ABSTRACT
The upsurge in importance of evaluation consistent with the Monitoring Form can be associated with two major trends in public policy. These are: increased accountability in government and non-profit sectors; and the emergence of performance-based management as the means for fulfilling these accountability requirements. Monitoring evaluation can be regarded as a component of the current total quality management and quality assurance thrusts, made manifest in the United States through the Government Performance and Results Act enacted in 1993. A survey of federal government agencies conducted by the US General Accounting Office found that the most difficult challenges in developing performance measures were: getting beyond outputs to develop outcome measures; and specifying quantifiable performance indicators. Decisions about which variables should be measured can also be clarified from the logic model. It is also possible to set up evaluation studies that explore a causal link by identifying variables of interest in the logic.
