ABSTRACT
Traditionally, performance audits and program evaluations differ in their purpose, scope, methods, standards, and relationship to program staff. In response to increased interest by the US Congress in the government’s achievement of results, the chief congressional oversight agency, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), expanded its activities to include evaluations as well as audits in the 1970s. To support a full spectrum of congressional oversight activities, GAO expanded its staff expertise and modified its policies and procedures to ensure that each study uses appropriate methods and that analyses and reporting are fact-based, nonpartisan, nonideological, fair, and balanced. This chapter aims to explain how GAO accomplishes this through risk assessments, a heightened focus on assessment criteria, and deploying matrixed teams of specialists.
