines the merits, feasibility, and expected outcomes of a program. It combines empirical data with narrative context to convey a comprehensive story of business value. Program evaluation gathers all relevant evidence for a strong business case, ensuring that the facts are traceable, indisputable, and verifiable in the future.
Fast or slow, program evaluation is the way to go.
Public and private sector business leaders needing to balance the three imperatives of risk and cost reduction, compliance and business case justification need the best data-based information they can get to make their decisions. The beauty of program evaluation is that it works both ways: it’s a fact-based, best-practice approach to target what you could be reducing and to safeguard what you should be protecting.
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