POLICY EVALUATION

Policy evaluation is a systematic process for assessing the design, implementation and outcomes of public policies, evaluation uses social science research method including quantitative and qualitative techniques, to examine the effects of policies. Some policy scholars such as the famous political scientist James Adreson described policy making as a sequential process marked by distinct steps such as Agenda Setting, Policy Formulation, Policy adoption and Policy Implementation. For Adreson and others, Evaluation is the final step in policy process. However they question that the public policy process is ongoing with evaluation often resulting in policy changing which are implemented and evaluated again.

In considering policy evaluation as simple and straight forward as some politician suggest factors that complicate evaluations include identifying goals measuring performance and isolation,  although it attempt to assess policy in an objective manner. Evaluation activities occurs within a political environment, policy makers often want immediate information on policy that will not be known in short term.

FUNCTIONS OF POLICY EVALUATION

Policy evaluation involved participants in the policy process which include the legislators, executives, stakeholders, and agency official, to write but few, the measure degree to which program has achieved its goal asses the effects and identify any needed changes to the policy. In addition, many states and local governments fund program with federal grant which evaluation is required. Below are some of its functions:

1. Realization of Efficient and high Quality Public Administration.

2. To ensure Public Accountability.

3. To Critically check the effects of the policies of respective ministries.

4. To assess the policies in term of necessity, efficiency and validity.

5. To score the performance of public servant and civil servant.

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE OF POLICY EVALUATION

Policy evaluation is taken after policy has passed through the formal adoption of laws, rules or actions to implement the policy. However the purpose of evaluation is to determined whether an implemented program is doing what its suppose to (through) evaluation, we can determine whether a policy’s effects are intended or unintended and whether the results are positive or negative for the targeted population and society as a whole.

Essentially policy evaluation is made to ascertain whether policies corespond in line with what they were created for, favorable policy evaluations tend to perpetuate the implementation while unfavorable may lead to termination or revolutionalization of program or policy. More so, policy evaluation appears to be a straight forward concept, however closer inspection and process reveals that policy evaluation can be equally as political as any other stage of the policy process. Policy evaluation provides additional opportunities for the political interest groups and policy actors to attempt to influence the life of a specific policy. Favorable evaluation of the impact of a given policy will tend to perpetuate the implementation and life-cycle while unfavorable evaluation may give rise to change or possibly policy termination, depending on the pro-active of the interest groups on policy actors, the perception of how well a policy or a program is forming or being implemented can have far reaching impact. In policy evaluation a number of constraints are employed such as time, budget, ethical considerations and policy restrictions (Theodeoujou and Kofins 2004). Those constraints determined a policy or a program’s success and failure.

CONCLUSION

Policy evaluation is a very broad aspect of public policy analysis, indeed its strength forward in term of assessing the policy or a program of government, to showcase how a policy affects our lives or improves our living standards. However, without a policy been evaluated, lack of commitments and dedications to responsibilities will continue to bedevil in both public and private sectors of a state. Corrupt politicians will continue to amass wealth to their pockets; interest groups and stakeholders have to be very vigilant to ensure a successful policy evaluation.