A primer on public sector evaluations

This chapter provides a brief survey of the program evaluation methods, their objectives, strengths, and weaknesses. The chapter first presents methods like cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, the social marginal cost of funds analysis, and data envelopment analysis that are appropriate for guiding efficient allocation and utilization of resources. This is followed by a discussion on multiple-criteria evaluation (MCE), which is much more holistic. Apart from efficiency, it addresses issues like the relevance of a program, effectiveness of a program in achieving its objectives, and sustainability of the program benefits. Newer MCE approaches such as the Iron Triangle and the Results-Oriented Management Evaluation are briefly sketched. Finally, theory-based evaluation is outlined, where the focus is not just on whether a program succeeds or fails but also on how and why a program succeeds or fails.