All public agencies receive a program evaluation, which is an external examination of a program's overall effectiveness. A program evaluation may use a variety of administrative and organizational data (e.g., statistics) to assess whether the program objectives are being met and how well the program is serving its customers. A program evaluation can face some difficulties because multiple agencies may be involved in the program, along with often conflicting and changing program objectives. You are to develop a six- to eight-page paper that evaluates an existing governmental program during a year's cycle of that program.eight-page paper that evaluates an existing governmental program during a year's cycle of that program.
Focus of thePaper
Choose any governmental (federal, state, or local) program (Social Security Administration, Department of Defense, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Motor Vehicles, City Hall, etc.) to evaluate. Your evaluation of this public agency should focus on three primary areas:
- Financial Compliance: Assess whether the agency's funds were properly spent in compliance with the agency's budgetary authorization law(s) and/or with any relevant compliance regulations.
- Efficiency: Evaluate whether the public agency used its allocated resources (i.e. financial, human) efficiently to achieve optimum productivity.
- Program Effectiveness: Appraise the public agency's effectiveness in achieving two of its organizational purposes and/or goals.
This project will require you to research information related to your governmental agency, so you may want to cursory review of the agency before beginning your project to ensure you can readily identify the necessary information. Some of the information may not be easily recognizable as you may not be familiar with the agency.
The Paper:
- Must be six to eight pages in length (not including the title and in length
- Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement.
- Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
- Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph.
- Must use at least five scholarly sources in addition to the text-- (Shafritz, J.M., Russell, E.W. & Borick, C.P. (2013). Introducing public administration (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Longman.)