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The Role of Evaluation in Building Evidence-Based Policy

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  • Larry L. Orr

Abstract

Growing recognition that many government programs may be ineffective, or at best of unproven effectiveness, has led to the evidence-based policy movement—an effort to ensure that proposed and existing public programs have been shown to achieve their objectives. Rigorous evaluation is central to this movement. In this article, I briefly review the history of evaluation of social programs and the barriers to the application of effective evaluation to public policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Larry L. Orr, 2018. "The Role of Evaluation in Building Evidence-Based Policy," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 678(1), pages 51-59, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:678:y:2018:i:1:p:51-59
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716218764299
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Louise Forsetlund & Iain Chalmers & Arild Bjørndal, 2007. "When Was Random Allocation First Used To Generate Comparison Groups In Experiments To Assess The Effects Of Social Interventions?," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(5), pages 371-384.
    2. Adam Gamoran, 2018. "Evidence-Based Policy in the Real World: A Cautionary View," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 678(1), pages 180-191, July.
    3. Thomas Fraker & Rebecca Maynard, 1987. "The Adequacy of Comparison Group Designs for Evaluations of Employment-Related Programs," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 22(2), pages 194-227.
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    5. Burt S. Barnow, 1987. "The Impact of CETA Programs on Earnings: A Review of the Literature," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 22(2), pages 157-193.
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    7. Drew B. Cameron & Anjini Mishra & Annette N. Brown, 2016. "The growth of impact evaluation for international development: how much have we learned?," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 1-21, March.
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